Is there a breastfeeding backlash?
Jennifer Block, author of Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care, has a great piece up on Babble about the backlash against breastfeeding. (Specifically, she takes on Hanna Rosin's recent Atlantic article.)
We tell women that breast is best, we tell them to breastfeed exclusively for the first six months, we even tell them it will raise their kid's IQ (and we should give that a rest), and then we send them home with formula samples, or with a baby whose throat is too sore to suckle, or a mom whose milk is delayed because of surgery, and we don't teach technique, and we are offended when a woman breastfeeds in public, so we make her feel housebound, and we don't give a mother and her partner paid leave, and we send her to go back to a workplace without on-site childcare, and so her only alternative to formula is to plug her nipples into a machine, and if she's lucky she gets periodic breaks and a "non-bathroom lactation room" in which to pump, and if she's not she gets a toilet, and so on and so forth.It's no wonder women are ready to burn their nursing bras.
Nice.
For more takes on Rosin's piece and breastfeeding, check out Pandagon, Kay Steiger, Broadsheet, Rachel's Tavern, and Lawyers, Guns and Money.
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I find it so interesting that breasts have become sexualized to the extent that it is deemed "inappropriate" for women to breastfeed babies in public.
I have a friend whose husband h8d when his wife would breastfeed in front of others, even in the privacy of their own home...and he's about the most liberal person I know. Its a strange hot button for some reason.
But I've also noticed that mothers who decide not to breastfeed their babies get judged an awful lot for NOT doing it.
It just seems to me that the conversation is always around what's good or healthy for the baby and little attention is paid to the experience of the woman: Is it healthy or comfortable for her? That's a question that's rarely asked.
This is a very good point, and it reflects very much how I feel about it.
What the Atlantic article was mostly arguing against was not breastfeeding itself (she states quite clearly that breastfeeding is probably healithier than formula), but the culture surrounding motherhood and how women are pressured into something that can seriously impact their lives and careers with very little evidence to back it up. The fact is that she is right about the problems with studies that were done that only show correlation, but where the media and popular culture commonly portrays it as an absolute causality. The link is only very weakly established.
To the people that think Rosin's article is outrageous and completely wrong, let me ask you something: do you really think that it's ok that women who decide for whatever reason to go with formula after a few months, be shunned, sneered at, and get accused of commiting a crime tantamount to child abuse? This happens, all the time.
Rosin makes a comparison to Betty Friedan's Feminine Mystique, and I think it's an apt comparison. Motherhood and especially breastfeeding has been raised in the popular conciousness to be something that is magical and holy, and anyone who dares to choose another path or reject that notion is considered both to be seriously hurting their children (when in reality the risks might be slightly larger, they are still exceedingly small) but also be "less" of a mother and woman.
As is often the case with feminism, choice has to be the key word here. If women are experiencing difficulties with breastfeeding, or if they find it uncomfortable, they have to be able to choose their own way, without being judged by other people, and looked down at and seen as a lesser mother.
I would argue that breastfeeding is not a real choice in this country at all.
It’s the breastfeeding paradox in this country. We hear all this stuff about how great breastfeeding is, especially for the baby, and remember it’s great for mothers too. BUT we don’t really support breastfeeding at all, not culturally and for the most part not medically either.
Every doctor I’ve talked to, including pediatricians and OBGYNs, have told me that there was NO required courses on breastfeeding in medical school. One pediatrician I know, who went to Harvard Medical School, told me about the breastfeeding education he had. It was a one half hour session, that was voluntary, presented by Similac. So yeah, learning about breastfeeding from a formula manufacturer? No wonder every single thing any MD doctor has ever told me about breastfeeding was WRONG.
The normative standard for all sorts of baby stuff is bottles, not breastfeeding…our visual culture is full of it. Anyone ever try to decorate for a baby shower without having bottles on anything? It’s like the pictures of skinny white women everywhere… what does that do to your psyche? We never see breastfeeding, how many people never see it before they try it? Everyone knows how to feed a bottle to a baby…don’t most baby dolls come with a bottle?
I’m not going go on and on, but in the end, I do not believe that breastfeeding is a real choice in our country because we don’t fully support it. I have nothing against someone who has no interest or desire to breastfeed, I fully support that choice. Because feeding your baby formula can be a real choice, we live in a country with enough literacy and clean water for it to be safe. But we can’t go on and on about the “pressure” to breastfeed here when there is no real choice. Women who breastfeed do despite all the forces working against them.
Making anyone feel badly about not breastfeeding is stupid, it is victim blaming if they had wanted to and were undermined and not supported. And if they never wanted to then people need to mind their own goddamn business.
I think Rosin misses the point.
Obviously it isn't universal, but there is a lot of pressure for women today to breastfeed. Given, the pressure is to do it in private, because it's dirty and yucky and boobs should only be seen when it's for men, but there is a lot of pressure for it none-the-less. It's like the current problems with women's sexuality, if you breastfeed openly you're a bad person, but if you don't breastfeed, you're abusing your child.
Doctors are definitely not authorities on breastfeeding. Just like they are not authorities such other important health topics as nutrition or physiological childbirth, which are not and never have been a part of their training. What is sad is that they often put themselves out as authorities on these topics, much to the disadvange of the listeners.
Even in much more enlightened Europe, where I used to live, I conincidentally ended up having a chat with a doctor while I was breastfeeding. He proceeded to tell me my baby wasn't gaining enough weight because he could clearly tell my boobs were too small to sucessfully breastfeed! My midwife/lactation consultant and I had a good laugh about that one (breastfeeding and breast size are not related. at all.). The sad part is, had I not been educated about breastfeeding (and aware that most doctors are not) I might have believed him and given up.
