Hi Heather,

You know, I hear what you are saying about all these different people
feeding this baby and I thought about that as well when I first read the
story. But it is entirely possible that there would be a succession of
people bottle-feeding this baby if he were not being fed at the breast. In
view of everything that has happened, I think it sounds like the best
solution for this family at this time. It most definitely is not just about
the milk. That is the point.

Warmly,
Sharon Knorr, IBCLC
New York, USA


On Sat, Mar 21, 2009 at 9:22 AM, heather <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>
>> On Sat, Mar 21, 2009 at 2:31 AM, Michelle Swanson
>> <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
>>
>>   The following is a beautiful cross-nursing story about a baby whose
>>> mother
>>>  died at birth and is being nursed by women in his community.  It's a
>>> very
>>>  nice story...
>>>
>>>   >
>> http://www.miningjournal.net/page/content.detail/id/524498.html?nav=5006
>>
>>>
>>>
> Whatever I now say in this post does not mean my heart does not go out to
> this family, with now four motherless children, and the sterling efforts of
> this baby's dad and the kind women who have volunteered to help out by
> breastfeeding the little boy. It is a desperate, sad thing that has happened
> to them, and the mothers who take time out to share their milk are
> wonderful.
>
> But.
>
> "A schedule was put together with feeding times at 9 a.m., noon, 1:30 , 4 ,
> 6:30 and 8 p.m. Six times a day a different mother has been feeding Moses
> for the past two months."
>
> This is not what breastfeeding is about.
>
> Six different women a day, and probably other mothers on different days  -
> the story reports  a team of 20 women from the local bf support group -
> feeding to a schedule   is really the only practicable way this little boy
> can be breastfed, I know that....but while the nutritional impact of
> receiving breastmilk is undeniable, and he is more or less getting this,
> this is not the way to replicate the emotional and psychological effects of
> breastfeeding.
>
> I believe these effects matter - that breastfeeding is not about the milk
> alone. Breastfeeding is the easiest way to be responsive to a baby's needs
> to feed when he is hungry/thirsty/in need of contact; the easiest way to
> meet the baby's development need for a constant, loving caregiver, who does
> not change every few hours; the easiest way to build up social confindence
> and trust in the world.....and so on.
>
> I would never dream of saying this to this family who are doing the best
> they can and where the dad is doing the best he can to be that baby's
> constant figure when he is with the baby....but on this list, I feel safe in
> expressing my doubts.
>
> When a baby is unable to be breastfed by his mother, for whatever reason,
> the next best thing would be wet nursing by someone who was constant and
> responsive and loving. The next best thing after that would be expressed
> breastmilk, given in a bottle, by the constant, responsive and loving
> person....*not* a succession of different people feeding to a schedule.
>
> So while community support is something to celebrate, lets not pretend that
> this baby is somehow getting anything like what he would have got if his
> mother was feeding him, or that what's happening now is better than a bottle
> of ebm. Because it really isn't.
>
> Making breastfeeding solely 'about the milk' and not about the relationship
> it enhances (and the foundation for future relationships) makes it possible
> for employment conditions which 'allow' 6-week postnatal women to bring
> their pumps to work ....and for these conditions to be lauded as 'supporting
> breastfeeding'.
>
> Breastfeeding is not just about the milk.
>
> Heather Welford Neil
> NCT bfc, tutor, UK
>
>
>            ***********************************************
>
> Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
> To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
> Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
> COMMANDS:
> 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set
> lactnet nomail
> 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
> 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
> 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome
>

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome