DOCSLIB.ORG

Since the Time of Eve : La Leche League and Communities of Mothers Throughout History

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Since the Time of Eve : La Leche League and Communities of Mothers Throughout History University of Louisville ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository Electronic Theses and Dissertations 12-2017 Since the time of Eve : La Leche League and communities of mothers throughout history. Joanna Paxton Federico University of Louisville Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.library.louisville.edu/etd Part of the Catholic Studies Commons, Cultural History Commons, History of Gender Commons, History of Religion Commons, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Commons, Social History Commons, United States History Commons, Women's History Commons, and the Women's Studies Commons Recommended Citation Federico, Joanna Paxton, "Since the time of Eve : La Leche League and communities of mothers throughout history." (2017). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 2848. https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/2848 This Master's Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has retained all other copyrights. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SINCE THE TIME OF EVE: LA LECHE LEAGUE AND COMMUNITIES OF MOTHERS THROUGHOUT HISTORY By Joanna Paxton Federico B.A., University of Notre Dame, 2006 A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Louisville in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in History Department of History University of Louisville Louisville, Kentucky December 2017 Copyright 2017 by Joanna Paxton Federico All rights reserved SINCE THE TIME OF EVE: LA LECHE LEAGUE AND COMMUNITIES OF MOTHERS THROUGHOUT HISTORY By Joanna Paxton Federico B.A., University of Notre Dame, 2006 A Thesis Approved on November 20, 2017 by the following Thesis Committee _________________________________________________ Thesis Director Lara Kelland _________________________________________________ Katherine Massoth _________________________________________________ Diane Pecknold ii DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my mother Karen McMinn Paxton and to my grandmothers Joanna Emge McMinn and Peggy Sabel Paxton who showed me three different, wonderful ways to be a mother. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Lara Kelland, for her insight and enthusiasm. I would also like to thank the other members of my thesis committee, Dr. Diane Pecknold, who guided me through an early incarnation of this project, and Dr. Katherine Massoth, who opened my eyes to exciting new avenues for future research. My thanks also go out to Dr. Linda Pollock, my former advisor at Tulane University, who introduced me to the history of motherhood. Many thanks as well to Morgen MacIntosh Hodgetts and the staff of the Special Collections and Archives at DePaul University Library for their help in navigating the La Leche League International records. Finally, I want to thank my husband, Christopher Federico, and my sons, Salvadore and Robert Federico, for their patience and support, and my brother John Paxton for his invaluable babysitting services during my evening classes. iv ABSTRACT SINCE THE TIME OF EVE: LA LECHE LEAGUE AND COMMUNITIES OF MOTHERS THROUGHOUT HISTORY Joanna Paxton Federico November 20, 2017 La Leche League International (LLL) is the oldest and largest breastfeeding support group in the world. This thesis examines how, beginning in 1956, seven Catholic housewives from suburban Chicago built up the institutional knowledge to sustain a cohesive global network of breastfeeding mothers. It also explores how LLL managed this knowledge over time in response to developments in scholarship and changing social conditions. Based on a narrative analysis of LLL publications, this thesis argues that the League’s founders drew selectively from existing bodies of knowledge and from their own cultural perspectives to establish a sense of community among breastfeeding women. They enhanced this feeling of connection by suggesting that women across time and space shared the same embodied experience of breastfeeding. This thesis adds to existing studies on La Leche League by drawing attention to how the organization developed institutional knowledge and deployed collective identity and memory. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLDGEMENTS …………………………………………………………….. iv ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………………………....v INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………………….. 1 I. A BRIEF HISTORY OF LA LECHE LEAGUE …………………………………….8 II. LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………………………………24 III. BUILDING COMMUNITIES OF MOTHERS…………………………………….49 IV. CREATING INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE………………………………….71 V. SHAPING AND RESHAPING INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE………………116 CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………………………...144 REFERENCES ………………………………………………………………………...153 CURRICULUM VITA ………………………………………………………………...163 vi INTRODUCTION La Leche League International (LLL) is the world’s oldest and largest breastfeeding support organization. Founded in 1956 by seven housewives in suburban Chicago, the League grew at a phenomenal rate during its first three decades and was instrumental in dramatically increasing breastfeeding rates throughout the world. By the 1980s, LLL boasted over 4,000 local groups in 43 countries, and they had partnered with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) to draft accords protecting maternal and child health.1 The League’s expansion over less than