Joyce was shocked at the come-on for bottle feeding in a patient handout.
But everything they said is true and clearly designed to appeal to parents.
Some parents would see many or all of these "benefits" as desirable.
This handout brings into sharp relief some of the many problems we are
dealing with.
1. Parents are ignorant about what life with a baby is really like,
especially life with a breastfed baby.
2. Lactating women are perceived as being in an abnormal state, and so are
pregnant women. People don't regard pregnancy and lactation as different
stages in reproduction, each with its own challenges, new experiences,
lessons to learn, hormones to revel in... Instead, women are supposed to
"get back to normal" as soon as they can.
3. Parents don't see the risks of bottle feeding, or they don't believe they
are risks, or they don't believe breastfeeding has anything to do with them.
Of course, this list of "benefits" doesn't mention the risks.
4. Parents don't know that the list puts emphasis on some non-essentials:
for
instance, you don't NEED to know how much your normal baby is getting as
long
as weight gain is OK. (Yet...look how much energy we put into this issue on
Lactnet! If a baby is in trouble, you DO want to know how much the baby is
getting.) The issue of vitamins (like D) is similar. With breastfeeding,
we
need to be aware of baby's need to get enough Vitamin D. With formula
parents and docs don't have to worry.
5. Bottle feeding saves parents from having to learn many new skills, take
good care of mothers, make adjustments in body image and sex life, and
advocate for their own and their children's rights. Parents don't know that
these things might be important, might help them grow and develop as human
beings.
What a challenge we have in front of us!
Chris Mulford
Swarthmore PA (eastern US)
***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
