In the first weeks of a newborn’s life, the mother typically breastfeeds for an average of 20–40 minutes every 1.5–2 hours during the day and every 2–3 hours at night. Altogether, this amounts to about 5 to 8 or more hours per day — effectively a full working day. By evening, the woman may experience pronounced physical fatigue, a sense of “emptiness,” exhaustion, mild tremors in her arms and legs, and even a foggy state of consciousness, while the infant continues to “cling” to the breast.

Then the next day begins, and the same cycle repeats again and again, merging into a sequence of almost identical days of breastfeeding. During this period, the woman’s hormonal and nervous systems function like clockwork, responding to the so-called lactational dominant, which nature has instilled for the purpose of feeding the child she has given birth to. The more frequently and fully the infant empties the breast, the more milk is produced — one might wonder, what could be so exhausting about this cycle?

In reality, beyond significant physical expenditure — given that the woman’s body spends an average of 500–700 kcal per day on milk production (comparable to a daily climb uphill with a backpack) — the process of breastfeeding also entails a profound psychic work that the mother carries out both for herself and for her child.

If we turn to the etymology of the word “выкормить” (vykormit’ — “to rear” or “to nurse”), it can be noted that this verb conveys not only a utilitarian but also a distinctly symbolic aspect. The root “корм” (korm) denotes nourishment, food, a means of sustaining life, while the prefix “вы-” implies direction toward completion and the achievement of a result.

Breastfeeding represents a prolonged and completed process of forming another human being, made possible through bodily closeness with the mother, her emotional responsiveness, psychic involvement, and, of course, the physical giving of milk. Unlike the more neutral verb “накормить” (nakormit’ — “to feed”), the notion of “выкормить” inherently implies an outcome: the child not only satisfies hunger but is shaped as a human being through this nurturing process.

In other words, breastfeeding is not merely a biological function of providing nutrition to the infant. It is a fundamental, deeply symbolic, and psychophysical process that establishes the foundational structures of the child’s psyche, lays the groundwork for future relationships, and imbues the infant’s early experience with meaning. What, then, is the essence of this process?

Breastfeeding constitutes the infant’s primary experience of object relations. The breast that provides milk becomes for the infant the first “good object,” whereas its absence is experienced as a “bad object.” These early experiences are inseparably linked with the infant’s aggressive and loving impulses, which are projected onto the object. In this sense, feeding is not simply a physiological act of nutrition but also a space for the infant’s first intense unconscious experiences: love, envy, destructive impulses, and gratitude.

The breast comes to symbolize the entire maternal figure and her availability. The act of feeding, accompanied by sensations of pleasure, underlies the formation of the infant’s basic sense of trust in the world. This process also reveals the function of symbolization: it is through the experience of feeding that the infant gradually begins to construct primary notions of time, waiting, satisfaction, and disappointment.

The mother, in turn, performs the function of processing chaotic, unmanageable sensations for the infant and returns them in the form of an experience that can be made sense of. Breastfeeding can thus be seen as a vivid example of containing: the mother not only satisfies the child’s physical hunger but also “transforms” their anxiety, pain, and fear, thereby soothing the infant both physically and psychically.

In this context, the mother acts as the bearer of the capacity for thinking, since the infant is not yet capable of this function independently. In other words, the maternal breast is not only a source of nourishment but also a symbol of soothing, predictability, and meaning. If the mother is able to contain the infant’s anxieties without rejection or panic, the child develops stable primary connections between bodily sensations and emerging thought processes.

Moreover, breastfeeding is an integral element of what is known as the holding environment, within which the mother “holds” the infant both literally — in her arms — and symbolically, thereby providing a basic sense of safety. The regularity of feedings, bodily warmth, the rhythm of breathing, and the mother’s heartbeat create a matrix upon which the infant’s future sense of “being” in their body and in the world is built.

However, when the mother’s sensitivity is insufficient, or when she is overwhelmed by anxiety or the caregiving rhythm is severely disrupted — for example, due to hospital separation or prolonged absence — the infant may develop an experience of so-called “holding failure.” This experience can later serve as a basis for various forms of mistrust, fragmentation, and psychic disorganization.

Conversely, the process of breastfeeding for the mother herself is intertwined with the narcissistic aspect of motherhood, in which her breast is experienced as a source of power, control, love, and omnipotence. At the same time, breastfeeding can be understood as a symbolic act of “sacrifice,” whereby the woman offers her resources for the sake of the other: she gives her milk, rich in nutrients and microelements, her energy, her time, and even her autonomy and bodily comfort.

Furthermore, breastfeeding can be interpreted as a kind of ritual of love and separation: in giving her milk, the mother simultaneously connects with the infant and separates from them, recognizing the child’s distinctiveness and individual needs.

Thus, breastfeeding is a foundational experience that underlies the development of the human psyche. Through this process, the infant acquires a primary experience of connection and rupture, love and aggression, corporeality and the beginnings of thought. In this process, the mother serves not only as a physical source of nourishment but also as the first interpreter of the infant’s chaotic emotional world, the first object who thinks on behalf of the child at a time when they are not yet capable of doing so independently.