thirty years from a small group of mothers chatting in a living room about a relatively taboo subject to a global organization that authored international public health policy reflects remarkable skill in community building and an impressive accumulation of institutional knowledge. This thesis examines how the League created a sense of collectivity among their members and allies and how they amassed and shaped the knowledge that allowed them to so effectively grow their organization in their first thirty years. It also explores how, as the League’s growth slowed in the 1980s, the organization began to reconsider and 1 La Leche League International, The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, 3rd ed. (Franklin Park, IL: La Leche League International), 1981, 339-340. For current breastfeeding statistics, see Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, “Breastfeeding Report Card, Progressing Toward National Breastfeeding Goals, United States, 2016,” (Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control), 2016; For statistics from 1956, see Herman F. Meyer, “Breastfeeding in the United States: Extent and Possible Trend,” Pediatrics 22, no. 1 (1958),116-121. 1 reshape—to a limited extent—its institutional knowledge and the collective memory of its own history in ways designed to appeal to younger generations. I argue that La Leche League increased women’s receptivity to a new, yet traditionalist construction of motherhood by claiming it was neither new nor traditional, but, instead, timeless. They appealed to shared experiences of frustration with mothering in the modern bottle-feeding world and contrasted these with a vague, sometimes mystical sense of connection and power among breastfeeding mothers across time and space. The League’s founders bolstered their credibility by allying themselves with scientific authorities who supported the organization’s vision of a natural, transhistorical model of embodied motherhood. Over time, the organization incorporated new authorities and the perspectives of new generations of mothers into their body of institutional knowledge. However, I argue, they continued to accept new information only to the extent that it reinforced their unchanging universalist construction of motherhood. Motherhood was always at the center of everything La Leche League did as an organization. Although LLL was known as a breastfeeding support organization, infant feeding was only one component of their organizational mission. As encapsulated in their slogan, “good mothering through breastfeeding,” the League’s overall goal was to promote a particular model of mothering that was grounded in breastfeeding but held implications far beyond this single act.2 La Leche League’s ideal was “natural 2 Alternate versions of this slogan include “better mothering through breastfeeding” and simply “mothering through breastfeeding.” This slogan was printed on numerous League publications including in the mastheads of the newsletters La Leche League News and Leaven. Today, the “first concept” of the League’s ten-concept philosophy states, “Mothering through breastfeeding is the most natural and effective way of understanding and satisfying the needs of the baby,” and one of the three points of LLL’s “General Purpose” is “To encourage good mothering through breastfeeding.” See “La Leche 2 mothering,” a highly intuitive set of behaviors, that extended from the profound physical and emotional ties between nursing mothers and their infants.3 The seven “Founding Mothers” believed this type of intensive, embodied motherhood had been largely lost in the twentieth century amid an impersonal modern culture and a mainstream ideal of “scientific mothering,” which favored formula feeding and rigid, hands-off childcare regimens. According to the League’s manual The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, traditional,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • South Canterbury Breastfeeding Handbook
    SOUTH CANTERBURY BREASTFEEDING HANDBOOK South Canterbury Breastfeeding Handbook 1 Version 5 Updated May 2019 South Canterbury Breastfeeding Handbook 2 Best Practice for Maternity Units 5 Attachment / Bonding 6 Definitions 7 The Importance of Skin-To-Skin Contact 8 The Importance of Rooming In 8 Sleeping Safely At Home 9 Baby-Led / Cue Based Breastfeeding 9 Early Feeding Cues 10 Baby’s Stomach Size 11 The Composition of Breast Milk 12 When Your Milk ‘Comes In’ 13 Baby’s Output 14 How Does Using A Dummy / Pacifier Or A Bottle Affect 15 Breastfeeding Latching Your Baby On Well 16 Breastfeeding Positions 18 Breastfeeding Tips If You Have A Caesarean Birth 20 Expressing and Storing Breast Milk 21 Returning to work 24 Solutions For Common Breastfeeding Challenges 25 Tiredness 25 Sleepy Baby 25 Painful Shallow Latch and Nipple Pain 25 Unsettled Hungry Baby 25 South Canterbury Breastfeeding Handbook 3 (continued) Engorgement 26 Mastitis 26 Low Milk Supply 26 Supplementation 27 Reflux 27 Teething 27 Inverted Nipples 27 Alcohol and Other Drugs 28 Covid-19 Breastfeeding advice for Women & Babies 29 Red Flags 30 Preparing Yourself for Breastfeeding Before Your Baby is Born 31 How Your Family and Friends Can Support You 32 Introducing Solids 33 Where to go for Breastfeeding Support in South Canterbury 34 La Leche League 35 “BreastfeedingWorks!” 36 Plunket - Well Child Provider 40 Arowhenua Whanau Services 41 Breastfeeding Friendly Places Around South Canterbury 42 My Breastfeeding Diary 43 South Canterbury Breastfeeding Handbook 4 New Zealand is working towards restoring breastfeeding as the cultural norm. A Baby Friendly Hospital protects supports and promotes breastfeeding by following these 10 Steps: 1.
