Hi Stacey,
I attach my response to Christine Flowers. I emailed it to her and to the
editor at the Daily News: [log in to unmask]
___________________________________________________________
Dear Christine,
Needless to say, you have every right to your opinion. And, despite the
fact that you maligned two of my favorite subjects in the world,
breastfeeding AND Michael Moore, I got a bit of a kick out of your humor.
I've got to tell you, though, that your opinion that mothers should not be
allowed to breastfeed wherever they choose really flies in the face of good
mothering and good sense.
First of all, a mother doesn't breastfeed wherever she chooses; she
breastfeeds whenever and wherever her baby chooses. When a baby needs to
eat, a baby needs to eat. Looking around for a restroom that would be
aesthetically- pleasing enough for a sit-down meal is not in the cards when
a baby needs to eat, and "those other public places specifically designated
for the purpose" that you mention? Except for the rare dressing room in a
rare department store, I really haven't seen too many of these in my
travels with my children when they were breastfeeding. And, even if they
did exist at every turn, I don't see any reason to make use of them. I
breastfeed unobtrusively. For all you or anyone else would know, my baby
is resting in my arms. Surely that isn't an unsettling sight. When you
speak of bared breasts making some people uncomfortable, I couldn't help
but wonder what problem made your client seek your legal counsel!
Expressing milk from my breasts with a breast pump at home so that I can
take it in a bottle to feed my child breast milk in public is just not
something that makes any sense at all. First of all, I don't own a breast
pump, and I'm not inclined to buy one for this purpose. Secondly, there is
more to breastfeeding than the breast milk itself, and I am not going to
deprive my child of the comfort and security of breastfeeding for the
alleged comfort of some person whom I don't even know. Also, spending time
at home pumping my milk, purchasing and cleaning bottles and artificial
nipples, carrying the bottles around with me when I'm out with my
child? WAY too much work for me!
You mentioned society being spared the sight of a human Playtex nurser if a
mom brings a bottle of expressed breast milk out in public to feed her
child. Whew, the twisted logic in this statement almost boggles my
mind. I mean, since when does a Playtex bottle become the archetype of
baby feeding? Certainly you understand that it is the other way around...
That is, society can be spared the sight of an artificial Playtex nurser
when moms breastfeed their babies in public!
Sincerely,
Dianne E. Oliver
2197 Hietter Ave.
Simi Valley, CA 93063
805-582-2058
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Holistic Lactation
805-582-2058
www.holisticlactation.com
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