Breastfeeding in terms of psychology. Breastfeeding through the eyes of a psychologist How to get help remotely

I do not agree with Magomed Mirzaev's answer. Breastfeeding or not breastfeeding is such an insignificant factor influencing the psyche of the child that it can be easily neglected. It's like in a joke about how "first we drank vodka, then beer, then chatter, and then we got poisoned by stale cookies ...". The influence of mother's milk on immunity is easier to trace and prove, but immunity is not a psyche. Physical factors generally affect the psyche indirectly and indirectly, and it is still a big question why a child has any mental illness - because he was not breastfed or because his parents regularly yell at him for no reason (of course, it is easier to attribute everything to food or form childbirth or the course of pregnancy, rather than plead guilty to inappropriate behavior).

Of course, the flapping of a butterfly's wings can cause a tsunami somewhere, and insomnia, poor academic performance, tantrums, enuresis in a child can be caused by the fact that he received less of some substances from mother's milk ... But ...

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Svetlana, I'm afraid that even the most authoritative studies will not resolve disputes. There will always be supporters and opponents of long-term breastfeeding and breastfeeding as a process in principle ... In a society where a figure with a "girlish" silhouette is promoted and there is a choice of breast milk substitutes on the shelves, some are very hard to resist the temptation. Not every woman is ready to fully understand the reasons why she refuses to breastfeed, therefore rationalization defense mechanisms come into force. That is, there are other reasons (not real) for which the GW was terminated. I emphasize that this does not always happen, but quite often in those cases when an opinion is defended with a fair amount of aggression.
Another important factor is my mother's attitude to long-term breastfeeding.
The first option: a woman breastfeeds, thus receiving and delivering pleasure. Then, listening to himself and the baby, he begins to gradually curtail lactation. She does not cease to give the child affection and warmth, does not take away the breast ...

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Now, after the publication of the latest WHO recommendations on breastfeeding, “long-term feeding” is commonly referred to as breastfeeding after two years.
Long-term feeding is a very complex topic, causing a lot of contradictions and even confrontations in society.
Of course, every mother decides for herself how much to breastfeed.
And for those for whom long-term feeding is definitely suitable, there are a number of serious arguments to justify their position in front of a society that continues to debate about the timing of the continuation of breastfeeding, while remaining critical of long-term breastfeeding.
The wording of the WHO/UNICEF Early Childhood Nutrition Strategy Paper emphasizes that breastfeeding CAN be continued for more than two years. Proponents and opponents of long-term feeding have many arguments that can lead to conclusions about the benefits of breastfeeding after two years of age.
Let's look at typical contradictions:

The nutritional value of milk...

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Lactation. Psychology

It would seem that breastfeeding and psychology can be interconnected. Meanwhile, the relationship here is the most direct. Firstly, hormones contribute to the formation of milk, which at the same time are responsible for the development of maternal instinct, warm feelings in a woman towards the baby. Not for nothing that nursing mothers are called Madonnas. Looking at a nursing baby expresses love in its purest form. As practice shows, a mother who breastfeeds a child has a closer mental connection with him, she interacts with him not only on an emotional, but also on a hormonal level. Of course, this does not mean that bottle-fed babies are less loved, but still, the impact of breastfeeding on the psychology of the mother-child relationship cannot be discounted.

Breastfeeding and male psychology

And although this circumstance seems rather strange to some, but breastfeeding and the psychology of a man are also ...

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Health organizations recommend breastfeeding because of its proven health benefits for the baby, but they fail to convey to every mother and every family how breastfeeding can affect the emotional relationship between mother and child. In Western society, the choice between breastfeeding and bottle feeding is still largely seen as a personal choice...

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Duration of breastfeeding from the point of view of the psychology of child development There are many different points of view about breastfeeding and the “correct” duration of this important period in the life of every person.

In my practical psychotherapeutic work, both with adults and with children, I usually try to learn in sufficient detail about how the process of breastfeeding took place. After all, breastfeeding in itself is a very important primary relationship in which the newborn gets acquainted with the very first and at the initial stage of his life the most important external object of his psychological life. I'm talking about an external object - after all, before his appearance "into the wide world" the child was in the mother's womb and his "needs" were "satisfied" at the biological and physiological level. And as a rule, potential problems arise both with insufficient time and excessively long-term breastfeeding ...