    [Show full text]
  • A History of Infant Feeding
    A History of Infant Feeding Emily E. Stevens, RN, FNP, WHNP, PhD Thelma E. Patrick, RN, PhD Rita Pickler, RN, PNP, PhD ABSTRACT The historical evolution of infant feeding includes wet nursing, the feeding bottle, and formula use. Before the invention of bottles and formula, wet nursing was the safest and most common alternative to the natural mother’s breastmilk. Society’s negative view of wet nursing, combined with improve- ments of the feeding bottle, the availability of animal’s milk, and advances in formula development, gradually led to the substitution of artificial feeding for wet nursing. In addition, the advertising and safety of formula products increased their popularity and use among society. Currently, infant formula-feeding is widely practiced in the United States and appears to contribute to the development of several common childhood illnesses, including atopy, diabetes mellitus, and childhood obesity. The Journal of Perinatal Education, 18(2), 32–39, doi: 10.1624/105812409X426314 Keywords: infant, breastfeeding, wet nurse, feeding bottle, infant formula The historical evolution of feeding practices for practice before the introduction of the feeding bottle a full-term infant immediately after birth includes and formula. Wet nursing began as early as 2000 BC wet nursing, the feeding bottle, and formula use. and extended until the 20th century. Throughout this The purpose of this article is to explore each compo- time period, wet nursing evolved from an alternative nent and their combined impact on current infant- of need (2000 BC) to an alternative of choice (950 BC feeding trends and child health. We provide a review to 1800 AD).
    [Show full text]
  • Faqs: Breastfeeding and COVID-19 for Health Care Workers
    FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: Breastfeeding and COVID-19 For health care workers (12 May 2020) Clinical management of severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) when COVID-19 disease is suspected: Interim guidance V 1.2. Preface Clinical management of severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) when COVID-19 disease is suspected. This FAQ complements the WHO interim guidance: Clinical management of severe acute respiratory Interim guidance 13 March 2020 This is the second edition (version 1.2) of this document for the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, causing COVID-19 disease. It was originally adapted from the publication Clinical management of severe acute respiratory infection when infection (SARI) when COVID-19 disease is suspected MERS-CoV infection is suspected (WHO, 2019). This document is intended for clinicians involved in the care of adult, pregnant and paediatric patients with or at risk for severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) when a SARS-CoV-2 infection is suspected. Considerations for paediatric patients and pregnant women are highlighted throughout the text. It is not meant to replace clinical judgment or specialist consultation but rather to strengthen clinical management of these patients and to provide up-to-date guidance. Best practices for infection prevention and control (IPC), triage and optimized supportive care are included. This document is organized into the following sections: 1. Background 2. Screening and triage: early recognition of patients with SARI associated with COVID-19 (13 March 2020 - www.who.int/publications-detail/clinical-management-of-severe-acute- 3. Immediate implementation of appropriate infection prevention and control (IPC) measures 4. Collection of specimens for laboratory diagnosis 5.
