Many women have said that breastfeeding is hard. But, I don't think it is
the breastfeeding, itself, that is hard. I think the hard part is adjusting
to life as a mom, and having the confidence that you are doing a good job.

The survival of the human race is dependant on breastfeeding being easy,
pleasant, rewarding for the mom and the baby, requiring little extra energy,
and being a robust part of life. Before there was similac and enfamil, moms
breastfed or hired wetnurses to BF their babies. In the caveman days, there
was sometimes little food, lots of hard physical work, and animal and
environmental dangers all around. I remember a photo on the cover of Time
magazine a few years ago during the war in Kosova. It was a mom fleeing as a
refugee from the war, carrying her baby in her arms while breastfeeding as
she walked. There was fear and determination on her face. If breastfeeding
wasn't easy, these babies would not survive. It would be much easier to
leave them by the side of the trail for the predators to get.

In our society there are many subtle messages to women that undermine their
confidence in their bodies, their decisions, their abilities, etc. Also, the
formula industry spends a huge amount of money to undermine breastfeeding
success-- from TV commercials, written materials on BF, formula advertising
bags given at hospital discharge, "baby clubs", websites, etc. Although they
claim that breast is best, the wording they use in their materials makes it
seem hard to breastfeed and undermines confidence. They also fund a lot of
promotions, social events, and educational programs to doctors and other
health care professionals, subtly influencing what they know and advise to
patients.

When extended families lived closer together and people had more children,
girls watched babies grow up breastfeeding all around them. They learned by
observation how to care for a baby and how to BF. When they had their own
children they were more confident. If they needed any help, moms, aunts,
cousins, sisters, neighbors were all around. Today our nuclear families are
scattered around the world. Families have fewer children, so that some women
have never even held a baby when they have their own first child. It is hard
to be confident the first time you do something.


This is a great discussion thread. I have just begun to address this issue
in my breastfeeding classes and with moms in the hospital.  Do you think the
above is too simplistic?

Barb Berges BS, RN, IBCLC
Rochester, New York

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