| Open Letter to:
Letter to: The Breastfeeding Center Dear Ms. Merewood I was pleasantly surprised to hear “Milk Money: How Corporate Interests Shaped Government Health Policy for Women” on Democracy Now. I visited the website Boston Medical http://www.bmc.org/pediatrics/special/Breastfeeding/overview.html and I compliment you on the valuable information in the section The Breastfeeding Center. However, I do not blame companies who produce infant formula for depriving a newborn of the most nutritious, specially designed nourishment. Companies who produce baby formulas can only sell to the ones who buy. It is the mother who is out of touch with nature, and can no longer feel the need of the fruit of her body. This unnatural detachment has many roots, although all of them are related to a disassociation from herself. Seeing some years ago, Nils Bergman’s educational movie, Kangaroo Mother Care, for me not only answered the trauma of neglect many adults must live with today, it also provided fundamental information about why so many adults today have bonding problems caused by feelings of early neglect. A review of the video is available at: http://www.primal-page.com/bergman.htm Among many aware articles and good research work about the needs of a newborn is the article by Pat Törngren, “The Needs Of The Newborn In The First Few Hours Of Life, at: http://www.primal-page.com/firsthrs.htm Breastfeeding is not only a nutrition issue: it nourishes the mental
well-being of any mammal, while bottle-feeding deprives the infant,
besides the right nutrition, also of the most important aspect of emotional
healthy development. Many disorders adults reveal today can be traced back to the cold isolation that bottle feeding brings. The infant who was for nine month inside its mother must endure helplessly the abrupt separation, that is a trauma in it self. Fear is created in this new life that can be traced by analyzing the overproduction of endorphins in the newborn. The psychological long-term-effect is the result of sub-conscious feelings related to this early isolation. Many adults today live with the disorder of not being able to form healthy social bounds. Barbara Walters’s statement that she felt uncomfortable seeing women breastfeed in public, could point out one of the long-term effects of having been deprived. Being embarrassed about the most natural application of food is one of modern society’s largest downfalls. Attitudes like the one displayed by Barbara Walters have robbed several generations of the best care an infant can have. Especially in the USA, giving a child the milk that is naturally made for them, was and still is seen as primitive and unsophisticated, not in the trend of Hollywood style of living. Very little interest is shown if there is any nutritious or psychological benefit for mother and child. The emphasis is placed on timesaving by bottle-feeding, and the implication that breastfeeding ruins the beauty of the breast. I wonder if Barbara Walters was breastfed, or if she ever breastfed and experienced the natural bond? May I encourage The Breastfeeding Center to do more research more on the psychological effect of not being breastfed. Maybe the findings will help convince future generations to rear less infant-traumatized adults who are aware enough not to repeat the devastating imprint of neglect and deprivation. Kind regards, Adults abused as Children Worldwide
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