Breastfeeding, pain and bonding

Maternal response towards infant distress has an important impact on infant development. In animals it is established that lactation and pup suckling plays an important role in maintaining maternal responses. Pearson et al observed both breast and formula feeding women and found that those who breastfeed were more attentive towards their children’s distress than their formula feeding counterparts. This difference was not clear in testing prior to delivery in women choosing to start breast or bottle feeding. The authors presume therefor that is the act of breastfeeding that changes the maternal behavior, not the intention to start breastfeeding after birth. From  an evolutionary point of view this is an important piece of knowledge and one may presume that such important behavior is not easily undermined. Yet many women in the qualitative study Kelleher carried out report moderate to severe pain and discomfort during breastfeeding, sometimes to the extend of wishing to stop breastfeeding or feeling a negative effect on their bonding experience. Based on the knowledge that breastfeeding is so important for both the physical ande the psychological health of child and mother one can state that the experience of so much pain and discomfort in so many women should be unusual. One may even wonder if something is wrong with the way women are taught to breastfeed. 
Pearson RM, Lightman SL, Evans J: The impact of breastfeeding on mothers' attentional sensitivity towards infant distress. Infant Behavior and Development, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 24 December 2010, ISSN 0163-6383
Kelleher CM: The physical challenges of early breastfeeding. Social Science & Medicine, 2006, 63(10):2727-2738.