    [Show full text]
  • Pregnancy, Birthing, Breastfeeding and Mothering: Hindu Perspectives from Scriptures and Practices
    Open Theology 2020; 6: 104–116 Motherhood(s) in Religions: The Religionification of Motherhood and Mothers’ Appropriation of Religion Sucharita Sarkar* Pregnancy, Birthing, Breastfeeding and Mothering: Hindu Perspectives from Scriptures and Practices https://doi.org/10.1515/opth-2020-0010 Received October 13, 2019; accepted December 18, 2019 Abstract: This article looks at the regulations of pregnancy, birthing, breastfeeding in Ayurvedic treatises, and at representations of mothering in Vedic and Puranic texts related to childrearing. Ayurvedic garbha sanskar (educating the mind of the foetus) regulates the pregnancy of women to ensure the safe birthing of superior babies. Breastfeeding is both glorified and strictly regulated in Ayurvedic texts. Several Vedic texts describe a range of rituals to benefit a caste Hindu child’s life from before birth to the beginning of manhood. These rituals are formally conducted by the father, whereas the mother’s role is marginalized. Although these texts scrutinize and discipline maternal bodies, yet there are several interstices where female and/or maternal agency can be performed. Ayurvedic obstetric practices often incorporate the indigenous knowledges of midwives (dais). The scripturally- mandated practice of wet-nursing shifts and complicates biological motherhood roles. The domestic tradition of performing vratas to secure the offspring’s longevity allows mothers to have a more central role in childrearing rituals. I will compare the regulatory texts and the potentially resistant practices from
    [Show full text]
  • WHO Guidance on Breastfeeding and Newborn Care in the Context of COVID-19
    WHO Guidance on breastfeeding and newborn care in the context of COVID-19 Dr Ornella Lincetto, WHO 7 July 2020 Background: breastfeeding and prevention of illness • Breastfeeding protects against child morbidity and death, especially against infectious diseases • Non-breastfed children incur morbidities that place them at higher risk of lifelong ill- health including from non-communicable diseases • For mothers, breastfeeding protects against breast cancer and improves birth spacing, and may protect against ovarian cancer and type 2 diabetes HEALTH EMERGENCIES programme Benefits of breastfeeding outweigh potential risks of Covid-19 • Uncertainty on possible increased risk of negative maternal or neonatal outcomes, with some cases of pre-labour rupture of membranes, foetal distress and preterm birth reported. • No definitive evidence of vertical transmission of Covid-19. • Infants are at low risk of infection and the few confirmed newborns with COVID-19 to date have experienced only mild or asymptomatic illness. • Active particles of the COVID-19 virus has not been detected in the breastmilk of any mother with confirmed and suspected COVID-19 and there is no evidence so far that the virus is transmitted through breastfeeding. https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel- coronavirus-2019 HEALTH EMERGENCIES programme Mother and infant contact at birth regardless of COVID-19 status • Mothers should not be separated from their infants unless the mother is too sick to care for her baby. • If the mother is unable to care for the infant, another competent family caregiver should be identified. • Mothers and infants should be enabled to: – practice early and uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact, including kangaroo mother care, as soon as possible after birth.
    [Show full text]
  • Slavery, Wet-Nursing, and Black and White Women in the Antebellum South
    Mothers’ milk: slavery, wet-nursing, and black and white women in the Antebellum South Article Published Version West, E. and Knight, R. J. (2017) Mothers’ milk: slavery, wet- nursing, and black and white women in the Antebellum South. Journal of Southern History, 83 (1). pp. 37-68. ISSN 0022- 4642 doi: https://doi.org/10.1353/soh.2017.0001 Available at http://centaur.reading.ac.uk/66788/ It is advisable to refer to the publisher’s version if you intend to cite from the work. See Guidance on citing . To link to this article DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/soh.2017.0001 Publisher: Southern Historical Association All outputs in CentAUR are protected by Intellectual Property Rights law, including copyright law. Copyright and IPR is retained by the creators or other copyright holders. Terms and conditions for use of this material are defined in the End User Agreement . www.reading.ac.uk/centaur CentAUR Central Archive at the University of Reading Reading’s research outputs online Mothers’ Milk: Slavery, Wet-Nursing, and Black and White Women in the Antebellum South By EMILY WEST with R. J. KNIGHT WET-NURSING IS A UNIQUELY GENDERED KIND OF EXPLOITATION, AND under slavery it represented the point at which the exploitation of enslaved women as workers and as reproducers literally intersected. Feeding another woman’s child with one’s own milk constituted a form of labor, but it was work that could only be undertaken by lactat- ing women who had borne their own children. As a form of exploita- tion specific to slave mothers, enforced wet-nursing constituted a distinct aspect of enslaved women’s commodification.
    [Show full text]
  • Soy Baby Formula, Healthy Alternative Or Unnecessary Harm?
