This [natural mothering] means that in the early months (5-6) the baby’s sole source of nutrition and sucking is its mother’s breast. That means no formulas, no solids, and no liquids—not even water. (The result of this is healthier babies who have fewer allergies and sicknesses and fewer problems with early obesity.) It means further that the baby gets to nurse when it wants to rather than on a pre-set schedule and that he or she will get the opportunity to nurse during the night as well as during the day. This is especially convenient when mother sleeps with baby. It means that pacifiers are not used; instead the baby is allowed to nurse for pacification as well as for nourishment.
If any of this sounds strange or “unnatural” to you, it is simply an indication of the extent to which you have been conditioned to accept all the artifacts that the medical-industrial complex has foisted on Western culture with regard to baby care. Behind every aspect of the overall condition of natural mothering is the fact that breastfeeding’s natural infertility is dependent upon a regular sucking stimulus. The various artifacts mentioned plus such cultural patterns as trying to avoid any sort of night feedings, having baby sleep in a separate bed, letting baby cry it out, etc. are patterns which reduce the amount and frequency of suckling and which separate mother and her baby. Natural, ecological breastfeeding brings mother and baby together in a warm relationship that provides the best nutrition, emotional satisfaction and natural infertility. (First printed in 1971)
John and Sheila Kippley