>
>
>You need to write back and request answers to the following:
>
>(clip)
>3.)  Please detail the body of research supporting the fact that a mother's sense of comfort and confidence is critical to her ability to connect to her child and respond sensitively to her cues.  
>
>4.)  Please present any research you have that verifies that a baby reacts negatively to a mom that does not feel relaxed or confident while breastfeeding?
>
>5.) Please present any research that shows that the factor that the mother is secure and confident in her daily interactions with baby, has a great impact on infant outcomes that proper infant nutrition and immunology development.
>

I found this post when I was flipping through digest on a busy day when 
I should have been doing something else, but was feeling 'up' after a bf 
support group meeting and not quite ready to go to sleep. Coming at it 
in media res, I immediately thought the questions were being asked by an 
ABM manufacturer! Woops! There are a lot of assumptions and conclusions 
here. I think we need to be cautious about framing our questions this 
way. Goodness knows, we do need to show these people why / how it is 
that they are going about things the wrong way. (I'm assuming good 
intent, despite some evidence to the contrary because, well, that's how 
I choose to be.LOL) But I don't think these questions are the ones the 
people designing the campaign need to be answering. Like a doctor who 
suggests weaning without evidence, I think we should proceed not only on 
the assumptions that all these things are true, but also on the evidence 
we have from qualitative research (and, I imagine, quantitative research 
I don't read as carefully these days) -- and ask them to provide 
evidence to the contrary. That is, let them prove that a mother's sense 
of comfort and confidence does *not* affect a mother's ability to read 
her baby's cues. That, in fact, is the assumption they (they being some 
powerful marketing forces) are acting on, without evidence. And, as far 
as I've read, seen (and BTDT and lived to tell the tale) -- contrary to 
the evidence that breast-nurturing matters.

In our support group tonight, we were talking about several of these 
things as being 'real', part of evidence-based as well as anecdotal 
experience. We talked about the increased confidence of breastfeeding 
mothers, how it affects her relationship with her baby, how the hormones 
of breastfeeding help relax a mother and give mom and a busy toddler a 
time to cuddle together, how breastfeeding goes along with cuddling and 
carrying, and this helps a baby's neurological system, etc. etc. Most of 
all, we talked about the importance of breastfeeding and the 
breastfeeding relationship. Reading this post, it seems that the 
importance is, strangely and (obviously) inadvertentently being 
questioned and undermined.

So I'm not sure what you're getting at -- are you suggesting there is no 
evidence to support that a mother's sense of comfort and confidence is 
*important* or just that mothers can survive without it? Isn't 
well-being about thriving -- being confident and comfortable? There is 
evidence that mothers who breastfeed have healthier body images and are 
more confident. There is evidence that breastfeeding makes bonding 
easier or deeper. There is evidence that breastfeeding mothers respond 
to their baby's cues more readily. (Sorry, not Wiessingerizing here, 
because I'm trying to keep to the language in the questions).

It seems to me that we only need to ask one question: Given the emphasis 
that this organization is placing on a mother's confidence, a baby's 
well-being, etc., wouldn't it be worthwhile for them to focus their 
energy on encouraging mothers to make healthy choices based on evidence 
-- not just biological, but psychological and pedagogical, as well?

You see, I'd be satisfied if they did that, because there just isn't 
evidence to deny the importance of breastfeeding.

I'll go even farther and say that I do feel sorry for mothers who were 
not able to breastfeed for one reason or another. I don't want to 
undermine their confidence, either. They don't have as much as we 
breastfeeders do, it seems. The best way we can help them understand 
that it's worth it to try breastfeeding (again) with their next baby is 
to give them confidence in their ability to make their lives work. Today 
I did the 'every drop is better than one less drop' spiel. We always get 
a few tears, some from women who stopped breastfeeding before they left 
the hospital but have the courage to come to our meeting to see if they 
can build up their inner resources to try again next time. I give them a 
lot of credit. All women are worth supporting -- as the full human 
beings they are, and for the best mother-selves that they can be.

Donning my flame-proof suit (not really, just knowing that my mothering 
*is* important and *has* affected every aspect of my children's 
well-being) --

Jo-Anne Elder-Gomes

  


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