LACTNET Archives

Lactation Information and Discussion

LACTNET@COMMUNITY.LSOFT.COM

Options: Use Forum View

Use Monospaced Font
Show Text Part by Default
Show All Mail Headers

Message: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Topic: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Author: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]

Print Reply
Subject:
From:
Kathy Dettwyler <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 7 Jan 2000 11:52:10 -0600
Content-Type:
text/plain
Parts/Attachments:
text/plain (43 lines)
>more experienced mothers close at hand to guide the new
>mother when she had the need of it - I can't imagine them expecting to
>"learn" everything they needed to know in a 1-hr. session immediately after
>(or even before) birth,

I think I said it before, but I'll stress again that most first-time moms in
traditional cultures don't have anything to "learn" about breastfeeding or
taking care of newborns.  They learned it all by watching, listening, and
helping as they were growing up.  A new mom in Mali probably had many
younger siblings, younger half-siblings, younger cousins, younger neighbors,
and younger friends that they spent literally hundreds of thousands of hours
watching being breastfed, held, comforted, handled, cleaned up, bathed,
given medicine, etc.  They know this stuff as well as they know how to walk
and talk.  There is nothing NEW to learn.  Girls as young as 4 years often
have complete care of infants for several hours a day except for
breastfeeding -- they bring the babies to the moms to breastfeed, obviously.

What we really need is a culture where everyone breastfeeds, and everyone
child learns about it at their mothers and neighbor's knees, and in school
from K-12 health classes, and by going to LLL meetings when pregnant, and
watching their friends and siblings and neighbors and co-workers nurse.  I
know . . . . dream on.

And while I agree that Raphael's work on doulas is important, especially in
non-mother- friendly cultures like our own, it is also the case that many
societies do NOT have anyone special to take care of the mother after birth.

In Mali, the mother *may* get 3-8 days off after the birth of a baby, where
she mostly sits around and just recovers her strength and someone else does
her usual work.  But if there is no one else to help, then she doesn't even
get that time off.  Of course, these women are mostly in excellent physical
shape -- strong and very physically fit -- going into pregnancy and delivery
and have no labor drugs, so perhaps they recover much faster physically
because of these factors.

Kathy Dettwyler

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html

ATOM RSS1 RSS2