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Messages By: lissabob

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October 7, 2005, 11:24 am PDT

10/07 The Latest Debates

Quote From: eureeka321

I strongly disagree with the Mom on the show arguing for breastfeeding in public and I wish I could have been there to ask her a question.  She said that she can do it anywhere, anytime, and she doesn't give a hoot if anyone is strongly offended.  What I would like to know is this:  If she is in a classy restaurant with 100 other people, all who are at least slightly uncomfortable with public breastfeeding... is she saying that all 100 people should get up and leave just because one person wants to whip out her breast and feed her child at the table?  I'm sorry- have some consideration for the public.  If you are making more than one person uncomfortable and there is something you can do about it, then do it.  Most bathrooms these days have chairs or couches... sit there while you do it.  Go to your car.  Bring a bottle with you when you know you will be in public.  Put a blanket over yourself.  There are so many options.   

  

Yes I know it's natural to breastfeed- but people are grossed out when men scratch their genitals in public.  Scratching is a totally natural thing to do- the fingers are made to scratch just as the breast is made to feed.  If you can breastfeed, they should be able to scratch their genitals. 

  

What about the young children around? We are trying to teach them modesty and respect, yet a ten year old boy, just becoming curious about the opposite sex, should have to see a woman with her breast exposed?   

  

You want to breastfeed, that's your decision and I respect it.  Do it at home, do it in the car, do it in the bathroom, do it in the back of the room or someplace where you aren't in full view.  Be modest and respectful. 

I bf in public all the time, and the most you can see is a flash of nipple when my daughter latches on and perhaps some abdomen. WOW! That's so much worse than the cleavage that probably is exposed at your hypothetical restaurant hmm?  There is also a huge difference between an adult scratching himself, and a mother FEEDING her child. How could you possibly compare the two? How about you have some consideration for the child who doesn't understand why he/she "has" to eat in a nasty, smelly place because someone else can't get over their phobia of a little skin? If you come join me on that couch or chair (which really, I haven't seen anywhere LOL) then I'll move into a bathroom.
 
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October 7, 2005, 11:38 am PDT

10/07 The Latest Debates

Quote From: tojsmom

As a mother of 2 children I am for breastfeeding and bottle feeding. With my first child I tried breastfeeding for about 4 weeks but I was so sore from it and she had literally tore my nipples up. I tried everything to see if the problem could be corrected. I felt like a failure when I decided to bottle feed her. So when I had my second child I swore that I would breastfeed since I couldn't with my first. Well, this time it wasn't painful and it seemed so natural; but my second child was loosing weight drastically. So I went to the hospital where I had the child and spoke with a lactation consultant. She had hooked me up to a pump to see how much milk I was producing and I just wasn't producing enough. So I had to bottle feed, or my child wouldn't get the nourishment needed. 

  

I feel that it's a right that a mother has to choose what is best for their child. Some women aren't just able to breastfeed and so they have to make the right choice for their child. 

Not trying to make you feel bad, but it seems you got some bad advice. A pump is NEVER an accurate guage of how much milk you are producing (or how much baby is ingesting while nursing). And there are many ways to try to increase your output if you are having problems. I tell you this not to make you feel bad, but so if you have another child and want to try to bf, you have more knowledge to make it work. Here's a link for you (and anyone else interested) 

  

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low 

  

I fully applaud you for trying, I'm just sorry your LC wasn't a better one.  

 
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October 7, 2005, 12:09 pm PDT

10/07 The Latest Debates

Quote From: lanhas

Yes, We have mammory glands, and we have milk for babies to drink from our breasts. We also are more advanced than your regular warm blooded hairy animal. Discretion is the key, usually noone cares that you're feeding your baby, meaning noone has a problem with that part. The problem arises when some women get  100% all natural , animalistic, hippie, bohemian on you and  start flinging breasts out of blouses with exposed nipples in everyones view. No, you shouldn't feel ashamed or be shunned. There are ways to do things in this day and age, there are nursing clothes, and endless resources for nursing mothers. You have to take into account others peoples feelings when you are in public. As mothers this is just like teaching our children that our needs, and feelings are superior and come before other peoples needs, and feelings. Yes it's natural and necessary but so is passing gas, would you like people openly passing gas around you while your eating, shopping, and everything else in public, or would you prefer them to be discrete about it?

