Topic : 10/07 The Latest Debates

Thank you.  I am in the same boat.  Stop trying to make it sexual. I'm sure they have seen more on a commercial or music video. 

How unfortunate for you that you didn't have the information to make the best choice for your babies.  Breastfed babies are more secure and healthier.  You need to put away your guilt and quit taking it out on those of us who are trying to give our infants the most important tool to get a good start on life.

 don't think people should breastfeed in public unless they are covered by a blanket or something. i have a 5 year old boy and he is always asking what people are doing. i don't think i should have to explain that to him. when he is older maybe. 

 

"She's feeding her baby honey"    

 

  

 

 

I agree Dr. Phil could have done a better job of educating people on the benefits of breastfeeding.  He had the perfect opportuninty to dispell a lot of myths and ignorance to breastfeeding and even turn potential mothers into breastfeeders as well.

I am currently pregnant with my second. I breastfeed my first  until she was a 1 1/2.  When she was little I fed in public and not in the bathroom.  Do we eat in the bathroom? NO!  You are so right!  When she became older I did not breastfeed in public (she could eat a snack), but 6 months and under when the babies primary food is breast milk.   You need to feed them when they are hungry!   Congratualtions on your baby and breastfeeding!

It is interesting to me, a mother of 3, both breast and bottlefed, that no one has mentioned the children. Breastfeeding is a wonderful time for both babies and moms to spend quiet, quality time, peacefully bonding and sharing. It is not a time for distractions, loud noises, stress. The offense is being felt by the baby, not the viewing public or the mom.  

  

So what if it is your right to breastfeed in public. So what if you don't like watching it. Think of the baby...it really doesn't matter whether it is breast milk or bottled formula...babies need comfort, security, pleasure while they eat.  

  

If you know that your child is going to need feeding, find a private place so that you can fully focus on the precious baby you are trying to do so much for. If you see moms breastfeeding in public, avert your eyes, and mention to the restaurant/business owner that maybe they could set tables aside for just this practice so that next time you would not have to witness this.  

  

Be that as it may. When did moms with breasts become fast food outlets for their children? Fast food is food on demand, quick, no delay, on the run. Personally, I never wanted my children to feel slighted, inconvenienced, or rushed when they ate. It is one of the prices we pay to be nurturing moms. Give them a few minutes of privacy and your undivided attention free from stress and noise. Pay 100% attention to that baby at your breast and stop trying to use them as a statement. If you raise well-adjusted, healthy, happy children.....that is statement enough. 

     Clearly there is an epidemic in our society that is causing us to view public breast-feeding as wrong, disgusting and inappropriate. It is undoubtedly due to the commercialization of infant formula feeding, an industry which spends countless dollars every year to bombard us with commercial and print ads advocating the use of their formula. This is not surprising nor should it necessarily be suppressed. This is a corporation in the business of making money. However, if we want society’s views on breast-feeding to change so must the culture in which it is suppressed.
    There are two ways in which we can alter our culture’s views on breast-feeding. The first is education. Every ad that exists for formula should be matched by an ad that supports breast-feeding. Media plays a huge part in shaping the views of our society and if we want to change our culture then the media’s view on infant feeding needs to no longer be one sided. There simply do not exist any mainstream ads for breast-feeding. Meanwhile, formula companies are making claims that formula is “as close to breast milk as you can get” which are misleading at best. You simply cannot achieve the benefits of human milk by substituting it with cow’s milk that has been enhanced with vitamins and the like. People need to understand that our children are human babies, not calves which have four stomachs. Breast milk was the designed as the perfect nutrient for infants. Further more, the stigmatization in our society of those who breast-feed for an extended period of time is appalling. The APA recommends breast-feeding for a minimum of one year, the World Health Organization (WHO) says two. Yet, despite this fact, when a child is approaching his/her first birthday and still breast-feeding regularly, the mother is stigmatized for her decision. If she chooses to breast-feeding beyond the first year and comply with the WHO’s recommendations she is ostracized even further. Clearly more education is needed surrounding the benefits of breast-feeding and the implications of not.
    The other key piece of changing society’s views is exposure. We live in a culture that fears the unknown. It is not surprising that when we see a woman breast-feeding our gaze is naturally drawn to it. It is unfamiliar, unknown territory to many Americans. It defies everything the media teaches us about the breast, namely that they serve the sole purpose of being objects of sexuality. If public breast-feeding became common place again than breast-feeding rates would rise tremendously. The APA guidelines for breast-feeding clearly state that one of the current major road blocks to reaching ideal breast-feeding rates is the lack of public approval.
    It is astonishing that formula feeding is so condoned by our society despite the fact that the APA explicitly states that breast-feeding is the preferred method of feeding our infants. If a mother decided not to comply with other APA guidelines she would be counseled by her child’s pediatrician to change her views. Instead, our doctors and hospitals are handing out formula to those who do not wish to breast-feed.
    As a mother I have not only a right but a duty to feed my child when he is hungry and I simply refuse to do that in a restroom. Maybe if restrooms provided a couch or a chair where I could privately breast-feed my child the circumstances would be different but I simply refuse to sit on the toilet or the ground of a dirty restroom to feed my child. What message does that send to my child about the importance of his nutrition? Would you even allow your child to eat his sandwich in the bathroom? Would even consider eating in the bathroom? Somehow our culture has become more comfortable with seeing a 15 month old baby eating french fries and a soda than they are with seeing a 9 month old breast-feeding. I just don’t understand.
    Most mothers are rather discrete in their breast-feeding habits. I have yet to meet a mother who takes off her shirt to expose more than is necessary to feed her child. We often tell mothers to “cover up” with a blanket or a throw. But have you ever tried to eat under a blanket? It is hot, uncomfortable and difficult to breathe. Not to mention the fact that it is terribly rude to the child. We need to remember that infants are little human beings with rights and feelings. To force a child to hide under a blanket or in the bathroom sends the message that there is something inherently wrong with what they are doing. The only way that our society will change is through education and exposure, one mother at a time.

Unfortunately many mothers have no desire to bf.  I'm glad your experience seems otherwise, but if most mothers wanted to, most mothers would. Yes, there are those of us who struggle, and there are solutions for many of us.  I'm part of a group who helps moms across the world bf, some of them have to fight SO HARD for it.  But I know many many moms who couldn't be bothered.  They are missing out on so much, but sadly enough, so are their babies.   

  

I gave up so early with my first babies.  My last one I determined I was going to do this and he nursed until 11 mos. I wanted much much more than that.  But it was hard work to get to where we did. 

  

Many, if not most, problems with bf'ing can be overcome one way or another.  Even if we end up expressing what we can get and feeding it to our baby through a tube on our breast.  They still get that nursing experience. 

How unfortunate that you didn't have the information to make the best choice for your babies.  Breastfed babies are more secure and healthier. 

I was bottlefed as a baby because my mother couldn't breastfeed. I was valedictorian of my junior high and graduated 4th in my high school class. i don't think breastfeeding versus bottlefeeding has anything to do with a child's intelligence. And to say that I wasn't blessed to have a loving mother willing to breastfeed me? There are many reasons why some women cannot breastfeed and you obviously don't know what they are. For example, I have some medical conditions and needed to go on medication as soon as my son was born. Therefore it was unsafe for me to breastfeed, though I wanted to. So I am bottlefeeding my son, and he and I are very bonded (I think more than my mom and I were) and I believe I am a good mom. I am a very loving mother, despite my feeding preference.