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Subject:
From:
Cynthia Good Mojab <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Mon, 10 Sep 2001 14:47:33 -0700
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I have posted before on the complex influences of culture on breastfeeding.
I've also posted on the impact of sexual abuse. For now, all I have time to
say is this:

A woman comes to mothering and breastfeeding with a complex cultural
heritage and personal history that no lactation consultant can truly
understand in the limited amount of time that is usually available. I
believe that the safest and most sensitive conclusion that any of us can
make is that the mother is doing the best she can with the support and
information available to her in the context of her particular situation.
Women have the right to *not* reveal their reasons--and to not even fully
*know* their reasons--for breastfeeding (or not) in any particular manner.
Breastfeeding (or not) does not occur in a social or historical vacuum.

Consistent terminology (or at least a precise definition of whatever terms
are used) *is* critical when breastfeeding is studied and the results
reported. But communication with a mother should be geared toward her
needs, her perceptions, her experiences, her situation. I do not have to be
"right," for example, to convince a mother who feels she is breastfeeding
that she is actually human-milk-feeding. I'll save precision for my
research! Instead, I'll seek to be effective (as best as I can figure that
out each unique time): doing whatever helps a mother accomplish the best
possible outcome (as determined by the mother) in her situation. In reality
I cannot possibly know better than she does what her best possible outcome
is (though I may be able to provide options that she did not even know
existed). Understandably, I have my personal wishes and ideals. But they
reflect my biases, my knowledge, my resources, my heritage, and my history,
not hers.

I wish I had more time to join in on this thread. I appreciate the many
insightful posts of late on this topic.

My vitamin D literature review is calling me,

Cynthia

Cynthia Good Mojab, MS Clinical Psychology
(Breastfeeding mother, advocate, independent [cross-cultural] researcher
and author; freelance writer; LLL Leader and Research Associate in the LLLI
Publications Department; and former psychotherapist currently busy
nurturing her own little one.)
Ammawell
Email: [log in to unmask]
Web site: http://members.home.net/ammawell

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