I agree we should not victim-blame, but we SHOULD try to raise awareness among fellow women and society in general that there is good information on breastfeeding and support out there (lactation consultants, doulas, midwives, books, la leche league).
Uhhh.... women have been breastfeeding successfully for hundreds of thousands of years before there were ever any doctors around.
Your post implies that doctors are somehow responsible or necessary for successful breastfeeding to take place, and thats absolutely absurd.
No, but they can screw it up pretty damn easily by giving out misinformation at those well-baby checkups that happen so often in the first weeks.
I agree with you that breastfeeding is not -- nor should it be -- doctors' responsibility. But doctors have been trying for the past hundred odd years to establish domination over most aspects of childbirth and baby care (i.e., insisting against all evidence that birth must take place in hospitals, not providing breastfeeding support when it does happen there, generally in the US being parent's main contact on baby feeding and care). These topics used to be handled by midwives and other communities of women.
When doctors act like the authorities on these issues, and then pass off misinformation, that harms women and babies.
Perfect example, European countries that have moved away or never moved towards doctors primarily caring for pregnant women and newborns (and instead have midwives and commuity health workers who are women's primary contacts during preg and post partum) have higher rates of breastfeeding and natural childbirth. Coincidence? No, its a result of the fact doctors' training does not cover facilitating these processes.
Women have also not had their milk come in and babies have failed to latch for thousands of years. Just b/c something has happened for thousands of years doesn't mean it has always been successful for thousands of years. Lactating and breastfeeding are not the same. The first just happens (or not, as the case may be), the second benefits greatly from instruction.
I think we should rebel and decorate baby showers with nursing bras and fake breasts. I don't know why, but I think it would be hysterical :-)
I'm reposting a comment I made to a prior breastfeeding thread:
__________________________________
I breastfed my baby and absolutely plan to do it again if I have more kids. Yes, it is hard work at first- you need to learn how to do it, you can't leave your baby for more than a couple hours (the pump did not work for me), it required (for me) a longer maternity leave than I otherwise would have taken, you can't drink to excess and may need to avoid certain foods the baby is sensitive to.
Why did I do it? In the end, it was selfish reasons. Women often forget that breastfeeding is REALLY good for THEIR health and happiness. Breastfeeding reduces the risk of many diseases (e.g. breast cancer), releases happy hormones and reduces post-natal depression, gives you natural birth control and a break from your cycle for potentially many months, encourages you to eat well and not ingest chemicals for a few more months, helps your uterus contract back to its pre-pregnancy position and need I mention the weight loss factor? I ended up 15 pounds lighter than BEFORE the pregnancy.
_______________________________________
Which is to say, breastfeeding has many benefits to women in addition to babies! I'm not saying those are not outweighed for some women by other factors (i.e., having to make a living in the absence of guaranteed paid maternity leave, a situation in which US women are uniquely faced with in the developed world) or that we should judge people who decides it is, but its a fact nevertheless.
In the US, I have noticed we tend to focus a lot on the so-called "mother-fetal" or "mother-baby" conflict. The fact is, in most cases there is no conflict and what is good for one is good for the other!
ITA except that y'all aren't unique in the developed world... Australian women are screwed like that too.
It really bugs me when people claim that breast cancer reduces the risk of cancer. Those tests are at best inconclusive, with many showing no correlation between breastfeeding and reduced risk. And even in the few studies that have shown a *possible* link, only if you breastfeed for 1 1/2 to 2 years. Please stop with that misinformtion.
I think reasonable people can disagree on this point.
Not really. This is from the American Cancer Society, the AMA and other groups. It's a question of science. Not an "agree to disagree" based on what's convient for your argument situation.
There is relatively good evidence that breastfeeding is in and of itself associated with a (slightly) decreased risk of breast cancer. There was a meta analysis published a few years ago in the Lancet ( a well regarded medical journal) that demonstrated this with great statistical power and significance. You are correct in stating that the risk of breast cancer is further diminished with the duration of breastfeeding - that was one of the key findings of that study. The abstract is here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12133652
You mentioned the American Cancer Society. I'm not sure if you are a medical professional and what site you were looking at, but I went to their patient information page regarding risk factors for breast cancer, and they unequivocally state that several studies show that breastfeeding, especially for long durations, slightly decreased the risk of breast cancer. They also have a section on that page where they discuss "uncertain" risk factors for Breast Cancer - breastfeeding is NOT one of them (because...it is certain that it is a negative risk factor). Here is their patient information page: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_2_2X_What_causes_breast_cancer_5.asp
The AMA says nothing specific that I could find about the link between breast feeding and breast cancer one way or the other. However, the World Health Organization and ACOG (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) and the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics - probably the biggest doctor-based advocate of breastfeeding in America) all reference similar data that the ACS does. Which is not surprising - because it is good data.
So, unless you can find some evidence with as compelling statistical power and significance that refutes the findings of the many studies included in the Lancet meta-analysis, among others, I don't think your statement that the relationship between breast cancer and breastfeeding is equivocal holds any water. That is simply not supported by the strong data available.
Rarely? It's always asked! Unfortunately, breastfeeding vs. bottlefeeding is treated as a lifestyle choice rather than what it is, a health decision.
Yes, social and cultural factors matter in all health decisions, but the most important pros and cons should be the proven health benefits to mothers and infants.