I admit, my boobs aren't what they used to be, but I still can't "fling" them very far. ;-) And I don't know anyone who can. And passing gas doesn't benefit an innocent child.  

 
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October 7, 2005, 12:11 pm PDT

10/07 The Latest Debates

Quote From: azaleigh05

My message is in regards to the woman that was on the show today who had the opinion that breast feeding was an inattractive thing.  She said that the nursing mother should just go into the bathroom just because it is unattractive to her while she is eating her meal.  How would she feel about taking her plate into the bathroom to eat?  I am a father of two children and I know very well just how nasty and unclean most public restrooms can be.  I don't want my children eating in an unhealthy and disgusting environment.  There is nothing wrong with breast feeding.  It's a necessary action for the health and development of your child.  It's far more recommended that your child be breast fed because it is healthier for your child.  Here is my comment for her:  You say that because the breast feeding is unattractive to you and that you don't want to see it while you are sitting down to eat your meal, so does that mean that if I am sitting down to eat my meal and look up and see you sitting across from me and I find you unattractive that you should be forced to get up and take your meal somewhere else?  I don't think so and honestly I wouldn't expect you to.  Nor would I expect a nursing mother to have to get up to go somewhere else to feed their child just because someone finds it unattractive.  If it offends you so much, then go somewhere else.  I am currently stationed in Europe as a member of the US Army and I don't see these sort of issues over here.  I truly believe that the US is the greatest country in the world and I would not want to live or claim any other land as my home.  But, there are things that our country could learn from other parts of the world.  The human body is an accepted norm over here and it is nothing strange at all to see a mother breast feeding her child out on the street over here.  If it is truly something so offensive to you, then look away!  It's just rediculous that we even still have laws in the US that make it illegal for a woman to breast feed in public.  Since when did the human body become such an offensive thing!!!  As a father of two very wonderful, beautiful and healthy children, I think that breast feeding is a beautiful thing!  And not as a sexual thing either!  It's just so wonderful to see a mother and child so close and combined together.  It gives you hope in the future and the family values of our society!!!
There needs to be more men like you out in the world!!! TY so much. Your wife needs to give you an extra hug and kiss lol.
 
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October 7, 2005, 12:28 pm PDT

10/07 The Latest Debates

Quote From: linda0856

I believe that a woman has a right to breast feed their child...however there are breast pumps where a nursing mother can express her breast milk and I believe that when they are in public that they should feed them in this way so not to offend anyone...condoms debate...I don't believe that condoms being handed out at school is necessarily wrong...its just teaching children to be responsible when it comes to having sex...I believe that parents should talk to their children about sex and let them know that if they were to have sex that they should be prepared to have protection with them...I have two daughters in their early twenties and I have talked to them about this subject as I don't want them learning from someone else...or my not telling them anything and they turn out pregnant or with any std...school sex education is important also but I feel that the parents should have a talk with their children as well....I see young girls and older women going out in public with half their breasts exposed and don't think that its appopriate for them to be doing that. 

Do you realize that bm is a LIVE substance and that it breaks down after being expressed? Meaning it loses its beneficial properties the longer it is out and about. NTM, it is a pain to pump, transport, warm, and then feed ebm. (Kudos to moms who pump and feed!) It is neccessary to bring along all sorts of baby stuff on an outing, I don't get how one would want to make it more of a production.
 
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October 7, 2005, 1:08 pm PDT

10/07 The Latest Debates

Quote From: dolly1955

But passing gas does benefit the person who does the passing, 

what if they have a bad gas pain in their stomach?  Even so, don't you think they should go someplace else to do it... like to the bathroom?   Just like breastfeeding. It's something that needs to be done, right? But it don't have to be around other people. If you're rude enough to flop out your breast around people, then don't say anything about somebody else being rude and passing gas around you!  You aren't any better then they are. 