    Toxic Love: Soy Baby Formula, Healthy Alternative or Unnecessary Harm? Babies all over the world who are being fed soy-based infant formula are taking a part in a huge experiment with the potential for highly dangerous outcomes, according to many scientists. Former director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Centre for Toxicological Research Dr Daniel Sheehan called feeding soy formula “a large, uncontrolled and basically unmonitored human infant experiment”. Scientific evidence is growing that parents who buy the formula to feed their babies each day might unknowingly be preparing a potentially toxic concoction which could irreversibly damage the long-term health of their children. New Zealand toxicologist Dr Mike Fitzpatrick says parents have the right to know that soy-based formula contains potentially harmful compounds. Many other internationally renowned scientists have joined Dr Fitzpatrick, one of the first to sound the alarm, and expressed their growing concern about the potential for health complications that could result from giving phytoestrogen-rich soy formula to babies. Phytoestrogens are plant-derived compounds that have the ability to mimic the actions of the female hormone oestrogen. The group of phytoestrogens in question called isoflavones, are genistein and genistin, and their oestrogen mimicking behaviour has been the subject of many international studies. In a 2010 study, scientists from the University of Illinois, working in conjunction with the US Food and Drug Administration’s Division of Biochemical Toxicology 32 (FDA) and the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition (DFSHN) estimated that an infant consuming soy formula receives several hundred times higher amounts of this plant-based oestrogens than adults consuming normal Western diets.
    [Show full text]
  • The Moral Dilemmas of Nighttime Breastfeeding: Crafting Kinship, Personhood and Capitalism in the U.S
    The Moral Dilemmas of Nighttime Breastfeeding: Crafting Kinship, Personhood and Capitalism in the U.S. by Cecilia Tomori A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Anthropology) in The University of Michigan 2011 Doctoral Committee: Professor Gillian Feeley-Harnik, Co-Chair Professor Thomas E. Fricke, Co-Chair Professor Raymond G. De Vries Professor Marcia C. Inhorn Professor Elisha P. Renne DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to my husband, Kerry Boeye, who supported me in breastfeeding our children and in the many years of research and writing that led to this work, and to our children, Jakob and Adrian. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation emerged out of many years of interest and study of the embodied experiences of reproduction. My interest in breastfeeding was first peaked while working as a health services researcher at Northwestern University. During my research at an obstetrics/gynecology clinic staffed primarily by residents, I observed women express their breastmilk using electric pumps during their lunch breaks. I later sat through meetings with some of my colleagues there, which took place during these pumping sessions. I was intrigued by the women’s dedication, the equipment involved and the lactation process itself. I did not yet know that I would soon be joining these women’s ranks when I became pregnant with my first son, Jakob, in 2000. As a college-educated woman who worked in the health care setting and who had attended the recommended hospital-based childbirth education courses, I was surprised to find how little I actually knew about childbirth or breastfeeding.
    [Show full text]
  • From Nursing Virgins to Brelfies: the Project of Maternal Femininity
    From nursing Virgins to brelfies: the project of maternal femininity Clare Johnson and Jenny Rintoul Abstract: Contemporary debates about breastfeeding are saturated with ideas about what constitutes ‘good’ and ‘bad’ mothering, ‘achieved’ or ‘failed’ femininity frequently derived from Christian representations of the Virgin Mother. In this article we trace deeply entrenched values about the maternal breast through the representation of the Madonna del Latte, specifically concentrating on breast ownership and the depiction of unattainable motherhood. The myth of maternal femininity is then explored in relation to contemporary visual discourses of the nursing mother in which the narrative of unattainable or failed maternal femininity is challenged. The performance work of Megan Marsh-McGlone and the phenomenon of sharing ‘brelfies’ on social media are read as indicative of a new relationship to the Mary myth in which mothers expose the cultural fear of achieved maternal femininity. Ultimately, we argue that what is required of mothers is that they are held in a process of becoming maternal and that representations that subvert this imperative signal a shift in the landscape of Marian iconography. Keywords: breastfeeding; maternal femininity; brelfies; Marian iconography; Renaissance art history Introduction Visual representations of breastfeeding are replete with ideas about how to be a good mother and achieve maternal femininity, which are frequently drawn from Christian representations of the Nursing Virgin. In this article we argue that such representations hold mothers in a process of becoming maternal, which ensures that control of their bodies is located elsewhere. We argue that despite the dominance of this visual repertoire there are contemporary interruptions, such as the breastfeeding selfie, in which mothers take back control, both ideologically and visually, thus confronting a profound cultural anxiety about ownership of the nursing woman’s body.
