Karleen

I would suggest that ABA was not consulted.  We have run stories in our
bi-monthly magazine with stories about PND.  Many of the mothers who have
contributed to these articles saying that breastfeeding was the only thing
that kept them attached to their babies and report that it was the only
thing that they felt that they could do successfully for baby.  I know of
mothers who did not feed when suffering PND and they will either justify why
they did not or express deep sadness at their "failure to breastfeed".  I
wonder if for those mums who express grief about breastfeeding "failure", if
they were adequately supported, how much less they would have to deal with
in the short and long term.

I wonder if the breastfeeding information was put there to "help mothers
accept" a decision to feed ABM to baby.  Such information is very
condescending I think and it ignores the healing that breastfeeding can
bring through the release of its wonderful hormones.  This poor information
also saddens me as it would prevent mothers expressing their grief at short
lived breastfeeding relationships and trivalises the feelings and emotions
of mothers in the long term.

PND is devasting. None the less, mothers who experience need to be told the
truth, need to have their breastfeeding relationship with their baby
validated, given appropriate help when the breastfeeding relationship is not
optimal.  Perhaps in order to encourage PND organisations to value
breastfeeding and recognise its part in the healing process, the message
about its no
normality, its integral role in women's health, breastfeeding needs to be
valued far more than it currently is.  That is not say that breastfeeding is
going to prevent or cure PND, but rather for by the majority of women is a
key to long term recovery.

I wonder too if the people that wrote the brochure, were themselves not
adequately supported and still have their own unresolved grief issues in
relation to breastfeeding experiences.  For me, that possibility adds to the
tradgety of the perpetuating false information.  Yes babies do grow on ABM -
but there is so much internal unmeasurable development of a baby - weight
and length is but one measure.

My children have just return to school, I will try and follow this up and
ask them for their information sources and suggest other research that could
be considered when reviewing this brochure.

Kind regards

Ruth Fiedler
Australia

I scanned through the brouchure, and apart from the false breastfeeding
information, it seems OK.

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