> A century ago — before oral contraception, infant formula,
> improved infant survival and career opportunities for women —
> Western women used to have six or seven children and
> breast-feed each for about two years — a pattern still dominant in
> many parts of the developing world.
>
I think I'll just start giving this as an explanation of why I'm doing
this. It might be easier for people to accept than my more philosophical
reasons... :-)
What is interesting is that the first time I remember *deciding* to
breastfeed (as opposed to assuming I would without thinking) was when I
was visiting a friend who cited the decrease in breast cancer as her
reason to do it. I don't think it was necessarily the argument that
convinced me; her baby was adorable. (He must have turned 21 this
month...)
On the other hand, when I was listening to a report on this study (while
nursing my seventh toddler) one of the comments made was, "Well, we're
going to have to find a way of mimicking the effects of breastfeeding,
because we can't go back to the time when women had more children and
didn't need to go back to work."
I'm not going to even address the "You can still breastfeed if..."
points. I just wish a share of the millions of dollars that will now go
into research and developing drugs to mimic the healing effects of bf
could go into the pockets of mothers and volunteers.
Jo-Anne Elder-Gomes, mother and volunteer

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