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Busting breastfeeding myths: a look at some of the deeper issues that undermine nursing in our culture.

Article Excerpt
Because young American women today grow up in a culture that bears the marks of decades of an officially orchestrated anti-breastfeeding campaign, to many of them breastfeeding remains strange and mildly disgusting. In earlier centuries, when families were larger, and before the relentless marketing of formula feeding, there was no mystery about breastfeeding--children grew up seeing their own mothers breastfeed. A young girl could watch as her newborn sibling latched on to her mother's breast, and could observe how the mother would switch the nursling from one breast to the other. She unconsciously noted the frequency of feedings. In short, girls received years of valuable lessons in how to be a good mammal without ever having to read a book or take a class in the subject.

Today gifts seldom have the opportunity to see their mothers breastfeed younger siblings, and boys, too, are denied this important lesson. I am convinced that returning our society to its breastfeeding-friendly roots depends as much on teaching little boys about the naturalness, desirability, and superiority of breastfeeding as it does on teaching little girls those values. Seeing women breastfeed in a variety of settings will benefit boys as well as girls. Those boys will grow up to be better husbands and fathers.

Without the support of an informed and courageous husband, young mothers who want to breastfeed may find their efforts undermined. Some men may object to their wives breastfeeding out of "breast envy." They feel left out and useless because the mother seems to be doing all the parenting. Naturally, there is much that fathers can do to help with the baby. A baby has a vital need for his father to hold and caress him, sleep and walk with him, bathe him and change his diapers, sing to him, and countless other demonstrations of fatherly love and devotion. An observant and thoughtful wife will encourage her husband to share in these tasks, whether or not he suffers from breast envy. After all, a newborn baby is more work than anyone who has not had one can imagine.

In addition to caring directly for the baby, fathers have another very important role to play: serving the mother. In the first few weeks after birth, all of a mother's energies are devoted to her newborn. Fathers can make a valuable contribution by taking care of the mother's needs. The father can perform the vital role of caring for the baby while the mother showers or attends to her personal needs. While mother is nestling with the baby, father can prepare meals, do the housework and shopping, deal with the finances, take full responsibility for the care of any older children, and perform many other tasks that will earn him respect and fulfillment. The opportunities for fathers to participate fully in the direct and indirect care of a newborn baby are nearly limitless.

Before the baby is conceived, couples need to make plans for sharing the work in an equitable and rational manner that serves everyone's needs. It is when young couples don't have these prenatal conversations and strategy sessions that breast envy is most likely to throw a dark cloud over what should be one of a family's most joyous and relationship-solidifying times.

common anxieties and myths that undermine breastfeeding

Many fears and anxieties impair or derail a woman's breastfeeding relationship with her baby, or discourage her from breastfeeding in the first place. Some of these anxieties have no scientific basis, while others may stem from illogical magnification and unwarranted generalization of incidents that have happened to only a small number of women.

I have found that the most common myths are generally based on fears of inadequacy. Women can be uncertain about breastfeeding because they have never seen another woman do it. They have been too shy to ask questions about it, and have unconsciously absorbed...

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