Pam,
Have you read "Becoming Attached" by Robert Karen? This book goes into the
history of research in attachment theory and provides detail of the science
behind why responsive caregiving is so important to babies.

> On a side note, ages ago I attended an interesting presentation at a
> perinatal health conference by a doctor discussing the neuron development
of the
> infant brain.  How important it was to the developing brain to have the
connections
> made, or they never really did.  He said that allowing a baby to cry
risked
> missing an opportunity to help neurons connect that controlled part of the
> brain's ability to empathize, feel a social connection, etc.  He explained
how by
> not having these "connections" as we got older we "learned" the behavior
of
> hugging, loving, etc. but lacked the "feeling" that went with it because
the
> connections are not there. He discussed the brain waves of sociopaths that
never
> had certain connections made and theorized that by ignoring our babies
needs
> for connection we were creating a risk for sociopathic behavior

Children who have spent time in institutional care are a big group who have
experienced a lack of responsive caregiving. It is deprivation that retards
their growth in all areas and damages their brain. My work has looked at
breastfeeding of these damaged children. I see these post-institutionalised
children "canaries in the coalmine" when it comes to seeing how the act of
breastfeeding impacts development. The stories that mothers have told me
(and what I saw in my own daughter when she started breastfeeding at 3y 6m)
are nothing short of amazing. I think that in the West we have
overemphasised the nutritional value of breastfeeding and underemphasised
the other aspects of breastfeeding. I have been starting to consider
breastfeeding as 1/3 nutrition, 1/3 comfort and 1/3 closeness. I have no
doubt that babies who are not breastfed are missing out on something vital,
something they are "wired" to expect as a part of normal development.
Missing out on breastfeeding impacts just as starting breastfeeding past the
newborn period after a history of hurt can be part of the healing process.

>soon research may be
able to "prove" babies need mothering at the breast.

Karleen Gribble
Australia

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