I want to share an article from The Sunday Chicago Tribune... Nice way to
start WBW.
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Breasts weren't meant to feed sexual hang-ups
Julie Deardorff
Published July 31, 2005
In his first openly defiant act, my 11-month-old son recently stopped
breast-feeding without my permission. At first the strike seemed temporary, but
I've been trying to lure him back for three weeks. He's done.
In some ways, this sudden, albeit natural, rejection made me feel like a
failure. I'd planned to nurse him every night after work as long as possible,
hoping for an easy, intimate bond after a long day of separation. Instead, I
attach myself to a mechanical breast pump three times a day and we feed him my
milk from a bottle.
Though breast-feeding is an intensely joyful and rewarding experience, it
also generates feelings of guilt, frustration and inadequacy, even in those of
us who manage to do it far longer than average. The American Academy of
Pediatrics says babies should be fed breast milk exclusively for six months, but
only one-third of mothers make it that far.
Unlike my mother's generation, we've had it hammered home that "breast is
best," that anything less verges on child abuse. We know breast-feeding offers
better nutrition, immunity and digestion, improves baby-mother bonding and
can even raise a baby's IQ.
Yet America still has one of the lowest breast-feeding rates in the
developed world, something breast-feeding advocates will be highlighting during World
Breastfeeding Month in August.The problem isn't just that some populations,
including low-income and minority women, aren't getting the message that
breast-feeding can help decrease the risk of ear infections, respiratory illness,
obesity and diarrhea. It's that breast-feeding is a learned art rife with
complications and contradictions. It's natural and convenient but by no means
simple; in fact, it's one of the hardest things a sleep-deprived new mother
has to learn, at a time when she already is spent.
And although some women feel extreme pressure to breast-feed--failing to do
so can contribute to postpartum depression--there's also a strong sentiment
in the U.S. that it should not be done in public and that it should not be
done too much or for too long.
Though nursing mothers are using their breasts precisely for their intended
purpose, breasts will always be equated with sex in our culture. The sight of
a breast-feeding mother is so unsettling to some that we've had to pass
legislation to clarify that she is not committing an act of public indecency.
Last August, Illinois passed the Right to Breastfeed Act, which allows
mothers the right to breast-feed in public or private (but not necessarily inside
a place of worship), regardless if that offensive nipple is showing.
But if there is no infant involved, it's fine to wear bikini tops and
see-through shirts that reveal far more than a breast-feeding mother would. As a
non-breast-feeding friend put it: "I find it an embarrassment that so many
people are not troubled that breasts are displayed sexually, by women far too
young to handle the interest that they generate. But if an adult woman feeds
[usually discreetly] her infant child, it sends people into orbit. What
surprises me is how many women get worked up."
What we really need to improve the breast-feeding rates is for people to
respect the miraculous, powerful nature of the act: A woman can produce
everything her baby needs to thrive for at least the first six months.
When we have breast-feeding problems, we need more help from the medical
community and supportive but not militant lactation consultants. There is a fine
line between supporting a woman's decision to breast-feed and guilt-tripping
her into depression if she chooses not to or can't.
We need businesses to follow the law and to give working moms a time and
appropriate place to pump and store breast milk. The state Nursing Mothers in
the Workplace Act says an employer must make a reasonable effort to provide a
room--toilet stalls don't count--for this purpose.
And though our culture is obsessed with breasts, we need to get over this
sophomoric notion the breast is a sexual object to be ogled. Women do not nurse
in public to show off or to titillate strangers. They do it because infants
need to eat every two hours, and mothers are expected to keep up with the
demands of daily life, which includes venturing into public. Frequent feedings
keep hungry children from screaming and prevent painful and possibly serious
complications such as plugged ducts, severe infections and insufficient milk
supply.
Breast-feeding is not a frivolous lifestyle choice done by people who are
too cheap to buy formula. (Though we do like the cost-saving.) It's a wise
health and medical decision.
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E-mail Julie Deardorff at [log in to unmask] Send health and fitness
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