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Everyone knows that breastfeeding is good for babies. Did you know that breastfeeding is good for moms too? Around every now and then it is heard that feeding takes strength and destroys the health of a woman. But is it? Few people know that breastfeeding is just as good for the health of mothers as it is for babies. Breastfeeding is not only a continuation of the natural physiological process that began with conception and pregnancy. Feeding is useful not only because it prevents postpartum bleeding immediately after childbirth, or just nice while a woman is feeding. The positive and protective effect of breastfeeding is noticeable throughout a woman's life. Today, we have ample scientific evidence that not only is breastfeeding beneficial, but that if a woman does not breastfeed, she is more likely to develop certain types of cancer or osteoporosis.
Unfortunately, even those healthcare professionals who know about the benefits of breastfeeding...

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Short description.

The study was conducted to determine the impact of breastfeeding on children's mental health. 2,900 pregnant women were recruited; children and parents were interviewed several times over the next 14 years using a standard questionnaire (CBCL). The constructed model made it possible to analyze the independent influence of factors such as breast ...

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I hope someone knows, perhaps someone is a psychologist himself and could advise on the psychological aspects of long-term (more than 2 years) breastfeeding. What are the pros and cons of him, what influence does he have on the child, his character, independence, openness to new things? I would also like to touch upon the psychological side of the matter with regard to the mother: her freedom, as far as mothers can live some other life of their own, fulfill themselves or, on the contrary, become isolated in the home-children's routine, that is, the benefit and / or harm to her psyche from a long breastfeeding feeding and related features of life. I would like to discuss here the PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS of this issue, and not the benefits for health, immunity, and so on.

I talked about this topic with a friend of a psychologist. When asked how much more I would feed, I said that I would feed as much as my child wanted, that in traditional cultures they feed up to 6-7 years (this should be considered as the maximum limit), on average they feed up to ...

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The secret behind seven seals: breastfeeding is good for moms

Alicia Dermer - Family Physician, IBCLC Professional Consultant
Old Bridge, New Jersey, USA
From NEW BEGINNINGS magazine, issue 18 #4 July-August 2001, pp. 124-127

Translation by Victoria Khudyakova and Maria Sorokina
Editing of the translation by Natalia Gerbeda-Wilson

The article has been modified - outdated information has been corrected, the most recent scientific data has been added, and information that relates to the United States and does not correspond at all to Russian cultural or historical realities has been removed.

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Such a natural process as feeding a baby with breast milk for most mothers becomes a test of stamina and sanity. There is a lot of information about breastfeeding, but not all of it is true.

As a rule, the most difficult period is the first months after the birth of a child, when he adapts to new living conditions, and the mother gets used to a new social role. If in doubt, it is not possible to feed the baby, nipples crack and other problems arise, you need to contact breastfeeding specialists, the attending pediatrician, people who have experience and whom you trust.

MYTH. Milk should appear immediately after the baby is born

Nature is arranged in such a way that soon after the birth of a child, colostrum, the precursor of real milk, begins to be produced in the breast of a woman in labor. Colostrum contains significantly less water, it is thick, concentrated and saturated with immunoglobulins and other substances necessary for...

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I'll start today's issue with a letter.

Hello Natalia, I really liked the issue of Breastfeeding - a natural stage in a woman's life., dedicated to breastfeeding. Now, years later, when I myself read many books on personal development, I understand how right you are about breastfeeding. Many women, with their fears, block the opportunity to breastfeed, and this happens unconsciously, just then we say: “I told you! The way it is…". After reading your newsletter, I had a question: “How does breastfeeding affect the psychological and emotional development of a child? I would like to hear your opinion. Thank you"

Thank you Sophia for such a wonderful question, I think many readers will want to get an answer to it.

A child is born into the world and the first thing he recognizes is his mother. He still does not see and is guided only by smell and sound. The tone of my mother's voice, her smell is reminiscent of that...

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Gift for the female body

Modern women are well aware of the importance of breast milk for the health of their children. But besides this, it is useful to know that by choosing natural feeding for our baby, we give an invaluable gift to our body, increase our life expectancy and protect ourselves from diseases.

Lactation starts

Most often, breastfeeding begins immediately after childbirth. From this moment, its tangible effect on your body comes into force. Yes, at first, breastfeeding can seem like a difficult and incomprehensible process, because it subjugates your entire regimen in the first days and nights after childbirth and raises many questions. But the realization of what an important service you are providing not only to the child, but also to yourself, will help not to lose heart.

What is the benefit of breastfeeding a newborn for a woman?

By putting your baby to the breast within an hour of his birth, you help your body faster...

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When should you not breastfeed?

Many women dream of breastfeeding for a long time after the birth of a child, but various situations arise that baffle: infectious diseases and somatic pathologies in the acute stage, the need to take medication, travel or study at a university, work several hours a day. When a mother cannot breastfeed, what reasons can be an unequivocal ban on breastfeeding? According to WHO, breastfeeding should be maintained as much as possible, at least up to a year, and preferably two years.

note

In reality, there are not many situations in which breastfeeding is prohibited or should be limited, most of those contraindications that cause mothers to stop breastfeeding are far-fetched and refer to false, not true contraindications.