I think that there are a number of issues to address concerning breast feeding.
First, I think the whole issue of pregnanacy, childbith, and breastfeeding is almost shrouded in secrecy--until you are actually in the situation. Some hospitals do have nurses who give detailed instruction concerning BF.
Breastfeeding is a mixed bag--it's convenient (the food is always ready!) and inexpensive. But it's not easy because society makes it difficult. How often do you see a mother breast feeding on TV or in movies? The workplace, in general, has made life incredibly difficult for mothers (breastfeeding or not) even though women are roughly 50% of the workforce.
And yes, the breast has been sexualized for the pleasure of men rather than the needs and comfort for babies. So when a woman breast feeds publically, she is frowned at, scrutinized even when doing it modestly, and sometimes laughed at.
I think if a woman wants and choses (this is key) to breastfeed, she should be brave and do so. This does not mean feeding on a toilet in a public restroom. It means doing so whereever she and the baby are.
Keep in mind, science is on the side of BF--it's better for babies (although modern formula seems to be fine too). There are benefits for the mother too. It makes the uterus contract and return to it's original size more quickly. It burns tons of calories that facilitates weight loss. Very recently, scientists have discover a correlation between BF (even a month or so) with the mother's reduced risk for heart disease and diabetes decades after BF.
Yes, the BF mother may not get societal approval but chosing not to do so is sure to halt any sort of cultural shift in norms about breastfeeding.
And, yes, I breastfed both of my children!
"I think if a woman wants and choses (this is key) to breastfeed, she should be brave and do so. This does not mean feeding on a toilet in a public restroom. It means doing so whereever she and the baby are."
i agree completely. i think brave BF women everywhere should just start doing it and leave the rest of the world to get over it.
i for one will support any woman who needs to breastfeed in public -- and i will give anyone who gives her a hard time a real piece of my mind. seriously.
as a physician, woman, feminist, hopeful mother (one day, anyway), i have to say that was an excellent, excellent article. I hope everybody has a chance to read it. Thanks for posting it Jessica!
If you don't have time to read the whole article, at least read the last three paragraphs:
"Why did American feminism evolve in such a way that we think of biology as destiny, and that destiny as a prison? Why are we so willing to surrender the parts and processes that makes us female rather than demanding that society support them? We've broken down doors and cracked glass ceilings, when what we need to do is redesign the building.
Labbok, who's worked in some fifty countries, tells me the feminists in northern Europe have done this. "In northern Europe, women fight for the right to breastfeed," she says. There, feminism isn't just about "making women act more like men," the right of women to be full citizens and the right of babies to be given best possible care are not at odds. "There's an understanding of human rights outside the U.S. that includes the right of women to breastfeed. And that means women shouldn't be expected to do it unless everyone is fully supporting it — her family, her society, her workplace, everybody all the way down the line to her government." And where there is paid leave, it should be noted, there are no "mommy wars."
In the podcast accompanying the Atlantic story, Rosin reveals her pessimism: "We are never going to be Norway," she says, rolling her eyes. "There will never be a situation in America where women . . . will have six months time to exclusively breastfeed their children." Really? Did we ever envision an organic garden being planted at the White House by the nation's black first family? This is the real tragedy of the mommy wars: they drag us down where expectations are so low, where we don't value mothers enough to fight for them. We're making a case against ourselves."
When asked by my japanese sensei/classmate what's so gross about breast feeding in public to Americans in my Rhet of Women's Discourse class, I responded, "We have been taught that breasts exist for men's arousal and they freak out whenever they see them being used for something else." Obviusly there is more, but I think that's definitely a small portion. The kid in my class who complained mentioned a woman did it at the pool where he worked. The pool. You know, where male nipples are in abundance. Said "there's kids running around." Luckily, a German student chimed in "what's so wrong with that? I see it all the time in Germany. That's what breasts are for."
I mean, I love when people fall back to 'save teh childrenz' on this one. It's like, they were just doing what that baby was doing 3,4,5 years ago. I think they can handle it. When I was young, I went to my mom's friends house and she was breast feeding. I'd never seen it before, so I asked my mom what she was doing. She told me, and I was like 'oh.' And here I am today, not suffering post-traumatic stress disorder. Maybe if we let kids see it, they wouldn't grow up to be the jerks who say "that's gross, put it away." The kid in my class who complained mentioned a woman did it at the pool where he worked. The pool. You know, where male nipples are in abundance.
*ASKED what's so gross... and suffering *FROM post-traumatic stress disorder. And I posted the thing about the kid in my class twice. It's close to finals and I'm really stressed. Sorry!
"women shouldn't be expected to do it unless everyone is fully supporting it"
Part of full support would be mandatory time off for men in an equal amount to women (so that workplace discrimination doesn't occur since women would take 6 months off a few times in their careers and men wouldn't otherwise).
I think in this, our favorite Linda Hirschman has it right - more women need to get into prestigious, high paying positions to make this happen.
" . . .since women would take 6 months off a few times in their careers and men wouldn't otherwise"
Men have babies too. Are you saying more maternity leave as well as equal time for paternity leave? If so, I agree.
Yes, that's what I'm saying. And that women need to fight on all fronts to get it.
Yeah, its not like the men are out there fighting for paternity leave.
Not being part of the mommy wars, I fail to see why everyone got so worked up about Rosin's article. I think we need to work to improve parental leave policies, mandate workplaces to allow women to take pumping breaks, and increase general acceptance of public breastfeeding. However, we really do need to STFU about individual women's choices re breastfeeding and trust that they will do what is best for them and their kids, be it breast feeding, formula, or a combination of both.
