Healing human potential through infant feeding: The synergy of maternal and infant physiology, function and psychology

2007-01-10T04:06:00.000-08:00

Breastfeeding is a dynamic relationship designed to modulate the optimal development of the human infant. The environment in which the infant is uniquely designed to thrive is the body of the mother. The infant is born competent and aware, fully prepared to initiate appropriate responses from the mother, guiding her in the biological imperative of attachment and bonding. The infant accomplishes this task primarily through feeding, the behavior for which he is prepared from birth.From our perspective, there is no more normal human function than the ability of the infant to direct his own feeding at his mother’s breast. Further, no other activity is more integral to healthy neurological development. Bonding is dependent upon competency—the infant’s competency in turn leads to maternal competency and guides the mother in completing the circuit for which both have been hard-wired. Indeed, the inability to feed effectively at the breast should be the earliest possible indication that intervention is required for the mother-infant dyad.Today, lactation consultants and other practitioners are observing a greater number of babies than ever who are incapable of feeding at the breast. As birth has become more medicalized, as we as a culture have responded through embracing intervention as the norm, we are seeing the impact of trauma to the infant in broader and more intrinsically damaging ways. We are only beginning to grasp both the magnitude and implications of this trend and have not yet begun to address treatment in any significant way. For babies to feed effectively, one must address form and function within the context of the maternal-infant relationship, using normal competency as the compass. Collaboration between the lactation consultant and manual therapist has evolved as a means of restoring normal form and function and with it the potential for both competency and optimal development.

Healing Human Potential

2007-01-07T06:57:00.000-08:00

For the First Time at APPPAH, A Full-Day Workshop on Breastfeeding!!
Presented by Jennifer Tow, IBCLC and Sharon Vallone, DC,FICCP
13th International Congress of APPPAH
Birth and the Human Family
Embracing the Power of Prenatal Life
February 21-26, 2007
LAX Hilton Hotel
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Association of Pre and Perinatal Psychology and Health
Pre-Conference Workshops

The infant is fully prepared to initiate appropriate responses from the mother, guiding her in the process of attachment and bonding. This is accomplished primarily through feeding, and no activity is more integral to healthy neurological development. One must address form and function within the context of the maternal-infant relationship, using normal competency as the compass. Collaboration between the lactation consultant and manual therapist has evolved as a means of restoring normal form and function--and, with it, the potential for both competency and optimal development.