I'll make you a deal- you go somewhere else to eat and so will my daughter. I don't think it is in any way rude to feed her. And my boob doesn't FLOP OUT- I lift my top with my daughter in front of me, she latches on, I adjust my shirt to cover all but maybe a 1/4 in of skin. If you're staring that hard... well, you're the one with the rudeness problem, not me.  

  

http://thecowgoddess.com/starbucks.html 

 
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October 7, 2005, 1:24 pm PDT

10/07 The Latest Debates

Quote From: forbes

Breastfeeding is fine for me, if a mother is "showing " to much I just look the over way. The only thing that bothers me about breastfeeding is when a toddler or older child is still breastfeeding. When a child reaches an age around 15 months, breastfeeding should be done with. A child of this age receives all nutrition from food and drink. The only one that benefits from breastfeeding with a child over 13 months is the MOTHER (not nutritionally, only in the mother's mind).

Educate yourself 

  

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/bfextended/ebf-benefits.html 

  

Breastfeeding benefits toddlers and young children...
nutritionally, immunilogically and psychologically. 

  • Nursing toddlers benefit NUTRITIONALLY
  • Nursing toddlers are SICK LESS OFTEN
  • Nursing toddlers have FEWER ALLERGIES
  • Nursing toddlers are SMART
  • Nursing toddlers are WELL ADJUSTED SOCIALLY
  • Nursing a toddler is NORMAL
  • MOTHERS also benefit from nursing past infancy
  • Poll
  • Additional Resources
Nursing toddlers benefit NUTRITIONALLY
  • Although there has been little research done on children who breastfeed beyond the age of two, the available information indicates that breastfeeding continues to be a valuable source of nutrition and disease protection for as long as breastfeeding continues.
  • "Human milk expressed by mothers who have been lactating for >1 year has significantly increased fat and energy contents, compared with milk expressed by women who have been lactating for shorter periods. During prolonged lactation, the fat energy contribution of breast milk to the infant diet might be significant."
    -- Mandel 2005
  • "Breast milk continues to provide substantial amounts of key nutrients well beyond the first year of life, especially protein, fat, and most vitamins."
    -- Dewey 2001
  • In the second year (12-23 months), 448 mL of breastmilk provides:
    • 29% of energy requirements
    • 43% of protein requirements
    • 36% of calcium requirements
    • 75% of vitamin A requirements
    • 76% of folate requirements
    • 94% of vitamin B12 requirements
    • 60% of vitamin C requirements
    -- Dewey 2001
  • Studies done in rural Bangladesh have shown that breastmilk continues to be an important source of vitamin A in the second and third year of life.
    -- Persson 1998
  • It's not uncommon for weaning to be recommended for toddlers who are eating few solids. However, this recommendation is not supported by research. According to Sally Kneidel in "Nursing Beyond One Year" (New Beginnings, Vol. 6 No. 4, July-August 1990, pp. 99-103.):

    Some doctors may feel that nursing will interfere with a child's appetite for other foods. Yet there has been no documentation that nursing children are more likely than weaned children to refuse supplementary foods. In fact, most researchers in Third World countries, where a malnourished toddler's appetite may be of critical importance, recommend continued nursing for even the severely malnourished (Briend et al, 1988; Rhode, 1988; Shattock and Stephens, 1975; Whitehead, 1985). Most suggest helping the malnourished older nursing child not by weaning but by supplementing the mother's diet to improve the nutritional quality of her milk (Ahn and MacLean. 1980; Jelliffe and Jelliffe, 1978) and by offering the child more varied and more palatable foods to improve his or her appetite (Rohde, 1988; Tangermann, 1988; Underwood, 1985).  

