Dear Friends:
        I am reading a very thought-provoking book: A Natural History of
Parenting, by Susan Allport. (Random House 1997). I don't  agree with
everything she says, however, her analyses are fascinating. There are
sections on breastfeeding too. Her take on why women give formula when it is
clear that infant survival is increased by breastfeeding is interesting.
        She talks about the obstacle of being watched, which keeps mothers
from increasing their milk supply after birth. She quotes Malcolm Parker, the
editor of a book on comparative lactation ( Comparative Aspects of Lactation,
Symposia of the Zoological Society of London, #41. London: Academic Press,
1977) as saying that it is no co-incidence that the zoos making the greatest
efforts to observe maternal behavior at birth are the ones  hand-rear the
most infants.
        Do any of you think this might have an impact on humans? Warmly, Nikki

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