Infant and Child Sexuality: A Sociological Perspective - Ipce

erection, as observed in the Halverson experiment, does not rule out
other possible stimulants, such as the stimulation received in a normal
satisfying nursing experience.
Turning now to the mother’s responses, the mother’s physiological
responses to sucking and coitus are very similar. Uterine contractions
occur during the sucking as they do during sexual stimulation. Nipple
erection occurs during both, with an increase of 1 to 1.5 centimeters
in nipple length occurring due to sexual stimulation. (Masters and
Johnson, 1966). Milk ejection has been observed to occur in both, and
the degree of milk ejection appears to be related to the degree of
erotic response. The nipple-erection reflex may lead to more efficient
nursing, increasing the satisfaction for the sucking infant as well as
for the mother. Marked breast stimulation occurring during sucking or
through fondling and caressing induces orgasm in some women.
Mothers who choose to suckle their babies have a higher general
level of sexual interest than do non-suckling post-partum women. Two
studies in which mothers who suckled their babies were compared with
those who did not bear this out. (Sears, Maccoby, and Levin, 1957,
p.74; Masters and Johnson, 1966, p. 161-163). Mothers who had positive
attitudes toward suckling gave more milk and were more successful in
breast feeding than those with negative feelings toward suckling. Uteruses
of suckling mothers returned to normal size sooner. Many mothers
(25% in one study) felt erotic arousal during suckling--to the point of
orgasm for a few of them. Suckling mothers not only reported erotic
stimulation from the suckling experience; they were interested in as
rapid a return to coitus with their husbands as possible. Suckling
mothers engaged in coitus sooner post-partum than did non-suckling
mothers. They were more interested in sex, and placed more importance
on the exchange of affection with others than did mothers who chose to
bottle-feed their babies. “Anyone who has ever observed the sensuous
manner in which many mothers fondle their babies will appreciate that a
mother too may have contact need...” (Masters and Johnson, 1966). Suckling
mothers were also more tolerant toward erotic behavior of their
offspring, such as masturbation and sex play with others. (Sears, et
al, 1957, p. 549).
Some of the mothers experienced fear of a perverted sexual interest
from the amount of eroticism stimulated by the nursing process, and
several non-nursing mothers who had nursed previous babies refused to
nurse again because of concern and guilt over their erotic feelings. If
the husband felt that nursing was disgusting or harmful, it discouraged
many women from nursing and they had little erotic interest for
months. Ironically, these men were denied sex relations longer than if
their wives had suckled their babies. The closeness, the pleasurable
feelings from the relationship in the long run may benefit infant,
mother, and husband, too.
The discovery of a relationship between suckling and eroticism is
not new. The Peruvian, Mochica Indians of 900 A.D., left all sorts of
pottery decorated with sexual themes, a mother having intercourse while
nursing her baby, for example. Nipple stimulation resulting in uterine
contractions was known in early history. Leonardo Da Vinci in his
drawings depicted a nerve leading from the nipples to the uterus.
(Lowry, 1970). As early as 1931, Dickinson and Beam in their study of a
thousand marriages reported on orgasms resulting from suckling an
13