Most of the common pathologies allow breastfeeding, and for a while, until it should be canceled, you can feed the baby with expressed milk. What are...

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It is necessary to breastfeed a child as long as his body needs mother's milk, as long as it provides him with the necessary substances, i.e. up to 1 year. After that, the baby does not need breast milk, and feeding is, rather, communication between mother and child, their joint pleasure. Long-term, up to 2-3 years, breastfeeding is harmful to the psychological development of the child. By this time, he should learn to enjoy other activities, and his communication with his mother should move to other levels. Otherwise, fixation occurs at this stage of development, which is fraught with deviations in the normal development of the child. One must understand that we are talking about mutual communication, pleasure and mutual desire. But, if it is common for a child to hold on to familiar ways of satisfaction, communication, then the mother, as an adult and understanding person, is responsible for what is happening and can influence the situation, if she wants to, of course. However, scientists have been carried out ...

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The Long-Term Effects of Breastfeeding on Child and Adolescent Mental Health: A Pregnancy Cohort Study Followed for 14 Years
Long-term effects of breastfeeding on the mental health of children and adolescents: a study of a cohort of pregnant women followed for 14 years
Wendy H. Oddy, PhD, Garth E. Kendall, PhD, Jianghong Li, PhD, Peter Jacoby, MSc, Monique Robinson, BA (Hons) Psych, Nicholas H. de Klerk, PhD, Sven R. Silburn, MSc, Stephen R Zubrick, PhD, Louis I. Landau, MD, and Fiona J. Stanley, MD
Journal of Pediatrics, published on the journal's website on 14 December 2009.

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Breastfeeding after a year

Benefits of breastfeeding after one year

Long-term (more than a year) breastfeeding - is it good or bad? Is it worth it to continue breastfeeding a child who is already eating "adult" food with might and main? And is it possible to replace mother's milk with goat's or cow's?

To answer these questions, we turn to the WHO recommendation on breastfeeding. Her experts advise to continue breastfeeding at least until the child is two years old. But what are these recommendations about? With the quality of drinking water. This recommendation is relevant for developing countries and countries with low sanitary and living standards. For example, in some countries in Africa, breastfeeding after 2 years is the absolute norm. But in developed countries, a mother cannot afford to feed her child for so long, because she wants to realize herself outside the home, at work, and does not want to endure the restrictions associated with breastfeeding. Including waiving...

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How does breastfeeding affect a woman's body?

So, breastfeeding reduces the risk factors for three of the most serious diseases among women: female cancer, heart disease and osteoporosis, while not having a noticeable negative effect on women's health, contrary to common misconceptions.

Breastfeeding and psychology

If the incidence of various diseases can be measured in numbers, then how to measure the calmness of the mother of a healthy baby? How to calculate the stress in a family where a lot of money is spent on formula and increased medical expenses?

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The impact of prolonged breastfeeding on the health of the child

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A fairly common opinion is that the substances contained in mother's milk can be useful to the child only during the first year of life. In the future, long-term breastfeeding can provoke the child to form attitudes of dependent behavior, hinders his normal social adaptation, and even often causes a child to lag behind in development (including intellectual development). Is it really?

The sucking reflex is one of the first mental formations that makes itself felt already in the first days of a child's life. In the future, the child begins to show the need to suck, not only feeling hungry, but demonstrating the need to be protected and in order to get rid of the feeling of discomfort. Over time, this habit fades by itself. However, in rare cases, the child continues to demonstrate ...

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Psychological features of breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding is one of the most important components of maternal behavior, which provides the most complete physical and emotional contact between mother and baby.

Breastfeeding is the basis and source of the infant's relationship with the objects of the outside world. The first object with which the child comes into contact after birth is the mother's breast. The first attachment is the beginning of a relationship with the outside world. Therefore, the most important thing in feeding is not only feeding, but also the contact between mother and child.

For full communication between mother and child, the act of feeding is of great importance, provided it is of sufficient duration and repetition. The newborn is tuned to communicate with the mother: the focal length of the eyes of the newborn, corresponding to the distance between his eyes and the eyes of the mother during feeding, his ability to distinguish talking faces, and also ...

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It seems that in today's society there is a distinct tendency to turn breastfeeding into something extremely useful and absolutely necessary for the full physical and emotional development of the child. In part, this attitude is understandable and is explained by the actual benefits of breastfeeding, but no utility considerations can explain some of the excitement around this natural process and attempts to make it a kind of cult. Obviously, in addition to rational ones, emotional factors intervene in the matter, the main theme of which is a pronounced sentimental attitude towards a mother who is breastfeeding.

