Kathleen posted this recently which came from another member:
>I am not sure that I should post this on Lactnet, I do not want to offend
>anyone. But I am getting a bit uncomfortable with the religious content
>of some of the postings. Talking about nursing in church is one thing,
>but talking about the religous part of it is another. Could we stick to
>BF and talk about nursing in a house of worship in generic terms?

I had no idea of the responses that my original post would create, but I
think that the dialogue on this has been good.  Many members have share their
experiences from different denominations and faiths and these different
perspectives have been helpful to me who lives in the white Christian
monoculture of the rural midwest (North Central Iowa).  I think that the
posts have been quite good about maintaining a close link between the
church/religous aspect the the BF aspect.

Many of the members have shared very important experiences, both "joys and
tribulations".  We have all learned that for the world ( and especially the
USA)  to become more BF Friendly, that the houses of worship need to embrace
the concept that BF is natural, discreet, asexual nourishing act of pure love
that should be strongly encouraged by the religous authorites.  We need to
have our religous leaders promote this just as strongly as our doctors,
nurses, dietitians, LCs, public health officials, educators etc.  Only when
all segments of society have a unified approach to this will it become the
cultural norm.  Look at the indoor smoking issue.  It has taken us 30 years
to get from the 1964 Surgeon General's report to today where smoking is
banned/prohibited in our hospitals, schools, houses of worship, and office
buildings.  Does this mean that there are no more smokers? No.   Does it mean
that society has for the most part created the norm that public smoking is
not acceptable everywhere?  I think so.  The anology for BF:  Will formula
ever become absent from society?  No, just like smoking will not dissappear.
 Will formula ever become the exceptional way to feed an infant and Mother's
Milk the NORM?  I can certainly hope so.

To address the person who is uncomfortable with the religous nature of some
of the postings, I wonder if s/he would care to privately express their
feelings further.  I don't think anyone has tried to do any "converting" in
their posts.  What about these topics has made the person feel uncomfortable?
 I look at these posts from others as an example of the intensely personal
nature of the BF experience for some of these people. Many of them see
similarities in the intense nature of that BF experience  with their own
intense religous experiences.  Understanding how people can connect the BF
experience to their religous experience may help us to better relate and
correlate to certain other mothers.  Just as we must approach the teenage
mom, the Hispanic mom, the inner city Urban mom, and the executive mom within
the context of their own cultures, we made need to understand the mother's
spiritual aspect in some cases to better help her relate to the importance of
the BF process and the special nature of it.  For example, the fact that Mary
breastfed Jesus may be an important point to make to a Roman Catholic mother,
where as it couldn't make a bit of difference for a Buddhist mother from SE
Asia.

This is where I connect this thought to my rudimentary understanding of
Native American theology.  I really see the concept of "Everything is
connected in the Great CIrcle of Life" as relating to Breastfeeding.  The BF
connects infant health, maternal health, family health (less abuse, child
spacing, cost savings from less illness and no BMS(Breast Milk Substitutes)).
 It connects with ones religous beliefs, personal body image, and hope for
the future.  It influences the dental health, the intellectual functioning,
and the health status of that infant as an adult.  And will further influence
the next generation on their infant feeding practices. ETC. ETC. ETC.

So I suggest that if one is uncomfortable with the discussion of religous
aspects of breastfeeding that perhaps that person should not look with a
sense of uncomfortableness but rather of sense of wonderment of how
dramatically important BF is for that person. And how they can relate the BF
experience to other aspects of their life.

Getting off my soapbox now.   PS We are having a raging blizzard of snow now!
********************************************************************
*  Jon Ahrendsen, M.D. FAAFP, LLLI Medical Associate   *
*  215 13th Ave SW                                                        *
*  Clarion, Iowa 50525  USA                                            *
*  515-532-2836, FAX 532-2523, Email [log in to unmask]   *
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