Nan Jolly wrote "I have lately been telling moms that we don't really know
why a baby wants to nurse at any particular time.  She may be moving and
need energy; growing and need protein; hungry and need a full tummy; thirsty
and need drink; insecure in the world after the intimacy of the womb and
need a sense of safety; afraid and need comfort; in pain and need
distraction and analgesia; or a bug may have crept into her from somewhere,
and she may need an antibody quickly, to prevent an illness.  Or something
else we don't know about yet..."  

Nan, I love your list of reasons a baby might ask to nurse; I do something
similar when a mother asks me about weaning before her baby is showing
readiness. I believe that it's important for the mother to understand how
nursing meets a great many needs for her child, and that she'll have to find
other ways to satisfy those needs if she stops nursing.

I always include sucking in the list of needs. We know that sucking releases
GI hormones that aid digestion and relaxation in the young baby, and I
assume this mechanism is still at work when a young child sucks. 

In the USA, people seem to think of sucking as something "not quite nice"
that you have to let babies do, but we adults should make them stop doing it
just as early as we can. Many people view sucking fingers, thumbs, and
pacifiers as a nasty habit, and of course this reaction gets stronger the
older the child is. And don't even mention the fact that some toddlers and
young children actually suck on BREASTS! 

In America, "suck" is a four-letter word that pre-adolescent boys love to
yell at passers-by to show how naughty they are. "That sucks!" is an
expression of distaste, disapproval, dismissal, or disdain. For these
reasons, I think health care workers and breastfeeding advocates have to
work extra hard to rehabilitate the word "suck," using it in normal talk
about the everyday lives of babies, young children, and parents. Sucking is
good for babies, and being able to offer your breast for your baby or young
child to suck on is a powerful mothering tool. I am convinced that I would
not have made it through my children's toddler years without it.

I think there's material for a great poster or a bulletin board here...

Chris Mulford, RN, IBCLC
LLL Leader Reserve
working for WIC in South Jersey (Eastern USA)
Co-coordinator, Women & Work Task Force, WABA
 
 

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