Clair, you wrote:
Just a question.
If there are so many babies with endogenous suckling problems, why are
there 98% of breastfed babies in Norway and Sweden ?


I have no idea what is customary in Nordic countries, but I can offer a view
as a woman who was never exposed to a family that rarely did anything but
breastfeed until a baby was able to hold a cup.  Generations taught me that
a baby who didn't suck well at first was a baby that didn't suck well at
first. Period. A sleepy newborn that wouldn't suck at all was a sleepy
newborn, not a baby with a "problem".  Without alarm added to the picture or
"rules" the problems corrected themselves with the help of grandma's hands
and fingers, or even the baby's dad and "mothering the mother", i.e., if
your baby isn't sucking well, you don't do anything but rest and work on it,
even if it takes weeks, which is sometimes more realistic than "days".  At
times grandmas were still pulling little tongues forward and out a couple of
months after the baby's birth. It took my grandmother a couple of weeks
(after a life threatening delivery) to get my dad to suck properly as he was
aggressively rejecting the breast.  (A neighbor suggested she dunk her
nipples into espresso before trying to feed her baby.  She did, it worked,
and she wasn't able to nurse him without that added special touch for weeks
after that.)

Breastfeeding was/is a way of life for us and I grew up listening to the
stories. My dad didn't know the "tummy to tummy" rule, but when I suddenly
got sore nursing my four week old son, his suggestion was to "try hold him
differently."

Moms are so pressured to "get back on track" that the "time" factor, I would
assume, might cause a stressed induced resistance to both mom and baby.  If
a woman experiences "problems" today, with the exception of a few selected
individuals, she's certain to encounter the "formula" solution if she aors
her concerns.

IMHO it takes more than knowledge and education to create a high percentage
of successful breastfeeding scenarios, it takes the experienced arts of your
friends, family (men and women), and "outsiders". Socialogical factors may
reach deeper than we realize. Also, one of those factors in Norway and
Sweeden might be less pressure to get back into the groove and back to work
in 6 weeks (Someone told me they get longer leaves and paid maternity
leave?), therefore more tolerance to mooning over baby longer in the
begining.

WarmLLLy
Lorri







> -----Original Message-----
> From: Lactation Information and Discussion
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Automatic digest
> processor
> Sent: Monday, September 07, 1998 10:35 AM
> To: Recipients of LACTNET digests
> Subject: LACTNET Digest - 6 Sep 1998 to 7 Sep 1998 - Special issue
>
>
>