    [Show full text]
  • Safety of Medication, Opioids, Alcohol, and Cannabis Use During Breastfeeding
    SAFETY OF MEDICATION, OPIOIDS, ALCOHOL, AND CANNABIS USE DURING BREASTFEEDING Christina Chambers, PhD, MPH Program Director, Mommy’s Milk Co-Director, Center for Better Beginnings Professor Division of Dysmorphology and Teratology Department of Pediatrics Divisions of Epidemiology and Global Health Department of Family Medicine and Public Health and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Disclosures I receive research funding from the following industry sponsors: AbbVie; Amgen Inc.; Apotex, Barr Laboratories, Inc.; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Celgene; GlaxoSmithKline; Janssen Pharmaceuticals; Kali Laboratories, Inc.; Pfizer, Inc.; Hoffman La Roche-Genentech; Sandoz Pharmaceuticals; Genzyme Sanofi-Aventis; Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited; Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.; and UCB, USA; and the Gerber Foundation Learning Objectives • At the end of this session, attendees will be able to identify gaps in the knowledge about the safety of medications or substances used while breastfeeding • At the end of this session, attendees will understand how current research efforts are helping to answer questions about medications and substances used while breastfeeding Medication Use While Breastfeeding Al-Enazy et al. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews. 2017;116:63-72 Medication Use While Breastfeeding Research suggests that more than 50% of postpartum women (breastfeeding or not) require at least one medicine ≠ Drugs that are safe for use in pregnancy may not be safe for use in breastfeeding, and drugs that are safe for use in breastfeeding may not be safe for use in pregnancy Images from: Al-Enazy et al. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews. 2017;116:63-72 and http://www.medsmilk.com/pages/introduction Saha et al. Int Breastfeed J. 2015; 10: 28.
    [Show full text]
  • Male Wet Nurse Part 1
    URL: http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/13912/77524 Suite101.com Inc. <www.suite101.com> Male Wet Nurses Wanted Part 1 Author: Claudia McCreary Published on: August 18, 2001 Male Wet Nurse Wanted Part 1 ”Breastfeed, suckle, suck, nurse, wet-nurse, lactate, give suck.” Wet nurse, a word in use since the 16th century, was probably never considered to be a word describing a man breast-feeding his adopted child. “Not possible!” you say. Well, creation would argue with you because a man with the help of some herbs and breast pumping can indeed nurse a child. The same protocols that allow a woman to breast feed her adoptive child will make a man able to breast feed as well. Lesbians who adopt a baby or use a surrogate can also breast-feed their children with the exact same protocols. Breast nursing is an important part of bonding with a child. If they weren’t adopted right at birth, than no doubt a wet nurse has been nursing them. It helps them to feel secure in the transition from birth mother to adoptive parent. It also helps build their sense of self worth. Continuing to breast feed when you adopt the child helps this process to continue. Studies show that breast-fed babies are more secure and self-aware. They are healthier because they have received immunity antibodies from their parent’s breast milk. The issue of bonding is a very important one. One way to get to know your baby on an intimate level is to breast-feed them.
    [Show full text]
  • Male Wet Nurse Part 2
    URL: http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/13912/78053 Suite101.com Inc. <www.suite101.com> Male Wet Nurse Wanted Part 2 Author: Claudia McCreary Published on: August 25, 2001 You have decided that developing breasts and the possible social fall out is worth the opportunity to experience the bonds of breast-feeding your adoptive or surrogate baby. Last week we talked about the socio-physiological issues involved with male breast-feeding. Now we will talk technique. It is important to remember that you need the assistance of a medical doctor and a lactation counselor. While this article will tell you the protocol to bring milk to your breasts for feeding, it is not something that you should tackle alone. You and your baby deserve the best and the best is having support and help from people experienced in adoptive lactation. Now on to the nuts and bolts! First of all you need to assemble the equipment. Yup! It isn’t just you, your breasts and your baby! In order to start your milk flowing you need to pump it with a breast pump. This is a small pump that fits over the breast and simulates a baby’s sucking action. The pumping action will help to stimulate your milk production. The best pump to use a hospital grade pump with a double pumping kit. The double pumping action helps to release the supply of prolactin, the hormone that actually starts up your milk flow. Pumps can be rented or purchased. For a comparison of hospital grade pumps, check out http://marimar_1.tripod.com/bpump_compar..
    [Show full text]