As the author of the book "Breastfeeding in Combat Boots: A Survival Guide to Successful Breastfeeding While Serving in the Military", I feel that I must respond. I apologize for taking so long to make a response, but I am a full-time nursing student and was at Clinical all day and came home to a firestorm over the wording of the title of my book.
The title of the book was written that way on purpose. And here is why: Women in the military, serving on Active Duty ARE breastFEEDING! Let me say that again: Women in the military, serving on Active Duty, ARE breastFEEDING! While they must pump while away from their babies, and give their babies that pumped milk while separated; when they are together they most certainly are breastfeeding. Not breastmilk feeding. They pump while apart so that they CAN breastfeed when together. Many of these moms breastfeed first thing in the morning, again at lunch, when they get home, all night, all weekend. They spend sleepless nights making sure that they can breastfeed their babies. And yes, they are wearing their combat boots while breastfeeding the baby. To say that these women, who are sacrificing everything to both serve their country AND provide the closeness, love, bonding and nutrition that is found in breastfeeding, are not in fact breastfeeding, is a major slap in the face.
My book was written with the major emphasis on how to make breastfeeding work. Not how to do breastmilk feeding. With every chance I got I wrote from the angle of here is how-to manage with the least separation and least amount of pumping as possible. I wanted to show women in the military that it is in fact possible to breastFEED while serving. Why? Because it is what I did while on active duty, and it is what I've been helping women to do for over 13 years now. As a LLL Leader, I was 'raised' with the philosophy that the act of breastfeeding is more important than the milk. And I still believe that, so I try my damnedest to make sure that the women I help understand that the whole reason they are pumping their milk is not so much to have the milk for separation, but instead to keep their supply up so they CAN breastfeed when they are together.
As Diana and Emily have both stated, what they did (and what I did while serving on active duty) and what thousands of active duty women are doing everyday...to persevere against extreme odds, in a culture (the military) that values men and war fighting over anything nurturing, is beyond amazing and should be lauded, not denigrated. I am saddened that the attitude espoused Dr. Thorley still exists. I had hoped that we had moved beyond this point, that we could applaud these women for what they are managing against extreme odds....and not get caught up in semantics. It is these types of hurtful statements that make women quit or not even start breastfeeding to begin with....when they are told that what they are doing is in effect, not the real deal. I would please ask you to walk a mile in their combat boots, to make the sacrifices they do EVERYDAY to make sure that their babies have not only their breastMILK but also have it from the BREAST, before you make a statement like that again.
Respectfully,
Robyn Roche-Paull
BS, IBCLC, LLL Leader
United States Navy ~ Aircraft Mechanic 1991-1997
Author~ Breastfeeding in Combat Boots: A Survival Guide to Successful Breastfeeding While Serving in the Military
www.breastfeedingincombatboots.com
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