One of the speakers at the LLLI conference this year was Dr. Thomas Lewis,
author of "A General Theory of Love" and one of his points is that emotions
change behaviour, information rarely does. So you can give pregnant women
lots of information about birth and breastfeeding, but if they FEEL (based
on previous experiences, the reactions of people they know, the way they are
treated or responded to in the hospital) that their bodies are not capable
of birthing or producing milk, neither process is likely to work well.

Dr. Lewis also talks about how the presence of a loving person regulates the
physiology of the other person. I think this is probably a big part of why
doulas and breastfeeding counsellors are successful. The doula's calm
assurance and comfort changes the emotions of the labouring woman - she
feels safe, she absorbs the doula's confidence in birth. I think the same is
true when we help women with breastfeeding. It may be more important to
connect with the mother's feelings than to pass on lots of "helpful
information."

Teresa Pitman
Guelph, Ontario

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