L E T T E R S

within 24 hours, whereas others take longer. Furthermore, I think that merely informing mothers that their pain is normal dooms them to long periods of discomfort and in many cases the early abandonment of breastfeeding because the pain cannot be tolerated.

I suggest the following be con- sidered: Future studies in the etiol- ogy and resolutions of nipple pain need to include as the significant factors for investigation interven- tions of improved latch-on and po- sitioning technique and evaluation of infant suckling behaviors. To evaluate such interventions would address the comments made by Marsha Walker and Jack Newman, and, I think, settle the issue once and for all. Then we can further in- vestigate nipple condition and its relationship to the improved tech- nique. Further study could investi- gate substances that may enhance healing when applied to nipples. All of these qualifers certainly make good research a challenge- but is it impossible? I hope not!

Unfortunately, I foresee a problem. When we are capable of teaching improved techniques to mothers, can we ethically withhold that instruction to study its effec- tiveness? I am open to suggestions and would welcome the collabora- tion of anyone who seriously wants to continue research on this critical topic.

Dawn Frank, m, BSN, IBCLC Director, South Shore

Lactation Center Babylon, NY

Fatbers and Breastfeeding I wish to comment on Gamble & Morse’s “Fathers of breastfed in- fants: Postponing and types of in- volvement” CJuly/August 1993 JOG”). Many white, middle- and upper-class fathers may influence feeding choice, but studies show that in black, Hispanic, and Asian cultures this may not be so. I as- sume that all 14 fathers were white and middle class. Breastfeeding does indeed perpetuate a special relationship between the mother and baby, obviously for survival. Fa- thers cannot replicate this relation- ship because they are not supposed to. I disagree completely with the statement, “The unique nurturing part of breastfeeding interferes with the development of similar mutuality in the father-infant rela- tionship.” What elements consti- tute the father-infant relationship? They are not defined here. There- fore, by default, researchers as- sume that the father-infant rela- tionship must duplicate the mother-infant relationship to be successful. Why does the father want to be like the mother? The male model of behavior is charac- terized by control, competition, separation, and independence, which is quite evident in the com- ments of the men in this study. This model does not fit well with breast- feeding. For many men, childbirth and breastfeeding may be the first things they have encountered that they cannot do. Some men resent this and arrange it so their partners cannot do them either.

What is the father postponing

-feeding the baby, putting him to sleep? What the authors describe as compensating behaviors are actu- ally fathering or parenting behav- iors. Fathers are not supposed to be mothers. There is more to father- ing than feeding bottles to babies.

The concept that fathers have “caught up” when the baby re- sponds the same way to each par- ent minimizes the differences be- tween a father and a mother. It sounds more like competition, with adult goals taking precedence over what a baby really needs. There is no definition here either of fathering-just that after the baby is weaned, the father is on equal footing with the mother in their race for the baby’s attention. Is this the goal of fathering?

If fathers are concerned about feeding the baby in the mother’s absence, why fight with a hungry infant over a bottle? There are other options, such as a cup, which work just fine.

Nurses most certainly have ac- cess to fathers outside of the prena- tal class setting-in the hospital; through home-visit programs; at the pediatrician’s office; and through a nurse/lactation consultant or post- partum parenting classes.

We do not want parents to avoid or abandon breastfeeding because the father can’t be like the mother. The father creates his own parenting style, which is what the baby really needs anyway.

Marsha Walker, RN, IBCLC President, Lactation Associates Weston, M A

37G J O G N N Volume 23 Number 5