Ammehjelpen, the Norwegian BF mothers' organization, was founded in 1968 by
a group of young feminists who struggled to breastfeed against the tide of
ignorance then reigning in maternity care institutions.
There has never been a dichotomy between feminism and breastfeeding here.
The feminists are still among the most devoted of breastfeeders.
Breastfeeding is empowering, it frees us from reliance on purchased,
inferior food, it strengthens our belief in ourselves and our ability to
meet challenges, and it is a fundamental right of mothers AND babies.
It is different to argue the feminist angle in a country that privatizes
childbearing to the degree the US does.  There are so few societal measures
in place to protect the citizenry as children!  People seem to think that
maternity leave in order to protect the nutrition of children is an
unaffordable luxury, in one of the richest countries in the world.  And
anyone who has children without piles of money to raise them is just begging
for trouble and deserves whatever hardships they meet.
How would things look if we viewed rearing children the way we view, say,
road maintenance?  That children represent a common good, like the
possibility of getting from place to place in one piece?  Think about it.
Rachel Myr
a cantankerous pre-post-feminist feminist in Kristiansand, Norway

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