Masochistic Mommy

Mother Nature is a hypocritical sod. Check this out: The raison d'etre of your existence is reproduction. So why then, does good ol’ Mother Nature muzzle our fertility while we’re lactating? And is there anything we can do to get pregnant without pulling the plug on breastfeeding? In this post I will answer both questions in turn. What gives me the confidence to speak about this issue? Firstly, I've been there (conceived under 6 month postpartum whilst exclusively breastfeeding), secondly, I've conducted a shed-load of academic research into breastfeeding fertility. A word of warning before we begin: As a result of reading this, you may find yourself up the duff, toot sweet. Want closely-spaced siblings? Dream of tandem-feeding? Read on! Aunt Flo takes a vacation While breastfeeding a lot of mothers notice that ‘shark week’ no longer occurs every month. Yet, as with many physiological happenings that appear idiotic, Mother Nature has a plan. You see, every time you bring yo...

It is late, later than usual. The lights are low and they are alone at last. Soft music is playing, with a familiar cadence. They have made love to this one before. A faint but primal scent is in the air. The origin is certain; the fragrance is an unmistakable blend of the two of them. Everything is perfect, the time is right; intimacy is at its peak. Their gaze is unbroken; their union is penetrating, physically and emotionally; a smouldering combination. It is as though they have waited for months for this very moment, the anticipation is vast. They move back and forth in unison. The energy is building, one can feel the pulsation. She is breathing heavier now; driven by her hormones she is moving to a familiar rhythm, he follows her lead. He caresses her, ever so gently, in all the right places, she lets him know just where. They have been here together before, but never like this. “Oh Yes! Yes please! Yes, thank you, darling. Oh right there, yes, oh baby. You are doing it just right...

I like using the ordinary to approach what is commonplace for some but still unfamiliar for others. The purpose is twofold: to show how everyday analogies, images, metaphors, similes and symbols can be used to see breast milk and breastfeeding from a fresh perspective; and to suggest how this approach in turn can help others see breast milk and breastfeeding in ways they would surely never have imagined. I include an occasional wink at the marketplace by using some cherished commercial jargon to describe what Mother Nature is up against, every day, on a very uneven playing field. Of pleasure and pain  When I was at most 8 or 9 years old I distinctly recall seeing a woman moving down the street with pronounced difficulty. In retrospect, the word waddle comes to mind; certainly walk would have been an exaggeration. You see, the woman was decked out in the popular attire of the early 1950s that has come and gone in several sartorial swings since. She was wearing that killer combinatio...