I think that all of the issues you brought up are really important to consider and push for. However, the whole breastfeeding in public/choosing to breastfeed at all thing still needs to be talked about because it really still is an issue from all sides. Not only are mother's chastised for whichever they choose (breastfeed or bottlefeed), but some mothers buy into the sexualized breast issue. I know a few new moms that decided not to breastfeed because they didn't want anyone but their man sucking on their tits. I can understand that, I suppose... But what does it say about mother's today? I don't know, but it must mean something.
I understand what you say about letting moms make their own choices regarding feeding their kids, but they shouldn't be under social pressures to pick one side or another. When it's like presented like that, it isn't really a choice. That's why it's still an issue.
Why do we need to STFU about breastfeeding? The rates of breastfeeding are abysmal in the United States and increasing breastfeeding rates is an objective of the Healthy People 2010 objectives.
It is a health decision. It is not icky or secret. It is not to be shunned to prevent guilt.
Okay, here's the thing about "choice" when it comes to breastfeeding: only a small percentage of women actively choose not to breastfeed. Those who decide it's not for them from the get go? I support them. I would never, ever question someone who has obtained and read the relevant information and then made the choice to use formula instead. That is their business and no one else's.
Who I'm concerned with are the large percentage of women who wanted to breastfeed, tried to breastfeed, but weren't able to, for one reason or another. Nine times out of ten, when you hear a mother's story of how breastfeeding didn't work out for her, you hear a story of poor medical care, bad advice, little or no support (from her partner, family, friends, workplace, society) and myths misrepresented as facts in a largely ignorant breastfeeding culture.
As a breastfeeding advocate and feminist who staunchly supports and campaigns for mothers' rights, I am not about taking away anyone's choice. All I want is for a woman to have made a choice that is HERS, not one that was made for her because the hospital couldn't be bothered to train their nurses on breastfeeding, or because her workplace has a crappy maternity leave and doesn't provide lactation rooms, or because her mother-in-law disapproves and tuts when she nurses her baby in front of others.
I, and many other 'lactivists' (as we are sometimes called; our other name is 'boob nazis' -- nice, eh?) don't set out to make women feel bad about themselves or criticize their choices. We simply question the information and messages that women receive that leads so many of them away from breastfeeding, which is the biological norm, and towards an artificial replacement. Because of the sensitive and personal nature of a woman's ability or choice to breastfeed (or not), questioning the structure which set her up to fail is often seen as saying SHE has failed. The vast majority of lactivists do not want to shame anyone or tell them they're not good enough. Most of us care deeply about women and babies and simply want them to explore the issues surrounding the floundering breastfeeding rates and how a larger framework of sexism and sexualization plays into that.
Very nicely said.
There is a lot of misinformation about breastfeeding out there, and a lot of it is propagated by the formula companies and a lot of it seems so benign on the outside.
When I started breastfeeding many years ago, the big line was "breastfeeding should never hurt!" It was part of one of the formula company's marketing campaigns and it was everywhere. The company actually used this marketing to show how they were helping to educate the consumer about breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding did hurt me. I was convinced there was something wrong with me because "breastfeeding should never hurt" and ready to give up when a "boob nazi" told me that of course breastfeeding hurt. The baby was doing things to my nipples that no one else had ever done, and it would take about a month to toughen up the tissue. Latch on would hurt, but if the pain lasted less than ten seconds not to worry.
That little thing was remarkable. I could withstand anything for ten measly seconds, and within a few weeks it wasn't even uncomfortable.
All of the mothers from my childbirth class had stopped breastfeeding by then. After all, breastfeeding should never hurt so there must have been something wrong with them. They really wanted to breastfeed, but they just couldn't...
That sort of misinformation is out there all over the place. You nailed it. The system is set up for women to fail with breastfeeding. No one makes billions of dollars when a woman breastfeeds.
There was an interesting study on the cardiovascular benefits for the breastfeeding mother (as well as decreased rates of diabetes and high cholesterol). I linked to it on the previous post about breastfeeding.
I didn't realize this would be such a trigger for me. I had a horrible time with my second child, trying to breastfeed. Well, I had had a fairly bad time with #1, too, but I was sure this one would be better. It's been almost seven years, and I'm bawling, thinking about my postpartum time in the hospital, telling the nurses that it wasn't working. The pain was so unbearable. The "lactation consultant" and went over the mechanics with me. They did NOTHING to help me. They gave my baby formula INSTEAD OF HELPING ME.
Seven years, and I still feel heartbroken.
Eek. Sorry for getting all cappy.
I just hate that I wanted so badly to do it but was so unsupported.
It especially cuts me because I was able to breastfeed other children with some degree of success. I don't know it didn't work with him.
I would never, ever question someone who has obtained and read the relevant information and then made the choice to use formula instead. That is their business and no one else's.
I *so* don't understand this. If I start feeding my kid nothing but garbage food like McDonald's everyday, someone is going to come down on me hard if I have an organic garden growing in my backyard, but have chosen not to feed my kid from it. And so they should.
Now, if I don't have the support necessary to maintain the garden, that's another story.
I know, an unpopular opinion, but there it is.
What if in order to collect the food from your garden you had to quit your job? That's the real dilemma-- a woman has to chose between breastfeeding and paying for a home for herself and her child. When that's the equation, formula seems cheaper and much healthier.
