I completed a few writing and research projects and thought I'd treat
myself to a little LACTNET. We'll see how long I last this time--oh, for
more hours in the day! I've been browsing through the last few weeks of
archives and, as always, cultural issues abound. Here are a few of my
thoughts in regard to the recent posts on sleep, why some mothers don't
breastfeed, following instincts, change, challenges and culture...
Culture is incredibly complex. To help us get a handle on that complexity,
we can consider culture as having dimensions: concepts that all cultures
address but with different potential approaches. For example, every society
has an approach to time, social interaction, relating with nature, human
activity, and human nature, among many other concepts. These approaches
impact breastfeeding (Good Mojab, 2000). The match between culture and the
biology of breastfeeding varies among societies. Many of the frustrations
and questions posted on LACTNET regard the mismatch of culture and biology,
particularly in Western or Westernized societies. In the US, for example,
we tend to focus on the future (hence we schedule), we tend to emphasize
independence (hence we have a lot of physical and social separation of
mother and baby). We tend to mistrust and try to control nature (hence we
mistrust and try to control breastfeeding and the development of babies and
children). We tend to emphasize the accomplishment of "productive" tasks
with tangible outcomes (hence breastfeeding and child rearing do not meet
our cultural criteria of productive human activity--see my quote in Sara
Corbett's [May 6, 2000] "The Breast Offense" in the NYTimes). And we tend
to see human nature as inherently bad (hence the common belief in
"manipulative" babies in danger of being "spoiled").
Social distance in the US--including our degree of body contact (waking and
sleeping) with babies and young children (Simpson-Herbert 1980)--reflects
our individualistic approach to social interaction. Most of us here in the
US were raised with parenting approaches that involve high social distance:
we slept in cribs in a room away from our parents, were carried in
strollers (and now in car seats with handles), ate in high chairs, played
in playpens, were left regularly with baby sitters, were fed formula in
bottles--often propped up without anyone holding us, and were fed formula
in the NICU if we were premature, etc. Due to the nature of culture, these
practices (or some version thereof) are *understandably* what feels normal,
right, appropriate, and desirable to many people. They are what "makes
sense." They are what many of us have internalized through generations of
experience, modeling, and play. Three generations of mothers basically
didn't breastfeed or breastfed minimally. Now, new generations are trying
to relearn the lost art of breastfeeding (Good Mojab, 1999). But the
biology of breastfeeding challenges the cultural beliefs and practices of
these pioneers--as well as of their mothers and grandmothers, not to
mention their friends, neighbors, relatives, health care providers,
governmental representatives, religious leaders, employers, strangers on
the street, etc. When cultural practices are challenged and changed, it is
normal to feel uncomfortable, confused, even threatened. Cultural
change--at the personal and societal level--can be very hard work (complex
factors beyond the scope of this post influence the ease or difficulty of
cultural change). And that work often goes unrecognized by the individual
and by others.
It is truly a challenge to protect, promote and support breastfeeding in
any culture or subculture that is poorly matched with the biology of
breastfeeding and human development. Respecting and effectively responding
to cultural distress while encouraging and helping a mother to breastfeed
is no easy task. Those who are not doing this kind of work may not
understand how fine an art this is. They may not understand how important
breastfeeding is. And they may offer us little or no support and
appreciation for our difficult task. That's one of the reasons, I think,
that we gather here. So pat yourselves on the back for hanging in there
through all the complex biocultural challenges of this field. The
breastfeeding information and support you provide matters profoundly.
Simpson-Herbert, M. Breastfeeding and body contact: To breastfeed or
no--why do different cultures value the practice so variably?" Population,
7(2), 1980, pp. 17-22.
Good Mojab, C. The Cultural Art of Breastfeeding, LEAVEN, Vol. 36 No. 5,
October-November 2000, pp. 87-91. Full text:
http://www.lalecheleague.org/llleaderweb/LV/LVOctNov00p87.html
Good Mojab, C. Relearning the Lost Art of Breastfeeding: Obstacles and
Resources for Iranian and American Women, Andisheh, Vol. 1 No. 10, December
1999. Full text:
http://msnhomepages.talkcity.com/SupportSt/ammawell/brstfdiranamer.html
Corbett, S. The Breast Offense. New York Times, May 6, 2001. Full text:
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/06/magazine/06NURSING.html
(A reminder: I post to LACTNET in my non-LLL roles!)
Warmly and glad to be back (even if I have to go nomail again all too soon
to get some work done),
Cynthia
Cynthia Good Mojab, MS Clinical Psychology
Ammawell
(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.)
Email: [log in to unmask]
Web site: http://msnhomepages.talkcity.com/SupportSt/ammawell
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