Sources of our Becoming
Letters on breastfeeding

Our thoughts are not born in isolation. They are shaped by the stories we hear, the norms we inherit, and the silences we are taught to accept. In the realm of infant feeding, few topics are as emotionally charged and socially complex as breastfeeding. The way we think about it — as natural, as optional, as burdensome, as empowering — is deeply influenced by cultural narratives, medical discourse, marketing strategies, and generational beliefs. Breastfeeding activism challenges us to examine these sources critically. It asks: Who benefits from the way we think about breastfeeding? Whose voices are amplified, and whose are dismissed? By tracing the origins of our thoughts, we begin to reclaim them — and in doing so, we create space for informed, compassionate, and justice-driven conversations about infant nourishment and maternal autonomy. 


These letters are written by An Eerdekens, neonatologist and IBCLC lactation consultant, Melanie Miller, IBCLC lactation consultant, and Inge van Nistelrooij, care ethicist. They are an invitation to the reader: to walk alongside us, to discuss, to reflect, and to deepen. It is a call to plant seeds — seeds that highlight the significance of this ingenious piece of biology within our society. Breastfeeding is not merely about feeding a child; it is about the emergence of relationality, a defining trait of our humanity. It touches upon ecology, philosophy, women’s rights, and human rights. Through this exploration, we hope to shed light on its broader meaning and impact.

We wish the reader an enriching journey through these reflections, and we look forward to your response.




Email: gloedacademy@gmail.com

[continued]
20th of May, 2025
Letter by Inge

 ....the focus of your research is on breastfeeding in the neonatologist department of the academic hospital of Leuven. I remember thinking: bringing such an intimate, embodied practice to a high-tech environment must be a challenge that requires courage and commitment. Hence I immediately became curious to get to know you better, also because we share the experience of academic backlash in our fields of research. I did not know yet that we would also share a passion for art, culture, and letter writing.

Mel, I met you in 2023 at Drew University, New Jersey, where you offered a wonderful presentation on your clinical experience as a lactation consultant in hospital and Women, Infants and Children (WIC)-based breastfeeding care. You were also the manager of lactation services for a Baby Friendly hospital system in New Jersey before you took the drastic decision to quit your job and to move to Scotland. In the mean time you are also working on your PhD in Medical and Health Humanities. I was inspired by your tender, thoughtful reflections on the ‘golden hour’ after birth, in which you opened a rich world of experiences and imaginations for me. I never knew of the ‘breast crawl’ newborns make towards the breast of their mothers, soon after birth. I was not aware of the role that lactation consultants could play in the first phase of parenting, through their intimate presence.

You two opened a professional and institutional world to me which I only knew as a mother myself, having given birth twice in a hospital, to three daughters, our eldest and then our twins. I have been a care ethicist since the early 1990s, inspired by the practices of care in families and their moral and political relevance. For almost 10 years I have focused upon the questions related to pregnancy, childbirth and parenting. I have had several positions in the academic world, and when we first met I had just decided to reduce my hours in academia to become more involved in practices again. Since then I even withdrew altogether from academic life and started Gloed Academy with Merel Visse. It is my dream to support people in their caring practices and to form a community inspired by care, ethics and the arts.

In the two of you I found my fellow companions. I met An in Antwerp in February 2025, and the three of us met regularly online. We are all fascinated by the intimate practice of breastfeeding as well as by the cultural, moral and political context in which this takes place. Books and art form the other ‘sources of our becoming’. We decided to write to each other in a public place, hoping to reach out to others who join us in discussions, reflections, and deepening our thoughts. We will write on what inspires us in our thoughts and work, honoring our sources of thought, sharing our friendship and building a community of care.

Thank you for sharing your sources of thoughts with me.

Lots of love,
Inge




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Sources of our Thoughts - Letters on the Golden Hour