Hi, Jim and Lactnetters! I am still NOMAIL, so if you want to write me
a response so that I will see it, please email me privately.

 I recently actually had 10 minutes free in the medical library,
made a beeline for Birth and saw your summary of the 10 Steps article. In
your Step 4, you refer to BFing as a learned behavior, something that
I've been claiming for years, but haven't seen in too many places,
literature-wise. Then I started idly thinking and wanted to hear what you
think, too:

Do you believe that a double message is being given to moms? I know when
I stop to "listen" to myself, I tell them that breastfeeding is
instinctive, which they have heard anyway from umpteen other sources. BUT
I also say that the baby has to "learn" how to breastfeed. I think that
we may be confusing them. However, I am not sure about steps to take in
order to resolve this confusion. I think that this may be extremely
important when we instruct hospital staff on breastfeeding, also.

Tangential to this, I have been interested for many years in the
possibility of using problems with "learning" how to breastfeed (in the
baby, of course) as an early marker for learning disability. Yes, I know
that this is stretching it, but still..... Does anyone know of any
literature along these lines?

Thanks and bye. Judy Knopf in Beer Sheva, Israel
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