> > It is very difficult (and maybe unrealistic) in
> >the US to claim breastfeeding is an issue at the age of 2.
>
> I must differ.  There are many people in the US who nurse beyond two years
> of age <snip>


I understood the original comment to mean that a separation of some number
of hours shouldn't be the same issue for a nursing 2 year old as it would be
for a nursing newborn.  In that vein, I too am sorry to see breastfeeding
blamed for the basic issue that the mother is unwilling and unable to
arrange substitute care for her small children.  I think about the press
coverage of the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendation that babies
be breastfed for at least one year - remember how the press took the amount
of time a newborn nurses, and extrapolated that out to hours spent in a
year, without any regard for the difference between nurslings of different
ages?  I cringe at the idea that someone is going to think that you can no
more readily leave a breastfeeding 2 y/o than a breastfeeding 2 month
old......  think of that FDA site that Valerie was describing and the
"mother feels tied down" sorts of comments, and you get a sense of the
cultural context here.

Furthermore (donning asbestos now), I frankly don't think this mother
handled the situation well at all.  The judicial system is notoriously
inflexible.  The time for her to consult a lawyer was before she ever got to
the point of bringing her children with her for her jury duty - that was,
unfortunately, a rather inflammatory, stubborn, creative response - just the
sort of reaction that causes court officials to get ever more determined to
stick to their guns.  She should have exhausted many many more channels
*before* taking matters into her own hands;  I understand that an ordinary
private citizen might not appreciate just how inflexible government
bureaucracies are, but should any of us be in a position to advise a
breastfeeding client in a similar situation, for example, I hope that we
would encourage her to get lots of legal help before she defies clear
instructions.

I'm not sure I'm expressing myself very well in this situation.  My
discomfort stems from my feeling that I really want breastfeeding to be a
mainstream kind of phenomenon and these sorts of stories seem, instead, to
cement our "way out there" image.  I do wish that moms staying with their
little kids wasn't *controversial,* sheesh.

Struggling for words here, and ducking back under the asbestos....

Mary Renard, RN, BSN, IBCLC, LLLL
Vienna Virginia  USA
just outside Washington DC, so I'm familiar with bureaucracy!

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