About

Humans are raised in captivity.

For most mammals, lactation is a straight-forward process that follows pregnancy. The mammal gives birth, the mammal feeds form their mammaries. But for primates, and especially humans, there is a learning curve. We lost some of the primitive instincts in a trade-off for advanced brain capacity, but what we lost in instincts we were able to make up for in culture. Other human cultures will meet this curve and learn breastfeeding by watching and being exposed to breastfeeding of their kin. But most "Western" homo sapiens do not have the chance to do that. We are "raised in captivity", outside of exposure to other women breastfeeding their babies.

Bottle feeding has become the norm in our culture. It dictates everything from what we expect from our infants' sleeping, to how we rank infant growth. Phrases like "breast is best" elevate lactation to a superior standing, giving the impression that we humans have been granted to ability to "exceed" our own biological norms. What was once the standard in infant feeding has been relegated to nothing more than a lifestyle choice.

Through our evolution, we have developed advanced sucking skills, larger brain capacities, the ability to stand upright and walk on 2 legs. We've mastered the use of tools. Our ability to lactate has allowed our species greater availability of infant food, leading to more stable and predictable species development. But as centuries passed, what was once an advantage to our species became our downfall. Cultural knowledge about breastfeeding was lost, artificial milks were invented, and more and more women were turning to artificial feeding methods. We were no longer exposed to our own species' biological norms, and instead artificial norms were transplanted in their place.

This blog represents a revival..better yet, a "revolution"...of breastfeeding as the biologically normal way to feed infants. Lack of knowledge among caregivers has led to a lot of myths being perpetuated about breastfeeding and infant nutrition. In starting this blog, I hope to be able to discredit some of these myths, as well as providing accurate and scientifically-supported information regarding certain areas of the field of lactation and infant feeding in general.