In yesterday's post about "New Childbirth Revolution", I wrote:

< . . . she had "self-selected" her philosophy by fortifying herself
with more of the same CSI-SVU type horror tales she had
known by age 10.>

As I watched TV last night I realized my mistake. For those in other
countries, "CSI" is the abbreviation for Crime Scene Investigation".  But of
the many TV shows of this genre that we have here in the U.S., I mixed it up
with one called "Law and Order: SVU (Special Victims Unit)"


These shows provide a vicarious, voyeuristic "thrill" by dramatizing
the adventures of a special police task force that investigates sex crimes,
abuse of women and children, and child abandonment. Much as I myself enjoy
the series, (I think it appeals to the "clever, heroic rescuer" in me), it
also also seems to appeal to an audience that wishes to fantasize women as
"helpless victims" of "unpleasant things done forcibly to their bodies and
the trauma of separation from their children??????


Are there any film producers among us that could create an exciting series,
perhaps starring a team of psychologists, lawyers and clever, noble
midwives, with home/birth center and occasional hospital scenes depicting
courageous women who find better ways to birth, bond and breastfeed their
beloved babies?


I also wrote < . . . Now, it seems almost too late to try to effect the
thinking of  . . . even my very bright 14 year old granddaughter, . . .
.part and parcel of the culture surrounding them. . . . .If there is a
glimmer of hope, I think it must lie in each mother and father (and
grandparents, aunts and uncles, etc.) being careful to contribute and be
vigilant about how the philosophy of childbirth (and breastfeeding) becomes
woven into the daily lives of young girls and boys when they are much more
of a "captive audience".>


Well, as the old saying goes "No one can go back and create a new beginning,
but anyone can begin now and create a new end!"
And as Gonneke said: "If it can't happen like it should, it should happen
like it can."  I am currently visiting my 14 y.o. granddaughter in North
Carolina for a few days. They have a brand new puppy, who just left his
mother 2 weeks ago. The solid food they have been feeding him seems to have
caused a diarrhea problem.

So last night, while I had her and my daughter as a captive audience in
their car, I slipped in "Maybe it's a shock to his digestive system to be
weaned from his mother." And she said "What does 'weaned' mean?" Me: "It
means to withdraw the perfectly designed food that his mother's body made
for him. Did you know something interesting? Every mother gives milk
specially designed for her own type of baby animal. Dogs milk is
specifically made for puppies, and it's different from cat's milk, made for
kittens, and whale's milk, for baby whales, rabbits' milk for baby rabbits,
cow's milk for calves, because of their small brains and big bodies, whereas
human milk is specific for humans because they are destined to have much
bigger brains within their smaller bodies."

Interestingly enough, her immediate question was "Then why do we drink cow's
milk?" Me: "It's a cultural and profit thing. We're probably one of the only
cultures in the world to do so." She is in an honors International Studies
course, hoping someday to go to France, wondering if they drink milk there,
and American-like, said, "well, I'll just have to import my own!"

I must learn to be more alert and quicker on the comeback. I now realize
that I could have given a better, fuller answer to "Why do we drink cow's
milk?" What a perfect opening to have added "That's a very good question!
Sadly, many American babies have much bigger chances of getting sick because
of mothers who don't understand how good their own milk is, and let
themselves be talked into feeding cow's milk formulas instead!"

It's a start!

Jean
***************
K. Jean Cotterman RNC, IBCLC
Dayton, OH USA

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

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

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