Tish Durkin, writer of "Breast is Best? This Bad Mom Trusts the
Bottle" had me -- a professional breastfeeding advocate -- chuckling
and nodding for the first half of the article. Although I have
dedicated my life to helping mothers and babies experience the joy of
breastfeeding, I fully understand her squeamishness and fear over the
thought of breastfeeding in public, leaking milk, and losing freedom.
She is not a bad mother for feeling this way; she is normal.
However, the second half of her article in which she downplays the
importance of breastfeeding to infant health, made me see red. I have
to agree with her husband that Tish is "distorting all the reliable
data" to "rationalize" her way out of it. If she does not want to
breastfeed, that is her choice, but she should not attempt to discredit
over a century of research showing the risks of not breastfeeding --
increased illness and death, even in the United States. Tish, please
use your considerable talent with writing for good, not evil.
Unicef has just reported that 6 million child deaths occur each year
due to lack of breastfeeding. Six million. Child. Deaths. Deaths
that could have been prevented if society supported and encouraged
breastfeeding beyond lip service. I don't fault Tish for not wanting
to breastfeed; she has never done it and is very focused on the
potential discomfort and embarrassment. She has never experienced the
heart-wrenchingly beautiful experience of seeing her infant relax into
her body and settle down for warm milk and perfect contentment. I hope
she decides to give it a try, just to see if she might like it. She
can stop anytime, knowing that even a few days of breastfeeding gives
her child precious immunities and perfect nutrition that last a
lifetime.
If Tish decides breastfeeding just isn't for her, I beg her to not try
to convince other people that it is not important. I hope Tish and her
baby will be among the lucky people out there that do "fine" with
formula. Other people will not be so lucky, and will be among the
statistics of serious diseases that breastfeeding protects against:
leukemia, meningitis, asthma, necrotizing enterocolitis, SIDS,
diabetes, breast cancer, obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, Hodgkin's
disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and the list goes on and on.
Tish, I hope that when you see your baby smacking his lips and nuzzling
into your shirt looking for milk, you will experience a change of
heart. Breastfeeding can be one of the most joyful experiences of a
woman's life -- as can giving birth -- and I welcome you to open your
heart to the experience. I don't think you will regret trying.
Sincerely,
Lynnette Hafken, MA, IBCLC
International Board Certified Lactation Consultant
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