This was the topic of a talk by Fiona Giles, PhD, at the ILCA Conference in
Sydney, Australia, Sunday, August 3, 2003.  The title of her talk was "Fresh
Milk: Reimagining Lactation."  She has published a book on this topic called
"Fresh Milk: The Secret Life of Breasts," Simon & Schuster, 2003.  The book
is available from amazon.com, both new and used editions.  (I haven't read
it, but there are reviews on the amazon.com web site.)

Giles calls for "new approaches to promoting and supporting breastfeeding in
Western culture."

This is from the conference syllabus, in Giles' words (page 593):

"While medical and public health literature is vitally important to
breastfeeding research and advocacy, I believe its uses are limited when it
comes to convincing mothers that breastfeeding is feasible, enjoyable and
worth the effort.  Without intending to, much of it gives the impression of
pedalling orthodoxies about right and wrong ways to feed, and the intrinsic
virtue of the breastfeeding mother.  My paper looks at the way a mother's
need for pleasure, empowerment and self-expression might also be brought
into play.  At the same time I argue that a key to improving our attitudes
to breastfeeding in the West lies in our relationship to the milk itself.
We need to acknowledge that breastmilk is a bodily fluid that speaks of a
mothering subject, and not just a baby's need, or a nutritional substance."

Anne Altshuler, RN, MS, IBCLC
Madison, WI

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