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The physiological responses in coitus and lactation are closely allied, say the Newtons: "Uterine contractions occur both during suckling and during sexual excitement. Nipple erection occurs during both. Breast stimulation alone can induce orgasm in some women. Nursing mothers not only report sexual stimulation from suckling but also, as a group, are more interested in as rapid a return to active intercourse with their husbands as possible."
Less Cancer. La Leche mothers and their handbook put less emphasis on such basic drives than on the welfare of mother and child. Medical research firmly supports their contention that a breast-fed baby is less liable than a bottle-fed baby to such distressing complaints as diarrhea, colic, diaper rash, allergies and infections—from the common cold to influenza and poliomyelitis. He also benefits emotionally from frequent fondling and being cradled in Mother's arms. The mother herself benefits because hormone changes associated with lactation speed contraction of the uterus after the stretching caused by childbirth. The incidence of breast cancer is far lower among women who have nursed their babies than among those who have relied on the bottle. And again, the nursing mother enjoys satisfactions denied a woman who has to mix and fix formulas.
Some of the conveniences of breast feeding are obvious. The milk is always at the right temperature, so there is no problem of heating bottles and worrying when they cool off. It is available at any hour of the day or night. It is always sterile—if there are stray germs around the nipples, they are almost certainly the ones to which the mother and therefore the baby already have antibodies.
More Flow. The inconveniences of breast feeding are just as obvious for the modern woman who wants to be active outside the home, at work or in her social life. She cannot rush home every time the baby needs to be nursed. Besides, most women nowadays are too embarrassed to nurse in public, although La Leche offers advice on how to do it modestly. If women overcome this hesitation, they still do not know how to start the milk flowing. Most obstetricians could not care less; their responsibility ends with the delivery. Most pediatricians have been inadequately trained. And nurses in lying-in wards are much more eager to put a bottle in the baby's mouth to keep it quiet than to trundle the infant back and forth to Mother every two or three hours.
For La Leche's scores of thousands of members, the routine is neither difficult nor unfamiliar. Their rule: let the baby suck to start the milk flow; the more it wants and sucks, the more plentiful the flow will be. There are exceptions, as there have been throughout history, when wet nurses have been in demand: some women simply cannot breastfeed. La Leche tries to reassure such women so that they will not feel guilty. There is no point in making a cult of breast feeding,* and La Leche advocates it only for those who both can and want to do it. La Leche mothers concede that for the vast majority of infants, formula does no harm. They simply contend, with old Dr. Holmes, that their own product is superior.