Epistemology and breastfeeding information

[Hazchem]

I think this is the right place to post.

So I've been about the type of information/advice we give breastfeeding women. I think it's easiest to give an example.

Some women have fussy babies.
Breastfeeding advocates tend to say it's unlike to be anything in your milk and more likely to be a growth spurt, latching problem. The reason breastfeeding advocates say this is there is little to no evidence from trials that what me eat effects babies in that way. there can be slight changes in breast milk make up but that occurs normally, most "ingredients" tend not to pass through breast milk (cows milk protein is an exception)
However lots of mother advice is don't eat garlic, broccoli, onions ect and these ideas come from somewhere but don't seam to have any evidence behind them.
So is saying changing your diet wont help because the evidence doesn't support that de-privligeing women's knowledge?

Does that make sense. I guess what I'm saying is women's experience do not match up to what we have studied.

"Which means that official advice about breastfeeding is constrained by what has been studied scientifically" Yes and this is a problem. And that was the problem that the medical men a century or so ago had with women breastfeeding. There was no science (in their sense) applied. Just centuries of experience and women in control.

Personally (this is just a personal view with no science behind it) I see the alacrity of women to leap from "(breastfeeding) problem" to "I must consume less of something and police my eating and drinking even more restrictively" to be part of a culture in which women are encouraged to believe that they are always in danger of eating too liberally and too indiscriminately. And the lack of evidence for mother's diet negatively affecting breastfeeding ties in with this. Our culture is one that is deeply suspicious of women being allowed to please themselves with what they eat and drink, and this is one area it flows into.

I remember in my 20s a female friend of mine serving me and a male friend a plate of home made pasta with vegetables and cream sauce. "Oh good," he said "the first healthy thing I have eaten in a week." SHe looked utterly confused - it has cream! It has calories! We are being bad and indulgent! How can this be called healthy? I could see that he meant: real food, made with no additives and a big serving of fresh vegetables. It is sad that women think that to consume "healthily" is to be scant, whereas men think it is eating of the good stuff.

The food things is interesting in that. Way. it's almost seen as forbidden to enjoy breastfeeding. I do enjoy it, it feel nice. So turning it into some unpleasurable and to make it about deprivation sits with the women should enjoy things.

Hazchem, I loved breast feeding. It seems like women are only allowed to do it if you bravely carry on through the worst experience of your life.

I agree with you about all the knowledge about caring for land that will be lost in Australian if it isn't recorded soon. That is happening in lots of places as landscape use and production methods change and older people start to die.

Oh AHQM that's so true. Women's bodies are contested ground, as are what we do with them - all damn day.
It's possible to support breastfeeding without adding to those messages, I think.
Books like 'what to expect when you're expecting' are the worst - 'think if this is the best mouthful for your baby' sort-of thing.

It's happened again. I thought I'd been having original thoughts but someone has just published something on it. :)
bmj article about the problems in evidence based medicine.

Recently I was reading an article and I was like hang on I think there are problem with this theory and was feeling pretty smug then got to the end of the article and the author was like these are the problem and they were exactly what I had been thinking :)

I dont think robust scientific evidence is the problem. I think the fact that you cant subject pregnant and breat feeding women to proper scientific trials. You cant even consent to the hypothetical trial with alcohol anove if you want to as the trial wouldnt happen as it would be deemed unethical by people who fund these trials.

By the way there is a small amount of evidence that oats can increase flow early on. But u dont need a subscription for medicated flapjacks. More like eat some porridge and the odd multivitamin/ eat a varied diet with lots of veg!

Just to go back a bit, should anyone be interested. The German beer is Malzbier, you can get it in alcoholic or non alcoholic varieties and it's supposed to be good for lactating women because of the high amount of carbohydrates it contains.

Germans also swear by Fennel tea for colic/gripe/wind in babies.

I can't add anything clever about BF though. I BF DS1 for 6 weeks, he just wasn't interested and DS2 for 9 months. I wish I could have gone on longer with DS2, it was so much easier, but ExTwunt decided that enough was enough....

Yes ethelb that's what make me cross. Also some suggestions that seam harmless could have potentially harmful consequences. Like fenugreek has some potential to increase milk but can also interfere with thyroid meds ( and thyroid problems can cause a low supply) but because it;s just a herb it doesn't need to have all the contraindications listed.

Well he sounds like a twunt Chaos glad to here he is an Ex. I do like beer maybe I should get some of that.