Every time I look at a woman feeding from a bottle, I remember-- first of all, maybe it's breastmilk. Many women aren't comfortable nursing at the breast in public. Second, maybe she needs medication that aren't safe for the baby, or maybe she has a bloodborne illness and is being responsible, or maybe she needs to breastfeed because she has to work and can't pump at her workplace. Maybe she adopted the baby. Maybe it's not even her baby, and she's babysitting.
For friends, I just remember-- I'm not their care provider. I don't know what reasons they have that they may not be telling their friends. Usually it's not that women are selfish, it's a legitimate concern about disease, medication, a sickly infant who is clearly not eating enough, or income.
Never judge a woman for this choice. Even your best friend may not tell you the whole story, especially if she thinks you will judge her for it.
If I have to quit my job to breastfeed, then that's not supporting breastfeeding. Like I said, a whole other story.
I don't judge bottles either. I can see clearly how little support there is for breastfeeding.
Equating formula and McDonald's and breast milk and organic food is inaccurate, not to mention overly sensational.
Formula, while not generally as good as breast milk, is still nutrition, and, I'm sorry, but food is better than no food. Not only that, but some women take prescription drugs that make breast milk much more harmful than formula.
I would also like to say that I don't care how selfish the reason a woman has for not breastfeeding is perceived to be, I still support it. I want to try to breastfeed, but I also can't take six months off from my job. If it's painful, and I don't feel like making caring for my child painful and stressful, when having children can be stressful enough, that's my prerogative, and anyone who thinks otherwise, would do well to keep that to themselves.
The fact that it is never okay to demand that I use my own body to sustain the life of another does not stop being true when I give birth. As a parent I have the responsibility to feed my child, but I have the choice of what to feed her.
My mother could not breast feed. Her milk only lasted a few weeks with me, even less time with my sister, and with my brother, it didn't come in at all. We were fed formula, and we all lived.
Equating formula and McDonald's and breast milk and organic food is inaccurate, not to mention overly sensational.
Okay, let's call it Subway. Still shit, but better than McD's.
Formula, while not generally as good as breast milk, is still nutrition, and, I'm sorry, but food is better than no food.
Yeah. That's why some people eat McD's instead of starve. Doesn't make it quality nutrition. Makes it their only choice.
Not only that, but some women take prescription drugs that make breast milk much more harmful than formula.
This is almost never the case. And when it is, that's a perfect reason to use formula instead. I never said no one should use it ever.
If it's painful, and I don't feel like making caring for my child painful and stressful, when having children can be stressful enough, that's my prerogative, and anyone who thinks otherwise, would do well to keep that to themselves.
If it's painful and stressful, you need more support. If that doesn't work, then yeah, that's what formula is there for. A last resort.
The fact that it is never okay to demand that I use my own body to sustain the life of another does not stop being true when I give birth. As a parent I have the responsibility to feed my child, but I have the choice of what to feed her.
Yup, and it's not illegal to feed the kid fast food everyday either.
My mother could not breast feed. Her milk only lasted a few weeks with me, even less time with my sister, and with my brother, it didn't come in at all. We were fed formula, and we all lived.
Ohfergodssake. I didn't ride in a carseat, and I lived. Therefore, there's no value in carseats. Right? Oh wait... No one says every kid who gets formula will be sick and miserable. An anecdote doesn't refute proper evidence. From the Babble article: "the individual risk of formula-feeding her children may be relatively small, but public health is about the collective, and among a population the risks of not breastfeeding are significant." It's why we vaccinate. The collective health benefits support it. Not vaccinating one kid isn't a major risk, and in some kids, it's best not to, but collectively, it's best.
For this woman, bottle feeding will be a first resort, and those who don't like it can go screw.
I did not say that there is no value in breastfeeding.
I will say however, that people who browbeat, like you are doing, are not support for women who have a hard time breastfeeding, at all. If I am in too much pain to go on breastfeeding, guess what doesn't make me want to try for a while longer? Someone who tells me I'm feeding my child garbage, and equating formula feeding with putting a kid in a car without a carseat.
You catch more flies with honey, Luna, and all but calling women who don't breastfeed poor mothers is one of the least feminist or woman friendly things I've ever heard on this website.
The whole breastfeeding debate makes me so sad because mothers are attacked from both sides.
You have the general population that believes breastfeeding is something vulgar that should be hidden away behind closed doors. Rather than dealing with their discomfort with the non-sexual function of breasts by looking away, they make demands that would essentially leave women stuck in the home. I've even heard the act of nursing likened to taking a dump in public.
Then you have the other side. I suspect that groups and individuals who adamantly push breastfeeding started out with good intentions. But in attempting to remove the stigma of breastfeeding, they've overstated it's benefits. Instead of fighting against those who seek to restrict breastfeeding mothers, they're shaming women who do not or cannot breastfeed.
Unfortunately I got the impression in the last feministing post about breastfeeding that young feminists seem to only be dealing with the second group rather than addressing both. Just like we should fight to remove obstacles for women who choose to have children while fighting for the right to terminate a pregnancy, we should fight to make either feeding choice acceptable.
word.
when i was pregnant, my mother (a "boob nazi" i adore) couldn't shut up about how much i was going to simply LOOOOVE breastfeeding. fast forward to the first time i did it....i felt like i stuck my nipple in a pencil sharpener. i got past the pain, but i never had the transcendent experience she promised. in fact, i found it tiresome, and i gave up when my daughter was 4 months old. it was like someone flipped a switch on me; i finally found my mothering "groove".
but whatever. i tell this story only to illustrate how i was totally able to breastfeed, and switched to formula for no reason better than my own preference. other commenters might say my choice wasn't really a choice because society doesn't provide ample support for breastfeeding mothers, and that may be in part true. however, it's immaterial to my point, which is that shaming someone for raising their children in the manner they see fit, short of out-and-out child abuse, is simply NOT OK, and more of it goes on than one might expect.
in my view, rosin's article wasn't *really* about the science of breastfeeding, nor the societal attitudes of it. i see it as a reaction to the "mommy wars", which are sadly alive and well in some places.
