> modern evolution and breastfeeding
>
>I hope KD will comment on this- I think she has before - but I don't think
>things would change that rapidly to make an impact on the gene pool.  Right
>or wrong KD?  Thanks, Pat in SNJ

This was in reference to a post about seeing more breastfeeding problems in
"modern/developed" countries because people with genetically-based problems
(say, incomplete development of the glandular tissue of the breast) can
still have children who survive and reproduce to continue passing along
genes for incomplete glandular tissue of the breast.

Theoretically, this is possible -- you get a relaxation of selection
pressure against people who carry these "defects" because they have just as
many surviving children as those who don't carry these defects.

One will still see selection against any child not breastfed, with the
strongest selection against those not breastfed at all, and the "most fit"
being those breastfed the longest.  With people in modern/developed
countries limiting their family sizes culturally, to two or fewer children,
the difference in health between breastfed and bottle-fed children will be
negligible in terms of fitness for the parents.

Having said all of the above, we must remember that the vast majority of
"breastfeeding failures" we see are due to mismanagement of birth and
post-partum.  We also must remember that many of the bottle-feeding children
we see belong to mothers who (1) never intended to breastfeed and said so or
(2) never intended to breastfeed, but said that they did, only to give up at
the first hint of trouble.

I continue to be amazed and disheartened by TV shows telling the stories of
people who went through tremendous efforts to have a child -- either because
of infertility issues, or because of problems with the fetus, etc. -- who
then are shown merrily BOTTLE-FEEDING the newborn.  Are they really that
ignorant, or do they just not care?  The was a show just a few weeks ago
about a fetus who had some sort of weird heart defect or maybe it was a
defect in his diaphragm (don't remember what exactly) and he had surgery
while still in utero, and the doctors fixed him and put him back inside,
where he gestated along for many more weeks and was born healthy.  He was a
"miracle baby" -- supposedly.  And here was the mother, stuffing a bottle of
what was obviously formula in his mouth.  I wanted to shake her (the
mother), or slap her upside the head, or take the baby away and give it to
someone who had its best interests at heart.  :(

Kathy Dettwyler, way off topic

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html