Hi All,
The views expressed so far re: this subject are all valid and do not
warrant rebuttal.
From what I've seen, Pam is right: *some* mothers do present themselves
as self-centered/selfish and appear to choose to bottlefeed, despite all
reason/instinct otherwise, because they believe it's the easier/convenient/
way to feed. Then, like Mary points out, there are many moms who are
bottlefeeding with the selfless, caring attitude of any of the
"top" breastfeeders among us. :-)
Certainly, the HCPs and media/advertising/corporations are a huge factor in
answering Mary's WHY "an otherwise intelligent, clear thinking woman
chooses to feed her infant in a way that poses real health risks to herself
and her baby."
But I see that the answer to this WHY is really much deeper and much more
fundamental. Many women (and men for that matter) have strayed far from
their true nature: they don't listen to what their instincts tell them;
they ignore their gut feelings; they don't follow their heart; they place
far too much reliance on what they think rather than what they feel; they
don't listen to their bodies' messages; and they don't trust their bodies.
In short, moms aren't breastfeeding because they can't access their natural
wisdom that would naturally guide them in that direction. When a mom is in
touch with and trusts her body and its needs/desires, no amount of HCP
misinformation or formula advertising or people's stares will make an iota
of difference: breastfeeding she will do.
The whole penchant for medicalized births is part of this same problem.
Sure, this situation of disconnect has arisen, in part, because of our
(U.S.) culture of capitalism/media/consumerism, but, again, the real
problem is much deeper. And a solution, I believe, is a more fundamental
action than just changing advertising and HCP's messages.
To a great degree, I see that to get moms to breastfeed, one first has to
help mom trust her body's wisdom.
~Dianne Oliver, LLLL, IBCLC
Simi
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Holistic Lactation
805-582-2058
www.holisticlactation.com
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