One of my friends, not knowing that I was bottle-fed, insulted a friends' sibling, saying that the sibling was bottle-fed while our friend was not, which explains why one turned out smart and the other stupid. When I piped up to say, "Hey, I wasn't breast fed!" her reaction was "OMG, WHY NOT?!?!"
Lately I have been noticing more and more of this bullying of women (by women) who choose to bottle feed. On a different online community, a mother-to-be was asked about vegan formula options, and she was immediately bombarded with pro-breastfeeders telling her she was making a bad choice (instead of providing the advice she asked for).
There are legitimate, good reasons to make either decision. As feminists, we should resist shaming women who make either choice.
I hate to break the news, but a pure vegan infant diet will cause disease and death in most infant children. Once children are older a strict vegan diet is OK, but its extremely dangerous for infants.
Well, since under most vegan rules breast milk is vegan, there are vegan diets safe for infants. But not formula, definitely. Suggesting a milk bank would seem more appropriate.
Every few years we get stories about young new parents who try to feed their babies "vegan formula"-- usually homemade from soy milk and stuff. Sometimes it's caught in time and the baby survives, but they can get so sick and die. Scary stuff.
would you like to cite some scientific studies from peer reviewed journals for that statement?
as a member of a vegan forum with hundreds of parents that have given birth to hundreds of normal, healthy, 100% vegan children, i'm going to have to disagree with you there.
from pubmed:
"Appropriately planned vegan diets can satisfy nutrient needs of infants. The American Dietetic Association and The American Academy of Pediatrics state that vegan diets can promote normal infant growth. It is important for parents to provide appropriate foods for vegan infants, using guidelines like those in this article. Key considerations when working with vegan families include composition of breast milk from vegan women, appropriate breast milk substitutes, supplements, type and amount of dietary fat, and solid food introduction."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11424546
another one from the vegan society:
http://www.vegansociety.com/people/lifestyle/families/parenting/vegan_children/
and to brianna g, any parent that give their child homemade formula would endanger their child's life- it is not a vegan thing.
Er, is soy formula not vegan? I mean, aside from it being poison and all, you can feed soy formula and have a healthy child.
What gets me is complete strangers, when they find out I have a newborn, ask me if I'm breast feeding. Really is it any of your business what I'm feeding my child?
The thing is he gets formula because I can't breast feed, I don't produce enough milk. (Which happens with about 5% of women, from what I've read) Ligament medical reason and yet every time I buy formula or fed him in public my hackles are up because someone has assumed I've made a "selfish" choice. We talk about choices but I had no choice and yet I get lots of guilt (and venom) heaped on me.
I'm sorry you weren't able to breastfeed when you wanted to. I have friends who also felt or were told they didn't produce enough milk and it's a sad situation to be in.
But when you say your "hackles are up" when you feed your baby and then go on to say that guilt and venom is "heaped upon you," are you sure it's other people doing that? It sounds like you're beating yourself up about it and so think everyone else is, too. I'm not saying that no one has never given you a hard time for using formula but if you're feeling so conflicted about your decision, then perhaps you are subconsciously shifting disapproval associated with that decision to others? Just as a breastfeeding mother has to stand up for her choice when people are rude to her, undermine her, judge her, or tell her to go feed her baby in the bathroom, so too should bottlefeeding moms.
When I first started nursing in public I thought everyone was staring at me and judging me and felt defensive and like I had to have a comeback ready in case someone asked me to cover up or go somewhere else. But after awhile I realized that a lot of the "stares" I was getting were from genuinely curious people who had never seen someone breastfeed, or had just accidentally caught my eye as I was looking around for anyone passing judgment. I also realized that not many people were even paying attention to me, let alone judging me. A lot of it was in my head because I was still feeling insecure. Once I owned my decision and realised that nothing anyone could say would sway me or make me question my decision, I relaxed and stopped looking for something that wasn't really there. Sure, I get the very ocassional odd look or tut when someone sees me feeding my baby but I think that has more to do with me having a baby out in public, which some people find way more offensive than how I'm feeding it. THAT, to me, is a big problem too, though a whole 'nother can of worms.
If I share breastfeeding information with a friend, or post breastfeeding information within eye-shot of a friend, I'm seen as "making them feel bad." I think more often than not it's their own feelings projected onto me. I've never tried to make someone feel guilty. I simply share information and offer support, because I WISH someone had done that for ME when I was struggling with my first son. I gave up breastfeeding him at 4 weeks, and I never got over the sadness of that. Everyone kept saying "but a Happy mom is a Happy baby!" as though formula feeding was the magic bullet for happiness. It wasn't for me.
I've breastfed my second baby for nearly a year now, and it was because other moms offered me every ounce of support, information, and encouragement when I felt like I couldn't go on. When the doctors started pushing me to formula feed (because they were flat out ignorant, and for no actual health reason - my son was born a healthy 10 lb little man), the lactivists around me kept me strong.
