06/29/2022
Been silent lately but this sparked some topic …
When we take a look at mammals, which humans are, we see different types of mothering and we can see how their species-specific milk is designed to mother that way.
We have the nest and cache mammals. These mammals can nurse their babies and leave them in a nest or safe place from anywhere from 4-15 hours before their babies need to feed again. Their milk is high in fat and protein and lower in water. They are able to space out feeds throughout the day.
We have the carry, follow, hibernate mammals. These mammals need to nurse their babies continuously. Their milk is low in fat and protein and high in water. They keep their babies close to them at all times and need to feed them continuously throughout the day.
Guess what the composition of human milk most closely resembles? Here’s a clue, human milk is amongst the lowest in fat and protein and highest in water.
Humans by design are carriers. That’s why our babies want to constantly nurse and be close to us. So often mothers nurse their baby’s and feel that since their baby wants to nurse again, before that stretch we were aiming for them to hold off to, they must not be making enough milk. Or they fear their baby has a sleeping issue because they wake often to be fed and held close. The fact is, your baby and your milk are genetically created to breastfeed and be kept close continuously.
We are carrying mammals living in a nesting mammals world. Society sets us up and supports us to be nesters. From spreading the message that your baby should be sleeping and not feeding throughout the night, that your baby should only eat in designated intervals, the thousand dollar gadgets they try to sell with the promise of long stretches, to the minuscule amount of maternity leave. But our babies aren’t programmed this way and neither are we. This is one reason why parents are so exhausted, we have very little support from our society and our health care system to be the carrying mammals we are born to be.
