I don't know exactly what to call this post, but I think the discussion of the military mom who has to leave her baby for three months has brought up an important topic, which is very pertinent to the topic of breastfeeding.  I believe that women who plan to have babies need to consider that desire, realistically, when making career decisions.  We can't have everything at the same time.  I don't believe it is fair for the military (or any other employer) to be expected to make huge concessions for certain people and not others.  If one person in the military is allowed to get out of something like unaccompanied, overseas duty (which my father spent nearly four years of my childhood serving) then someone else, probably someone else's father, has to make up for it.  That doesn't mean that I am not appalled at the prospect of this baby being separated from his mother for that time, just that I see the other side too.  On a related issue, my brother's step-daughter has recently learned that she will not be allowed to reenlist in the Marine Corps when her enlistment is up.  She had three babies in 18 months' time, during her last enlistment, and it has been decided that it is not in the best interest of her, her children, or the Marine Corps, for her to continue to try to serve her country in such a capacity, and be a single mother to three preschoolers, at the same time.  

I think the bigger picture here is that a lot of women have lost the vision of our importance as mothers, and the unique role we have in society.  We are not just men with uteri and breasts! As a child, having my father gone for as long as 15 months at a time was difficult, but we got by, and the older I get, the more I appreciate what I gained from my father's career choice, despite the challenges.   However, I cannot fathom what it might have been like to have my mother gone!  Mothers need to understand that they cannot be replaced, not even by a grandmother, or father, with a bottle of breast milk!   

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