I have personally never witnessed a Lactivist throwing blood on a formula feeding mother the way people make it sound. We're simply trying to help, and we must go above and beyond to help make changes so that other mothers can have it a little easier. For every mother who is allowed to nurse in public, there was a woman fighting legislators and bureaucracy to provide that woman with the right to do that.
If you don't want to breastfeed - don't. And don't feel guilty about it. If you DO feel guilty about it, maybe you should own the problem instead of trying to project it on the caring women who are just trying to raise awareness because they care about other women and children. Just a thought.
in my view, it's *wonderful* to have someone to provide support and information when breastfeeding is something a woman wants to do, but may be having trouble. it's *irritating* when the decision to formulafeed has already definitively been made. and it's *annoying as fuck* when commenters such as luna above liken formula feeding to "shit, but still better than mcdonald's".
and there are ***many*** women who have similarly poor graces.
Yeaaah that's fucking harsh.
Quite frankly I think this is bull.
Breast feeding isn't a trend,its what breasts are for. If more mothers are breastfeeding as of late, that's awesome. A woman using her breasts for what they are made for instead of being dependent on more product is a GOOD thing.
If you don't want to breast feed, by all means don't! that's completely your choice. But don't declare women who choose to breastfeed unfeminist or unliberated.
Frankly, I think the key issue that people who do not breastfeed have with lactivists is that there are many people, however well-meaning, that feel a duty to just throw information at a woman who does not breastfeed. My mother and aunt had breast reduction surgery when they were young so they would not suffer damage to their backs. My mom tried to breast feed me, but couldn't produce enough milk and therefore had to switch to formula. I turned out fine. I have been healthy my whole life and have above average intelligence. I'm sick of people approaching my aunt and mother and offering unsolicited "helpful" advice about why they should breastfeed. The fact is that a woman's choice to breastfeed is her own private decision and other people should not force their opinions on her. And that includes unwanted "Friendly pointers". Most women probably already know the facts and frankly don't want you to share them.
My lactation consultant __was__ imperious and judgemental. My very healthy baby didn't want to be anywhere else, 24/7 but latched on. It was exhausting and frustrating. She was gaining weight so rapidly I had trouble even holding her. And my helpful lactation consultant had only one piece of advice: weigh the baby before and after feeding to make sure she's getting enough nourishment. That piece of advice was AFTER she had been told how healthy and fast-growing the baby was.
The LC wasn't concerned with listening to the problem or my needs, only keeping that baby on the breast.
My frustration with breastfeeding (which I continued for 14 months, figuring out the problem for myself) is not one of being emotionally uncomfortable with the breast, but that it has become yet another way for WOMEN to keep OTHER WOMEN imprisoned at home.
Frankly, I don't care how natural breastfeeding is, and I have noted that lactation consultants often do other "unnatural" things such as wearing glasses, using a toilet instead of the ground, observing daylight savings time, and eating processed food sometimes. Breastfeeding, like other natural things that we don't HAVE to do, is up to THAT mother.
I chose not to and, like any other parenting decision that I made, I strongly feel I don't have to explain the whys of it to anyone. I feel it fits in the my body, my choice area of discussion. End of story
From reading the comments here I see references to "my LC" and how they failed to help.
There is a difference between an IBCLC and an LC. An IBCLC is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. These women are trained and have to get recertified every so often.
http://americas.iblce.org/home.php
A LC could be anyone-a hospital nurse or staff person. Anyone can put up a shingle that says Lactation Consultant. The question is, are they qualified?
With an IBCLC you know that they had to have training and some education. Granted, there is still the human factor and I'm sure there are IBCLCs who have poor human skills, but generally they are far and above the LCs found in most hospitals.
My personal situation-I had done enough prior self-education about breastfeeding (despite forgetting to attend the breastfeeding class) that the LCs I had in the hospital were helpful. I don't know if they were IBCLC or not. But, I got the guidance I needed (mainly at that time getting a good latch and different ways to hold the baby). When I got home I had a supportive husband and a supportive online community. The online community helped me out when I was dealing with over active letdown. The end result being-we are approaching 2 years nursing and meeting the WHO's recommendation.
As someone above pointed out-we don't see breastfeeding and there is not any discussion about it so common problems are a great mystery-over active letdown, tongue tie, cluster feeding to name a few. This also allows for misconceptions to spread-your baby nurses all the time so you must not be producing enough milk. Not True! Your boobs are too small so you won't be able to produce enough milk. Not True! I could go on, but this is a problem that more and better education of our physicians, nurses and culture need to work on.
The title of Rosin's article is misleading. I agree with others who have said the article really isn't about whether formula or breastfeeding are better, but that it's about the mommy wars.
I breastfed for seven months, almost exclusively pumping. I hated every minute of it. When I gave my daughter bottles of breastmilk in public, several people came up and told me my daughter should be getting breastmilk. Early one, when she would still nurse, people would become very uncomfortable by my nursing her and occasionally make negative comments. Others suggested that by bottle-feeding I was denying her most of the benefits of breastfeeding. (Even though I wasn't yet using formula). Finally, I switched to formula, realizing that nothing I did would ever be "good enough" for some people and that personally, I thought the additional time I could spend with my daughter would be more important to her than whether the milk in her bottle came from me or a can. And now I get negative comments about formula feeding.
This is a feminist issue because it is a classic case where no matter what a woman does, some people (especially other mothers) will shame her for it.
Um well, no offense, no other person will " keep me imprisoned at home", thanks. When I let other people make my decisions for me, I will let you know.
