OK, how about some of you who practice in or have studied other cultures,
where birth is NOT a medicalized event? Do women still have this pp
"fogginess"?  All those mythical cultures we hear about where women have
their babies behind a bush and get right back up to work picking crops or
whatever...? Most cultures I know about have some kinds of rituals and
traditions around childbirth, which may well be to acknowledge the
mind-boggling event that happens when a person produces another person right
out of their bodies - pretty cool, huh?

And I can well imagine that in less industrialized, medicalized, etc.
places, the work that the women might be expected to get right back to is
inclusive of her new baby, and probably less demanding of a clear, sharp
mind than we seem to find "necessary" in the industrialized world. Plus
there would be more experienced mothers close at hand to guide the new
mother when she had the need of it - I can't imagine them expecting to
"learn" everything they needed to know in a 1-hr. session immediately after
(or even before) birth, or being issued a set of printed instructions!

Inquiring minds want to know!

Cathy Bargar RN IBCLC Ithaca NY

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