Cultures Without Colic: Breastfeeding & Other Baby Lessons from the !Kung San
To get a deeper understanding of the relationship between colic and breastfeeding, it’s good to take cues from other cultures. For example: the !Kung San (or African bushmen) have lived in isolation on the plains of the Kalahari Desert for thousands of years. Over the past forty years, however, the !Kung have allowed scientists to observe their lives, including how they care for babies.
I’ve read reports of the !Kung newborn care with great interest because their infants hardly ever cry! It’s not that they never cry – it’s that they never CRY! (And I know you understand the distinction.) !Kung infants get upset as often as our babies do, but their parents are so skilled that their babies’ fussing bouts average only sixteen seconds in duration – and over 90% end in under a minute. For parents struggling with colic in our culture, this sounds too good to be true.
What the !Kung secret? What ancient wisdom do they that know that we have forgotten? I believe this tribe’s stunning success is based on three main factors:
1. Constant holding
2. Immediate responding
3. Very frequent breastfeeding
Although the !Kung have few material possessions, they have the luxury of having lots of cuddle time with their babies. !Kung mothers carry their babies all day long in leather slings and sleep next to them at night. This closeness makes it easy to soothe fussiness right from the start, to keep it from building up into full-on colic.
Since !Kung parents spend so much time close to their babies, it’s easy for them to comfort their babies’ cries quickly – usually within ten seconds!
In addition to holding and cuddling, the !Kung calm their babies by putting extra emphasis on breastfeeding. They give quick little feedings 3-4 times an hour. That’s 50-100 times a day!
We in the West might think that all this lavish and immediate attention would spoil a baby, but that’s not the case. !Kung children generally grow up to be happy, independent, and well-adjusted.
Of course, I’m not suggesting we adopt all the !Kung ways – but by studying their successful parenting practices, Western moms and dads can glean some helpful tips – especially for parents dealing with poor infant sleep, excessive infant crying, and colic.
Tags: Colic
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I know that some people believe its possible to spoil newborns by giving them too much attention, but I just don’t see how this can be possible! Like you said in your book, our babies are born more like fetuses and need to be nurtured through their “fourth trimester”. This is where the swaddling technique makes so much sense, and has helped so many parents avoid the dreaded colic. Looking to the example of some tribal cultures, where colicky babies rarer, seems pretty spot on to me!
My wife and I have raised 3 children in the U.S. using exactly these techniques. I call it “Gorilla Parenting” because baby gorillas spend their entire first year of life hanging on to, held by or within arms-length of a parent. We are now co-sleeping with our 6 month old boy and have two older girls who were raised as infants the same way. He breast fed frequently and on demand as an infant is now breast feeding only at night. Life is good, baby and Mom are happy and everyone is sleeping through the night.