References  

Nursing toddlers are SICK LESS OFTEN
  • The American Academy of Family Physicians notes that children weaned before two years of age are at increased risk of illness (AAFP 2001).
  • Nursing toddlers between the ages of 16 and 30 months have been found to have fewer illnesses and illnesses of shorter duration than their non-nursing peers (Gulick 1986).
  • "Antibodies are abundant in human milk throughout lactation" (Nutrition During Lactation 1991; p. 134). In fact, some of the immune factors in breastmilk increase in concentration during the second year and also during the weaning process. (Goldman 1983, Goldman & Goldblum 1983, Institute of Medicine 1991).
  • Per the World Health Organization, "a modest increase in breastfeeding rates could prevent up to 10% of all deaths of children under five: Breastfeeding plays an essential and sometimes underestimated role in the treatment and prevention of childhood illness." [emphasis added]

References  

Nursing toddlers have FEWER ALLERGIES
  • Many studies have shown that one of the best ways to prevent allergies and asthma is to breastfeed exclusively for at least 6 months and continue breastfeeding long-term after that point.

    Breastfeeding can be helpful for preventing allergy by:
    1. reducing exposure to potential allergens (the later baby is exposed, the less likely that there will be an allergic reaction),
    2. speeding maturation of the protective intestinal barrier in baby's gut,
    3. coating the gut and providing a barrier to potentially allergenic molecules,
    4. providing anti-inflammatory properties that reduce the risk of infections (which can act as allergy triggers).

References  

Nursing toddlers are SMART
  • Extensive research on the relationship between cognitive achievement (IQ scores, grades in school) and breastfeeding has shown the greatest gains for those children breastfed the longest.

References  

Nursing toddlers are WELL ADJUSTED SOCIALLY
  • According to Sally Kneidel in "Nursing Beyond One Year" (New Beginnings, Vol. 6 No. 4, July-August 1990, pp. 99-103.):

    "Research reports on the psychological aspects of nursing are scarce. One study that dealt specifically with babies nursed longer than a year showed a significant link between the duration of nursing and mothers' and teachers' ratings of social adjustment in six- to eight-year-old children (Ferguson et al, 1987). In the words of the researchers, 'There are statistically significant tendencies for conduct disorder scores to decline with increasing duration of breastfeeding.'"
  • According to Elizabeth N. Baldwin, Esq. in "Extended Breastfeeding and the Law": 
    "Breastfeeding is a warm and loving way to meet the needs of toddlers and young children. It not only perks them up and energizes them; it also soothes the frustrations, bumps and bruises, and daily stresses of early childhood. In addition, nursing past infancy helps little ones make a gradual transition to childhood."
  • Baldwin continues: "Meeting a child's dependency needs is the key to helping that child achieve independence. And children outgrow these needs according to their own unique timetable." Children who achieve independence at their own pace are more secure in that independence then children forced into independence prematurely.

References  

Nursing a toddler is NORMAL
  • The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that "Breastfeeding should be continued for at least the first year of life and beyond for as long as mutually desired by mother and child... Increased duration of breastfeeding confers significant health and developmental benefits for the child and the mother... There is no upper limit to the duration of breastfeeding and no evidence of psychologic or developmental harm from breastfeeding into the third year of life or longer." (AAP 2005)
  • The American Academy of Family Physicians recommends that breastfeeding continue throughout the first year of life and that "Breastfeeding beyond the first year offers considerable benefits to both mother and child, and should continue as long as mutually desired." They also note that "If the child is younger than two years of age, the child is at increased risk of illness if weaned." (AAFP 2001)
  • A US Surgeon General has stated that it is a lucky baby who continues to nurse until age two. (Novello 1990)
  • The World Health Organization emphasizes the importance of nursing up to two years of age or beyond (WHO 1992, WHO 2002).
  • Scientific research by Katherine A. Dettwyler, PhD shows that 2.5 to 7.0 years of nursing is what our children have been designed to expect (Dettwyler 1995).

References [see also position statements supporting breastfeeding]  

MOTHERS also benefit from nursing past infancy
  • Extended nursing delays the return of fertility in some women by suppressing ovulation (References).
  • Breastfeeding reduces the risk of breast cancer (References). Studies have found a significant inverse association between duration of lactation and breast cancer risk.
  • Breastfeeding reduces the risk of ovarian cancer (References).
  • Breastfeeding reduces the risk of uterine cancer (References).
  • Breastfeeding reduces the risk of endometrial cancer (References).
  • Breastfeeding protects against osteoporosis. During lactation a mother may experience decreases of bone mineral. A nursing mom's bone mineral density may be reduced in the whole body by 1 to 2 percent while she is still nursing. This is gained back, and bone mineral density may actually increase, when the baby is weaned from the breast. This is not dependent on additional calcium supplementation in the mother's diet. (References).
  • Breastfeeding reduces the risk of rheumatoid arthritis. (References).
  • Breastfeeding has been shown to decrease insulin requirements in diabetic women (References).
  • Breastfeeding moms tend to lose weight easier (References).

