One problem with marketing breastfeeding as free is that a good deal has already been written to
counter that claim. I remember reading one argument -- from a book or magazine, I can't
remember -- that once you've paid for a breast pump and its paraphenelia, nursing bras, a special
nursing wardrobe, visits to the lactation consultant, and probably a few other things I'm
forgetting, breastfeeding is certainly not free!
So, if anyone wanted to market breastfeeding as free, she would need to counter these specious
arguments. And the problem, of course, is that a huge percentage of American breastfeeding
moms do buy pumps, and other breastfeeding accoutrements. Why? Well, largely because
Americans (and people in many of the other countries represented on lactnet) love to buy things!
It's tricky. Most people like freebies, but most people like to buy a list of things they'll neeed for
their babies, because in a consumerist society, we tend to show love by purchasing things. And,
of course, many people stubbornly hold on the idea that "you get what you pay for," and that
feeding baby something like nutramigen is equivalent to sparing no expense to give baby the best
possible food.
I do think it is good to stress the savings associated with breastfeeding; that even if parents
choose to make one-time purchases such as pumps and nursing clothes, or even if they engage
an LC for a few sessions, this does not compare to the expense of purchasing formula for an
entire year and going to the doctor as often as most non-breastfed babies need to.
Sadly, no matter what anyone says to market breastfeeding, there are some smart and passionate
people out there waiting to counter us. A couple of months ago we discussed an article on Slate in
which an author tore into LLL for simply suggesting that not every nursing mother needs to buy a
breast pump.
There are a lot of people, many of them good writers, who have a toxic mix of emotional
responses to this issue, and no matter how we market bf, they will be there to tear us down. This
doesn't mean we shouldn't try to do it, but it does mean that when we do it, we enter something
of a minefield -- one created by an industry that doesn't want bf levels increase and a society that
lost bf as a norm several decades ago and is still ambivalent about getting it back.
Kerry Ose
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