Alicia wrote:
>  we suggested they turn off the tv, turn to
> themselves for support and get out of the house and have some fun somewhere
> else.  Amazingly, many of them reported their milk "coming back".  All these
> years, I just chalk it up to the power of the mind, and perhaps adrenaline.

Alicia, this reminds me of a situation that happened years ago in
Guatemala.  In 1976, there was an earthquake of such massive
proportions, 1 million people in a country of 6 million lost their
homes.  Everyone lost members of their families, and in some rural
areas, entire villages were wiped out.

Disaster relief came in from many different countries.  I was there with
Church World Service.  I met a man from a Canadian organization.  He
said in the village he was serving, many of the women had lost their
milk.  This was reported all over the country, and infant malnutrition
and death were secondary emergencies due to poor water and use of
formula.

But this man had a dairy herd in Canada and knew cows could be
re-lactated.  So he provided blankets, shelter, food, and powdered milk
to the mothers, and told them to just keep putting the baby back to the
breast.  I don't know why they believed him, but with their clothing,
food and shelter needs taken care of, and the placebo of getting milk to
drink, the moms did relactate, and the man bragged about losing fewer
infants in his village that most.  Wish I could remember his name ...

I've always been baffled by the stories of women continuing to lactate
through wars, famine and deprivation.  I'm sure it happens. But, I
wonder if we aren't being too smug when we ignore the opposite side of
the story.

--
Jeanne Mitchell
Austin, TX
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle."
Plato