After being "No Mail" for a number of months it is good to be back!
I went to the "Salon" web-site and was horrified by what I read.  I've 
attached the letter I wrote to their editors.
Kirsten Clary, RNC
                                                        	
I read with interest your article on the young mother whose baby died 
from failure to thrive.  I was pleased to read the comments of Dr. 
Ruth Lawrence And Dr. Richard Aubry, and as a breastfeeding educator 
and a Registered nurse whose job it is to support and educate military 
parents, I agree whole-heartedly with their opinion on this very sad 
case. I did get the sense you were trying to find a reason to portray 
breastfeeding as a potentially dangerous practice, but overall I found 
your coverage, on the most part, to be fair and unbiased...until I 
went to the links after your article.

The articles Got Milk? and Crème Booblee were degrading and 
patronizing to women. The illustration showing a woman's head on a 
cow's body was offensive. Ms. Frosts stated in Got Milk: "It breaks 
with the fiction that professional women are androgynous, that we 
don't have sex. It exposes us as sexual, physical, leaking human 
beings."  Actually, breastfeeding and pumping at work do the exact 
opposite. With the advent of our formula-feeding society our breasts 
have been "reduced" to that of sexual object only. The breasts' 
primary function is to nourish our children. To suggest that pumping 
her breasts at work causes a woman to be sexualized does not make 
sense. My work with breastfeeding mothers (90% are full-time employed 
active duty women) has illustrated profoundly the dignity and strength 
of a woman willing to overcome social stigma in order to provide the 
best nutrition for her child.  These women are all competent, 
effective individuals who demand of their co-workers respect for their 
dual roles of mother and professional.  Sure, many of them have been 
faced with some of the challenges mentioned by Ms. Frost - the 
inability to find a comfortable place to pump, the time element 
involved etc., but they have all expressed the belief that to continue 
the breastfeeding relationship with their child is well worth the 
inconveniences they encounter.  Many large companies are now providing 
women with services of board certified lactation consultants, and 
comfortable, dignified rooms in which to pump. I do not believe these 
companies came up with the idea for this wonderful benefit on their 
own.  It was the result of women refusing to accept this all-important 
aspect of their gender as being something embarrassing and somehow 
indecent...and guess what?  These companies have reaped huge financial 
rewards for supporting this basic human, female function.

The fact that it is women who degrade one of the most important 
contributions to human society, the nurturing and feeding of future 
generations, is very troubling to me.  When will we learn that every 
aspect of being a woman is a strength, not a weakness?

There is nothing "cow like" about providing the nutrition nature meant 
for our babies.  What is "cow-like" is feeding cow's milk to human 
babies.
                                Kirsten Clary, RNC
                                Mother
                                Family Advocacy Nurse Specialist
                                Breastfeeding Educator