Christine Maggiore, the breastfeeding HIV+ mom, was
articulate and compelling. There are serious
rumblings about the direction of HIV/AIDS research and
I doubt there is consensus on Lactnet. But the
question for me is, why would we presume to judge or
control this mother? Is it because we think we can?
If we question the moral decision this mother is
making for her children, we should surely question the
ethics of choosing artificial feeding. The tricky
part of the second question is deciding who makes the
decision to artificially feed? The mother, society,
or the cultural relationship of the two?
I loved the bit where Christine is shown on the phone
saying someone from social services is coming to the
door, and then we see the door open. (For those who
haven't seen it, the social worker who has the power
to remove the child, leaves the child in the home.
Later there is touching footage of Christine nursing
her son in bed, his body wrapped around hers.)
Perhaps the moral here is, before you flaunt your
controversial life in public, marry a filmmaker.
Perhaps there's a tip here for anyone with a
camcorder.
Valerie writes:
"Why has our breastfeeding community accepted this
situation?"
I noted with great interest that as of 7/4/01 La Leche
League International no longer makes a recommendation
regarding an HIV+ woman's decision to breastfeed. The
press release can be found at:
www.lalecheleague.org/Release/HIVandBF.html
... and is worth reading. The next time I am asked
about the subject, I will hand out a copy of this
statement.
The decision to have or not have a breastfeeding
relationship with a child is enormous. The decision
to curtail the relationship is also sobering.
If only all mothers took this decision as seriously as
Christine when faced with their own dilemmas. The
day's posts included one mother's choice to wean for a
month's trial of flagyl and another's choice to wean
for a vacation. We all make choices. Life in the
U.S. means we are surrounded by women who choose every
day to artificially feed. I have yet to see one
highlighted on 20/20 or 60 Minutes, faced with the
health stats, and forced to explain herself. To
paraphrase Christine, if one woman stands up in a sea
of people chanting the earth is flat, to suggest that
the earth may be round, she is considered wrong simply
for holding the minority view.
I hope Lactnetters will check out the ABC News website
& post an opinion. A live chat with Christine
Maggiore is planned for Monday 2:30 pm EST. I believe
20/20 includes response to shows on subsequent
broadcasts. Perhaps someone could post the URL.
Susan Johnson MFA, IBCLC
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