Passing Down a Talent for Breastfeeding

     I just spent a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with my "Little Granny".  She is a small
(probably 4' 10") woman with snow white hair that she has worn knotted into a french twist for as long as I can remember.  I only rarely get to see her and we spent the day eating, laughing and amusing ourselves with our crafts of choice, knitting for me and crocheting for her.
     Women on my mother's side of the family have always been very adept at the "womanly arts" and I can remember Granny teaching me to crochet around the age of 8.  One time I made a chain from scrap yarn that ran the entire length of her house and as I got older my projects became more complicated.  My interest in knitting has been in me for years but it wasn't until recently that I learned how and that was only after begging my mother to teach me.
     As we worked on our projects we talked about her mother (Granmommy) and her talents for quilting, knitting, crocheting and tatting.  Tatting is a process of making handmade lace by looping and knotting a single thread on a small shuttle.  When Granmommy died this talent was lost in our family because she never taught any of her 3 daughters the technique.  I'm sure we could add this art form back to our family repertoire but only with much research and effort and sadly without the insight and experience of my great -grandmother.  Granny, my mother, and I lamented this loss and I of course couldn't help but draw a parallel between it and breastfeeding.
     Breastfeeding, although it is the way we as human beings are intended to feed our young, does not always come naturally.  I have had 7 years in the field of lactation to ponder for myself and discuss with my fellow professionals why this is the case.  Apart from any anatomical issues over which we  may have no control, the most common answer is that we have not been taught how.  There have been plenty of decades and generations of bottle fed infants to pass since the advent of artificial milk so that the knowledge of breastfeeding whys and hows has been lost to us.  Were you breastfed?  Did you have the benefit of growing and maturing in an environment where breastfeeding was the norm and where you could see women actively nursing their young?  If you are like most women of childbearing age the answer is no.  
     As much as I lament the loss of the art of breastfeeding I am also encouraged by the number of women I see attempting to initiate a breastfeeding relationship with their precious little ones and by the number of women seeking assistance if they find themselves struggling.  If you are expecting and have no or little knowledge about how breastfeeding works know that there are many women out there who want you to succeed and are willing to support you through this journey.  Take a class, ask questions, educate yourself.  As my husband is always reminding me, it is better to be proactive than reactive.
     It is my hope that by the time our grandchildren are born the current breastfeeding environment will have changed and our daughters will be able to easily glide into their new role as Dairy Queen and to do so because when they were little someone taught them how.