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What Is Best, Depends on the Breast

By on May 18, 2016

SCIENCENSEX

Written by Joseph Dunsay. After earning a Masters of Science in Ecology and Evolution, Joseph Dunsay became a science writer for international audiences. For more Jewrotica writing by Joseph, check out The Disadvantages of Polygyny Make Couples Choose Monogamy, The Scientific Opinion Regarding Gender Specific Brains is Mixed, The Roman Empire Left an Imprint on Jewish Genes, Teledildonics May Help Jewish Husbands Travel, Madness and Humanity’s Gene Pool, The Significance of Secondary Sex Characteristics, Changing Views Towards Anal Sex, Jewish Genetic Links to East Asia and South Asia, The Morality of Creating Designer Babies, Parents, the State, and the Reproductive Health of Minors, and Chimpanzees, Bonobos, and the Diversity of Animal Behavior.

Rated PG

A proud mother earned much support on social media when she defended her decision to not breastfeed her baby. She had chosen a hypoallergenic dairy protein free baby formula for her child, because the baby did not respond well to breast milk. Unaware of the infant’s particular medical situation, a complete stranger nagged the mother with the “breast is best” slogan as she was buying formula for her child. She responded with an open letter on social media explaining her decision. The positive online feedback was substantial.

A Tablet article by Marjorie Ingall tackled the pronouncements of breastfeeding experts from a Jewish perspective several years go. It recalled how both medical opinion and Jewish tradition praises breastfeeding. Jewish lore tells how Sarah’s breasts were founts of breast milk and how the elderly matriarch nursed all the children in the area to prove that she was Isaac’s biological mother. There is even an etymological connection between the Hebrew word for breasts and one of the divine names.

The post then mentioned situations when breastfeeding is not the best option. Some women should avoid nursing, because they take certain medications. Other women are simply unable to produce enough milk for their children due to biological conditions or time constraints. Ingall concluded by urging readers to reject both shame and guilt when it came to the breast vs. bottle struggle.

More recent scientific publications support this position. When European biologists discovered an unexpected function for many sugars in human breast milk, they also spoke about the breastfeeding debate. Reluctant to make a recommendation one way or the other, they said that it is possible for a child to grow up healthy without breastfeeding and that families, not scientists, should decide what is best for their children.

A National Institute of Health website even lists a medical problem that can be caused by human breast milk. Breast milk jaundice makes a baby’s skin and the white of his eyes turn yellow. It can result from a combination of a liver defect in the baby and factors in a mother’s milk. Paradoxically, too little milk can also cause jaundice. No single recommendation can prevent breast milk jaundice in every baby.

Biology is a very messy science, because living things vary so much. Just as the diverse shapes and sizes of women’s breasts require many different bras, the physiological and biochemical diversity of women’s breasts require different attitudes towards breastfeeding. Sometimes, nursing is best for a mother and child. Sometimes, it is not. Therefore, neighbors must respect a woman’s right to make, and remake, her own plans if advice from others about breastfeeding is not suited to her situation.

After earning a Masters of Science in Ecology and Evolution, Joseph Dunsay became a science writer for international audiences. His LGBT erotic e-book launched in the summer of 2015.
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