Last week I was in my dentist's waiting room with a few other patients, and the Today Show was playing on the TV. Just before I was called in a promo came on for a segment on cross nursing and wet nursing (see video).
Two women in the room, one younger and one middle-aged, started giggling uncomfortably. The only man in the room shifted in his seat. One woman said, "I mean, that's weird, right?"
I'm pretty uncomfortable engaging strangers on topics like these, and this topic has a pretty big 'ick factor.' But I went for it.
I said, "You know, historically this was the norm. Formula has only been around for about 50 years, and before that, if a mother couldn't breastfeed, an aunt or a cousin would breastfeed the baby. It was the only way a baby could survive."
The woman looked startled and said, "Really? Wow. I don't have kids, and I had no idea. That's really interesting. I thought it was a 'I'm too busy to do that' kind of thing."
Then I got called in to see the dentist.
The truth is that I know several adults from other countries who were nursed by relatives or wet nurses for exactly this reason. If it weren't for this system - still used in many parts of the world - I don't know that they would be alive today.
Of course, not all of the history on this is good. Most notably in this country, slavery forced many African American women to nurse the children of their masters, often at the expense of their own children. Jennifer at Black Breastfeeding Blog has been exploring that topic this week. And of course there are health issues associated with this practice, particularly the transmission of viruses such as HIV.
But every once in a while I try to imagine what it would be like if I had another baby and for some reason couldn't breastfeed. I know that I'd move heaven and earth to get that baby human milk.
Is the media interest in this topic a sign of how far we've come in getting breastfeeding accepted in the culture, or is this simply a way to exploit an "oh, gross" story to boost ratings? This topic is in Time Magazine this month, too.
I have been noticing, just in the last couple of years, much more awareness of milk banks, induced lactation, and adoptive nursing. One family I met in a prenatal class knew all about Milk Share, and several moms I know have been pumping to give milk to an adopted baby. The milk banks are also seeing a huge increase in demand. What's going on here? Your thoughts?