Agitation for breastfeeding always has a downside - any action, in the end, leads to opposition.

There is no doubt that a significant number of people in the modern world have grown up safely without breastfeeding. This means that the infant has other opportunities to achieve physical and emotional closeness with the mother.

However, let's make it clear from the outset that every time a mother has been unable to breastfeed her child, simply because the mother and child lose something by not having that experience, it is to be regretted.

What do pediatricians say about breastfeeding, do they prefer it over other methods? Some pediatricians believe that successful formula feeding is more useful in terms of anatomy and physiology, which is what they mainly focus on. It should not be thought that the topic has been settled when the pediatrician has put an end to it, especially if the doctor, apparently, forgets that the baby is not only flesh and blood. Psychologists have long understood that the mental health of a person from the very first days is laid down by his mother, providing what they call a "contributory, helping environment" in which the child's natural development process occurs in accordance with hereditary innate potential. Mother, sometimes without thinking and not knowing, lays the foundations of a mentally healthy person. Such a beginning of life could be called a good start.

Breastfeeding is, of course, an integral part of the problem of getting off to a good start.

Those who created the theory of human emotional development, to some extent, are also responsible for some reassessment of the importance of the breast for the infant's psyche. No, they were not mistaken, but time has passed and now “good breasts” is a psychoanalytic slang word that means quite satisfactory maternal care and parental attention in general. Psychologists say that the ability to nurse, hold and handle a child is a more important indicator of a mother's success in her task than the fact of actually breastfeeding. Psychologists are well aware that many children who seem to have had a satisfactory breastfeeding experience show obvious defects in development and in the ability to communicate with people and use objects - defects that are due to poor psycho-emotional support.

So we want to make it clear that the word "breast" and the idea of breastfeeding is only part of what goes into being a mother to a child.

It becomes clear how harmful the desire to force mothers to breastfeed can be. Any child psychologist has seen children who had a very bad time when the mother wanted and tried to breastfeed them, but could not do this, since this process is not amenable to conscious control. The mother suffers, the child suffers. With the transition to artificial feeding, there is sometimes a huge relief, and something is getting better - in the sense that the child is satisfied, receiving the right amount of suitable food. Much pain can be avoided by not making the idea of breastfeeding a dogma. It would be wrong to say that a woman should breastfeed her child, rather we would consider it more appropriate if the woman desired to breastfeed her child and if she came to this desire naturally.

It is important that doctors understand that they are needed, very needed, if things go wrong on the physiological side, but they are not specialists when it comes to physical and emotional closeness, which is vital for both mother and baby.

Mother and child need suitable conditions that allow the mother to believe in herself, in her maternal competence. The mother herself needs support. Very valuable, in this sense, seems to me the practice when the father of the child is present during childbirth. His presence gives additional significance to the very first moments of a baby's life. The same is with breastfeeding. A mother cannot breastfeed by conscious effort: she must wait for her own body to react. On the other hand, such an intense reaction is possible that the mother is unable to wait for the child, and she needs help to do something with her overflowing breasts.

There are mothers who experience very great difficulties because of their internal conflict, which may be related to their own traumatic childhood experiences. Sometimes these mothers can be helped. The psychologist or doctor must understand that if the mother is unable to breastfeed, it would be a mistake to insist on continuing with attempts that are unlikely to succeed, but harm is very likely from them. Therefore, it is very harmful when those in charge of helping the mother have a preconceived notion of what she should do regarding breastfeeding. Often a mother is forced to switch early to a different way of feeding, but, having given birth to a second or third child, she can successfully cope and then she will be happy that breastfeeding is given to her without any effort - naturally. However, if a mother is unable to breastfeed, there are still many other ways for her to establish close, physical and emotional contact with her baby.

Thus, I approach the value of breastfeeding from the point of view that breastfeeding is not absolutely necessary, especially for mothers who have personal difficulties with it. Many of the important features of breastfeeding are also present with bottle-feeding. For example, a child and a mother look into each other's eyes. This is a significant aspect of the early experience, not related to the use of a real breast. However, it can be assumed that the fullness of taste and smell and the totality of the sensations of breastfeeding remain unknown to a small child taking a rubber nipple.

Along with the experience of the child, which is richer when breastfeeding, and not from a bottle, remember how the mother herself feels during feeding. This is, of course, a separate issue. Here I will only note the feeling of achievement that a mother can experience when her own physiology, which at first led her to some confusion, suddenly makes sense, and she is already able to cope with her fears, having figured out that she has something called "milk" , which she is able to give, enjoying contact with the child.

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