Dear Lactnet

Hmmmm....getting a 'committment' from a mother to nurse for two years (or
two days, or two weeks, for that matter....)may not be all that great an
idea. NCT bfcs (as I can see from reading Lacnet) do work in a different
way from LCs (that's one of the reasons why Lacnet is so fascinating) and
that may be why we would shy away from seeking a 'declaration of intent' to
breastfeed. However, when parents ask me how long breastfeeding is 'worth'
doing, or how long they 'ought' to breastfeed, I give them the information
about immunity and nutrition, plus WHO recommendations, plus our own UK
department of health recommendations which are 'exclusive bf to 4-6 months
' and 'bf may be continued with advantage for a year or more', and then we
often move on to a discussion about the cultural dimensions of this whole
question. In class, for example, I might ask if anyone has seen the
Bertolucci film 'The Last Emporer' which shows the child-king being torn
from his wet-nurse's breast at age about 12. Many people have seen it, and
it's a useful illustration of how something that appears normal to one
society is odd in another. We usually get a good discussion going about
what each of us might be comfortable with, and it may include feelings
about public bf;it becomes obvious that people have feelings about it all
which may have very little to do with nutrition - and that usefully
illustrates the way that breastfeeding is far, far more than just a healthy
way of getting milk into a baby.



Heather

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc, Newcastle upon Tyne UK