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Subject:
From:
Jo-Anne Elder <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 27 Apr 2004 15:31:07 -0300
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>
>
>One of the biggest is timing feeds, no matter how
>often I explain why we don't time feeds anymore, when I do my follow ups
>so many mums are still timing the feeds ( one in particular was doing two
>minutes on one side, then switching to the other side for two minutes and
>then back again, her own mother told her that this would ensure the baby
>got the maximum volume of milk).
>
But isn't this switch-nursing? And isn't it a proven technique to
increase milk supply? I guess I'm confused about why this is considered
as something a mother shouldn't be mentioning to her daughter... I'm
impressed that she is trying to help her daughter to breastfeed!

Granted, it is only one approach. But sometimes I think that the idea
that there is only one right way of doing things is even more dangerous
than what we consider inconsistent advice. No two nursing couples are
the same (even in the same time, and even when two such "couples" start
life at the same time at the same breasts!). I think it is contrary to
any model of respect to think that we should frame our knowledge in a
way to deny the validity of other experiences.
One big problem is how we present things. We shouldn't be giving advice
at all. We should be offering options, and along with them the
explanations, evidence, etc. about each one. Even those without clear
evidence can be helpful to some mothers if it is presented as an
approach that "some mothers have found helpful." For instance, I have
yet to find conclusive evidence that breast compression can work well
for mothers with very strong let-downs, although some of Jack Newman's
statements hint at this. However, I know several mothers who tried
several other things and then found that this was what worked for them.
If breastfeeding isn't going well, whether that is because of bad advice
or despite good advice, the most important thing is to help a mother and
baby get back on track. In the real world, dealing with things by
saying, "Well, this isn't working too well; let's try something else" is
a pretty healthy response that we can encourage in ourselves as well as
in mothers we are working with. Is switch nursing working? Fine. Is it
not working? Here's something else we can try. No different from: is the
football hold comfortable? No? Here is something else we can try.

Incidentally, I've changed the subject line because I have this thing
about using myths when one means misconceptions, or even lies. I don't
think the example given is necessarily a misconception, but I am
convinced is not a myth. A myth is a strong, powerful belief grounded in
a worldview or a cultural system. Underlying the example given, that of
a mother giving advice which may not be evidence-based or effective, is
the myth of the mother (mother-love, the generation and transmission of
wisdom about mothering, and women's ways of knowing). That is the kind
of myth we need to strengthen.

Jo-Anne Elder-Gomes, PhD (with a thesis on myths of women's identity)
and IBCLC

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