Humans have been around for quite some time now, and so one would think when it comes to infant feeding and breastfeeding, we would have perfected it and by now would be doing everything right? Hmmmm… What could be further from the truth…?

Think back with me for a while as we travel down the path of time and ‘declutter’ the closest bond between mother and baby:

In days gone by, expectant mothers had almost no choice whether they were going to breastfeed or not. It simply was not an option. Only certain mothers had the alternative of using wet-nurses instead of breastfeeding their babies themselves, but that was a ‘luxury’ usually reserved for the elite. Motherhood and breastfeeding went hand in hand. Young girls grew up watching mothers, aunts, sisters, and friends breastfeed. It was the norm, with hardly an alternative in sight.

Renaissance paintings depict babies as chubby, happy little beings, and one wonders if it’s not largely due to the fact that, on the whole, babies were nurtured the natural way. There were no clocks to tell when feeding times were ‘supposed’ to be, and how long feeds were meant to be. There were no formula-fed babies to compare to when it came to feeding, sleeping and gaining weight. Deciding not to breastfeed was tantamount to signing baby’s death sentence… though this can also still be the case today, depending on where baby is born.

The foods available for mothers to eat while pregnant and breastfeeding were mostly whole foods grown in season, not genetically modified, organic in the true sense of the word, and no artificial anything added. Today it is a totally different ball game! So much of what lines trusted supermarket shelves is processed and packaged, filled with artificial flavourants, preservatives, colourants and various chemicals that our bodies don’t recognize and was not made to deal with. People do most of their food shopping in these isles and minimally in the fresh produce section. The fruit and veggies we do buy are often sprayed and more and more are becoming genetically modified. As consumers trying to grow healthy children, we don’t ask many questions and mostly accept what gets offered to us.

Today there are also so many things that can confuse and distract new mothers in their most critical role of mothering and breastfeeding, though some of these can be helpful if used wisely. We have clocks, pumps, bottles, cleverly marketed artificial milk sold in almost every store, ample and well-meaning advice from all and sundry, whether they know what they’re talking about or not, not to mention contradicting books, magazines and of course: the world wide web - the internet! Doctors mostly study medicine and almost nothing about the normal ins-and-outs of infants feeding at the breast. The media has helped to create the viewpoint that breasts are barely sexual objects rather than what they were actually created to be. Mothers discretely breastfeeding in public are frowned upon while who really complains about glaringly suggestive television programs and adverts, or suggestive magazines lining grocery store checkouts, or posters of girls with cleavage in full view?

Yes, both then and now many babies have died unnecessarily due to incorrect feeding, but if we, with our increased knowledge of hygiene and nutrition, and certain helpful products, could go back to the mindset and practice of the way babies were meant to be fed, we would truly have the best of both worlds. Young women would more often see first-hand the most special nurturing that takes at the breast, and learn by watching what lays in store for them when they become mothers. Orthodontic problems would not cost an arm and a leg in the adolescent years as the very act of breastfeeding shapes the baby’s oral structure and helps create enough space in the mouth for all the teeth to follow. Babies would grow up to be physically as healthy as possible as well as emotionally healthy, being securely attached, which would bade good for society in general as these little ones grow to become the adults that run the world.

New mothers need the help and encouragement of society as a whole. Let us all support new mothers and babies, and help make breastfeeding the norm it’s meant to be.

Posted: 17 August 2011