Breastfeeding was one of the greatest feminist acts I have ever accomplished. I said "fuck you" to the corporate patriarchy that was shoving formula down my consumer throat, and am damn proud that I never bought a single drop of it. Don't even get me started on how evil these companies are, go google Nestle and their WHO violations.
I also took great pride in discreetly nursing wherever the hell I needed to, cause that's what my breasts are for. They are not to sell beer, cars or cater to a man's fantasies. And by the way, it all about your attitude, I never had a SINGLE negative comment in the whole 5 years of nursing, and that included nursing 2 toddlers too in public. I was confident and self assured, and that showed on my face.
Its only an anti-feminist act if you LET it be. Why the hell would I choose to be a victim and be imprisoned in my house? Screw that.
And honestly? I don't give a flying hoot if you formula feed, I don't need to be proud of anyone else's actions but my own.
Can I just say I love your attitude? Seriously I am just imagining future me breast feeding in public and flipping someone off for giving me shit about it.
"And by the way, it all about your attitude"
Hmmm... I disagree.
Sometimes I want to have a child...just so I can breast feed in public. And then wait for someone to say something negative and beat the shit out of them. That pretty much sums up how I feel about this. For some reason, breast feeding is a really big issue for me. Society has sexualized breast so much, that when women use them for their actual purpose (to store and give milk) their told it is obscene. Yes, breast can be sexually pleasing to look at. That doesnt mean that was their original purpose. Walking down the stree with my breast out or having on a low top shirt or seeing sexualized ads and movies, thats okay. Feeding my child, not so much. Ridamndiculous.
You made me spit out my tea laughing!
Honestly, I am not as violent as I sound. This was really one area that peeved me, the more I realized that what my body was naturally made to do was being trivialized, sexualized, and NOT normalized, the madder I got.
A huge part of breastfeeding was reclaiming MY BODY. THIS is what my body was meant to, breastfeeding is NOT sexual, NOT dirty and NOT offensive. That you can't judge me because of how I look, what my weight is, how pretty I am, because dammit, this is real, this is natural. Hear me roar. ;)
That's why I honestly don't get the whole "tied down" and "anti-feminist" connotations. This is reclaiming what our female bodies are meant to do, feeling powerful and right in our bodies. Because GAWD DAMN our bodies and what they are meant to do are just beautiful ladies!
Indeed, "We actually don't know if feeding infants human milk has the same benefits as breastfeeding," says Labbok.
This is an important point. Many of the benefits attributed to breastfeeding may in fact be due to close contact between mother and child. A mother can cuddle her kid while feeding it from a bottle just as well as she can while feeding it from a breast. More importantly - a father or other care taker can cuddle a kid while feeding from a bottle, thereby a) freeing the mother to do other things besides be a wet bar and b) giving the father or partner a chance to bond with the kid.
No, breastfeeding is well documented. In fact, it is not breastfeeding that should prove its benefits since formula feeding is the intervention. Breastfeeding should be the norm.
If you read the entirety of the Jennifer Block piece, she strongly defends the scientific advantages of breastfeeding. You can't prevent necrotizing enterocolitis by cuddling a newborn.
Responding to several posts.
Somebody said: "That's the real dilemma-- a woman has to chose between breastfeeding and paying for a home for herself and her child."
THIS is what we have to change! The fact that women are forced to choose between breastfeeding (which is just part of being a woman) and keeping their jobs is just wrong. Can you imagine men having to choose between manhood and employment? No way!
During the WWII employment shortage, companies enticed women to work for them by offering onsite daycare. Imagine that. Women could work and still have their babies close enough to sit down for a little feed every couple of hours. That would be far preferable to pumping.
someone else: Indeed, "We actually don't know if feeding infants human milk has the same benefits as breastfeeding," says Labbok.
Where is this quote from? I'd like to see context, but it has two meanings that are both true.
1. Pumped breastmilk consumed from a bottle is different from regular breastfeeding PHYSIOLOGICALLY, not just emotionally. Breastfeeding is a feedback loop. When an extra link (the pump) is inserted into the loop, the supply/demand part still works. But if the baby isn't often sucking on the nipple, part of the feedback from baby to mother gets lost, including immunological stuff. So...while pumped breastmilk is a heck of a lot better than formula, the societal goal should be to enable all women to have the CHOICE to breastfeed (rather than pump.)
2. The other point is also valid, that one of the benefits of breastfeeding is PSYCHOLOGICAL, due to the eye contact and sweet conversations happening between mother and baby at the same time the baby is ingesting sweetness. This process is part of what wires the brains of infants and without it, attachment disorder and other problems ensue. Loving formula-feeding parents can & do create that loop to some extent, by cuddling and talking to the baby while she eats. However, this is NOT the only benefit to breastfeeding, so doing this doesn't make it an even bargain.
purplepeople, love your posts!
I had a brilliant anthropology (medical anthropology) teacher once who was talking about breast feeding in other cultures and how it often goes on for many more years that it does in our world (sometimes up to age nine or ten even). After class I was talking to her more about it, and she proposed a idea to me that birth control should not be about regulating periods, but instead stopping them by means of stimulating lactation. She then went on to say that we should harvest the milk and sell it instead of formula. At first, I was a little freaked by the idea (but made myself think about it more because she was a really cute teacher), and it does make sense. Our own milk is right for our bodies, especially our children's bodies. Our culture is so afraid of women and boobs and breast feeding that it's become so secretive and "gross," when really there's nothing more natural.