Hi All,
>Magda says: "I am really curious -- can anyone tell me what the Christian
>view of
>breastfeeding is? I have never heard of one. "
>
>Please, please, please let's not go there! I don't think lactnet is the
>place to discuss "Christian" breastfeeding (like, is it different from
>Jewish breastfeeding? or any other breastfeeding?)
With the greatest of respect, I do think this is an issue which could be
considered relevent, as long as it doesn't degenerate into a slanging
match (which I doubt on Lactnet). The problem I have seen in many
churches in UK is the concern that breastfeeding is "immodest" or
somehow a sexual activity ie not something a "nice" Christian girl
should indulge in. This is most definitely a minority view, IME, but I
have come across it a significant number of times, and issues like
nursing in church are common concerns amoung the breastfeeding mothers I
know. I have not found this concern amoung friends of other religeons,
most of whom seem considerably more "chilled out" about the issue than
some Christians I meet.
I was thrilled to read of the Catholic church's endorsement of
breastfeeding, and extremely pleased at my own church's (the United
Reform Church) stand on this issue - if women feel that their religeon
supports breastfeeding, I think they will be more inclined to do it; if
OTOH, they get the slightest hint that it is not "nice" or immoral, that
may be a factor in discouraging them.
When supporting or encouraging breastfeeding with religeous women, I
think some basic understanding of their belief system can be helpful: I
am thinking of a Polish Catholic woman I know who was planning to
bottlefeed due to concerns about "modesty", but who changed her mind
when she saw the "Innocenti" declaration. However, I was unable to
influence a Strict Baptist woman I know who was having trouble with
pumping in order to avoid BFIP at church three times a week - she ended
up supplementing with formula and weaned early (partly due to her
ignorance about pumping yields and normal nursing patterns, which she
was trying to schedule to fit round her meetings).
--
Anna H. (Mummy to Emma, 17-1-95, Alice, 11-9-96, Samuel, 25-4-98)
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