Lifespan

We hear it all the time: “breastfeeding is the most natural thing in the world.” But as you’ll learn from these stories, today’s breastfeeding mothers are running into difficulties. Sarah Rubin had been prepared to battle the medicalization of birth but had not anticipated the medicalization of breastfeeding. Clare Chambers was unprepared for sleep deprivation. Lauren Hill thought her job as a nurse had prepared her to breastfeed. But, she reported, “Things were really rocky at the beginning.” Michele Biddlestone, an international board certified lactation consultant, sympathizes with their experiences and describes the unique contemporary pressures faced by breastfeeding mothers.