THE image of the Virgin Mary breastfeeding the baby Jesus epitomizes the special bond between mother and child.

The Vatican approves of breastfeeding pictures of the Virgin Mary, while advocates of breastfeeding underscore its power and importance.

Breast milk is still the best food for babies as it contains the essential nutrients needed by the newborn, according to neuroscientist and molecular biologist Dr. Custer Deocaris.

Breastfeeding also develops love and compassion between mother and child, the cornerstone of Christian teachings, he adds.

Deocaris, who has joined the breastfeeding advocacy, notes that science can very well support why mothers should breastfeed their children.

Deocaris and members of Children for Breastfeeding sat down with the Inquirer last week to talk about the importance of efforts to promote breastfeeding.

Nothing could stress its importance more than the image of the Virgin Mary breastfeeding the Baby Jesus, according to Dr. Elvira Henares-Esguerra, director of Children for Breastfeeding and a fellow of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine.

Good enough for Jesus

?If breastfeeding was good enough for Baby Jesus, it?s good enough for our babies,? Esguerra says.

In 2008, the Vatican announced that it wanted more breastfeeding pictures of the Virgin Mary.

The Vatican newspaper L?Osservatore Romano printed articles quoting historians who said the image showed that Jesus Christ was human. According to the Catholic News Service, it was a sign of the word of God made flesh.

The articles also said there were paintings of a breastfeeding Virgin Mary in the early years of Christianity but the coming of the conservatives diminished the production of such images.

Sculpture

Esguerra and Nona Andaya-Castillo, both international board-certified lactation consultants, have commissioned the creation of a sculpture showing a full-breasted Virgin Mary in the act of feeding the Baby Jesus.

The sculpture is expected to be completed next year and will show a ?humanized? Mary looking lovingly at the Baby Jesus as she feeds him, in the proper, ?full latch? breastfeeding position.

The image is meant not only to inspire, but also to teach mothers the proper way of holding their babies while breastfeeding, Castillo says.

They intend to bring the sculpture to the Pope for his blessing.

?We?re responding to the Vatican?s call,? Esguerra says.

She adds that it?s time to resurrect the image of Mary breastfeeding her Child to teach people that there is nothing obscene about the act.

?We see women skimpily clad and gyrating on TV in full view of the children and you see the host looking at them lewdly ? and we?re desensitized. Yet there is discrimination against women breastfeeding in public,? Esguerra says.

Love hormone

Deocaris, who has studied the brain, says breastfeeding releases the hormone oxytocin, which promotes feelings of trust, well-being and love, making mothers more nurturing and protective toward their babies. Some have even dubbed oxytocin the ?love hormone.?

?Breastfeeding is a tenet of Christianity because you give of yourself. Because of oxytocin, you forget about yourself; it?s the renunciation of yourself for the service and sacrifice of another being. This, in general, is the pillar of altruism and compassion,? he explains.

From a scientific standpoint, it is important for mothers to want to take care their children to ensure their survival and the propagation of the species. The human brain is complex and takes long to develop which is why we need more nurturing.

It is also vital to properly nurture a child in the first few years of his life because the foundation of his behavior is formed during his time, Deocaris says.

?During this period the brain is rapidly generating and pruning its neural circuits at a rate that will never again be attained in a lifetime. How we are treated as babies by people who care for us is sufficient to alter the circuitry and chemistry of our brains; these changes will be carried out until adulthood,? he adds.

Close to the heart

Deocaris also points out that breastfeeding mothers instinctively cradle children to their left breast, which is close to the heart. In this position, the mother?s left field of vision is more focused on the baby. This left field is dictated by the right hemisphere of the brain, which is associated with compassion, he says.

Breast milk itself is a wonder, a substance that has been perfected through millions of years of evolution, according to Deocaris.

Breast milk is tailor-made for the baby. It changes its composition and adapts to the baby?s needs when necessary. Hence, no two feedings are alike.

?They think mother?s milk is simple, but it?s not,? he says.

Act of love

Esguerra says breastfeeding provides added value. Breastfeeding not only gives the child proper nutrition, it also makes him or her feel closer to the mother, developing feelings of trust and security.

Nursing a baby is a very sensual act since all of the child?s senses are engaged, she adds.

More than anything, breastfeeding is an act of love, according to its advocates. It is a mother giving herself to nourish and nurture her child.

Says Deocaris: ?Breastfeeding nurtures, heals and forms a lasting bond. And does a mother ask for anything in return??