Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 07:48:38 -0400 From: Pat Young <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Conundrums or paradoxes > Mothers are told breastfeeding encourages bonding between them and > their baby - and that this is a good thing. They are also told the baby will use them for a pacifier and be too dependent on mom and this is a "bad" thing :-( I think a new baby's overwhelming need to be "attached" and "too" dependent is a survival mode thing and it scares people in our western culture. They automatically think baby will stay too attached and dependent, of course those of us with grown breastfed babies know this is usually just the opposite :-) Sincerely, Pat in SNJ =========================================== Pat, I know you are so right about the' survival mode thing' - Reading your statement reminded me of when a certain woman in our office used the phrase, "She's always using the breast as a pacifier!" I had to say something to her to let her know how I thought. "The breast was invented before the pacifier," I said. "I think the pacifier is used in place of the breast today." (I know it is!) The breast is the norm. It is my opinion that many woman and HCP think they are interchangeable. And of course we know how a baby does that little mouth thing when they've fallen asleep at the breast. It's like their lips are little butterfly wings gently fluttering on the nipple. They aren't really taking anything in but when you try to pick them up gently to put them down for a nap without waking them they latch back on for dear life. I wish every woman in the world could experience that kind of 'need' the child has for its mother's breast. Getting back to the survival thing... Months ago I found an article some lactnetter had attached to their message and copied it. I cannot always lay my hands on this article but it was about a study by a couple of reaserchers from Harvard. It stated that the children who are attended to when they cried (someone found out what they were asking for) example: late stage hunger, cold, scared, insecure, hurting, etc., turned out to be less anxious when they became adults. Now if breastfeeding can prevent a lot of anxiety for the next generation perhaps the health care costs could be reversed. Regards, P.Harris-Swenson, MA, IBCLC Nutritionist Still behind 04 E-mail! Lowell, MA USA *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html