  

Page last modified: 09/02/2005
Written: 3/12/98 

  

Try again lol 

 
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October 7, 2005, 1:32 pm PDT

10/07 The Latest Debates

Quote From: calmcanuck

Agree totally and well put! 

One question to those who seem to feel it is their right (even responsibility) to do as they see fit without consideration to others......what about the rights of parents of other older children to decide for themselves when and at what age they would like to have the discussion with their own kids about 'the facts of life' but are forced to honestly answer the question  "mommy, what's that lady doing". 

  

Hmm, perhaps some babies hate to have blankets over them while they eat? Do you like to eat under a blanket? So you tell the child, feeding their baby the way god intended... how horrifying! I got the lovely opportunity to tell my niece (who is 4) about bfing during a recent visit. She was very interested and didn't think anything bad of it.. why would she unless an adult taught her to think that way? Breastfeeding isn't shameful- Jesus was bf for goodness sakes!!
 
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October 7, 2005, 10:00 pm PDT

10/07 The Latest Debates

Quote From: kyrahm

First, calling people anal and prudish because they have a different opinion from you is extremely judgmental.  Second I completely support breastfeeding in public IF a cover is used.  Third, there are things people do in Europe that we don't do here and vice versa - and if I lived in Amsterdam, I wouldn't holler and scream because of legalized prostitution and drugs - that is their culture and choice, but it is not the US.  Fourth, I believe you meant "form", not "forum" - and if you did, why did you introduce the nursing habits of animals into the human forum?  Fifth, I don't object to animals nursing, copulating, defecating, hunting prey, or doing anything else that is natural to them.  You are comparing apples to oranges. 
Are you saying nursing isn't natural to humans? Goodness, god really goofed there huh??!! LMAO You have GOT to be kidding me.... ay yi yi
 
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October 7, 2005, 10:15 pm PDT

10/07 The Latest Debates

Quote From: macdale

I dont agree with breast feeding in public!  i think that you should do it in your home or in a public restroom!  If your that worried bout your child not getting the food he/she needs then maybe you should buy a breast pump!  If I were to walk down the street and see a woman or a man using the restroom in public I would be furious, just as if you pull out your breast and shove it in your child's mouth to shut them up!  I dont think that I should have to explain to my children why you have your breast in your childs mouth!  I am not saying you shouldnt do it, more power to ya, but please do it in your own home or in privacy!  I think that your body is not meant to be exposed in any fashion, wether your feeding your child or stripping!  It is just not a normal thing to expose yourself to the world.  If you werent breastfeeding would you just pull out your breast in a restaurant if you wanted?  How would breasfeeding moms like it if I pulled out my breast and let my husband suck it while you were eating! Hey, it is just the same... It is not about what your doing with your breast when it is out, it is the fact that your exposing yourself in a public place!  To bad if you get caught doing it they just dont lock your butt up!  My children are just fine, I held them close to me without breastfeeding they are no different then a breastfeed baby! 

It's a natural thing to feed a child the way god intended. If your dh is sucking your breast it is sexual, if your child is it is for food, HUGE Difference. And from the research, my bf child has a much better chance of being healthy and intelligent than your ff child. NTM, I have a better chance of not getting breast cancer than you do because I am bfing.  

As for a breastpump- bm is a live substance that breaks down. Why would I want to feed my child an inferior product when the gold stuff is right there, two layers of clothing away? NTM, not all babies take bottles, and not everyone can afford a $200 breastpump (which if you have a life you would need to reduce the time it took to pump and maximize the output you get).  

Using a bathroom... feeding a child.. apples and oranges. 

 

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