Hello all,
I just need to share my feelings about this article. My heart is hurting 
that women can be so ugly to one another. The comment in the article about a 
woman walking by a breastfeeding mother and commenting "Ewww, gross", is so 
upsetting. Like new moms don't have enough stress in their lives just 
figuring out the best way to raise their babies! I think we all know that 
the USA culture in particular has done a dis-service to women. Although you 
can never say all or none, I think most women are naturally nurturers. We 
are supposed to take care of one another and help a new mom as she begins 
her journey not demonize and persecute her. I know there are some men out 
there who have similar comments but the majority I have run in to have been 
very interested in the biological function of the breast. Remember, as a 
whole they like to figure out how things work :)
Because this article really touched a nerve for me I asked my 17 yr old 
daughter to read it and tell me what she thought. Apparently this article 
touched a nerve in her as well because she wrote a letter about it. I didn't 
ask her to do this I just wanted a slightly objective view on the article. 
This same daughter gives me a hard time whenever I mention breastfeeding. I, 
like many, am fairly convinced that if everyone breastfed we would have 
world peace ( I know wishful thinking). Anyway her letter follows. It 
surprised me a little bit.
Mimi O'Donnell RN, IBCLC


<My name is Heather O'Donnell, and I am the seventeen year old daughter of 
an IBCLC and La Leche League leader. My mother recently received a link to a 
CNN article about your article online, and she asked me to read it. Now, 
while I don't read breastfeeding articles as a pastime, I decided that I 
would oblige and see why she had asked me to. This article discussed the 
fact that there are many people who dislike seeing "a giant boob" on the 
front of a "wholesome family magazine." What they don't seem to realize is 
that the bit of skin showed (the breast) does not have any areola showing 
and no nipple. Because of this, one could easily assume that it was a 
slightly protruding stomach, or something equally benign. Obviously, that is 
not what it is; however, if an eight year old child picks up the magazine 
and asks what it is, any mother with some amount of self-preservation can 
figure out that it's quite easy to say that. Honestly. Also, I've never met 
a single teenage boy or any other boy, for that matter, who would take a 
mothering magazine and say, "Oh look. It's a breast. I think I'll go 
masturbate about that." That just doesn't happen. Of course, the magazines 
that are allowed in the house, like "Maxim" or "Playboy" are a great deal 
more pornographic (if this picture of a NURSING BABY can even be considered 
pornographic). A child who wants something from a picture definitely won't 
be picking up a mothering magazine any time soon. In continuation, the 
article also discussed that breastfeeding in public is a nuisance or a 
disturbance to those around them. First of all, if people don't want to see 
it, DON'T LOOK. One mother also said that she doesn't send other people to 
the bathroom to eat their dinner. That's certainly quite true. How many 
people want to eat near to a toilet? I don't. We don't expect people who 
chew with their mouths open or talk while eating to go to the bathroom to 
eat, so why should we expect little babies who are following their natural 
urges and doing it without being obscene to? The women who suggest that 
their husbands will be turned on by this horrific display of sexuality are 
off their rockers. How many times have you gone into a restaurant with your 
husband, seen a breastfeeding woman, and heard him say "Oh, wow. She's hot" 
or had to pull him away from the oozing sexuality? Never. That's what I 
thought. In short, I think that any negative response to your article is 
ridiculous, and I would like to set the record straight about teenagers and 
children, in general. It's unfair and completely uncouth to suggest that 
boys/men can't manage to control a desire after a lactating breast. They can 
see more provocative material searching the internet or watching TV or 
reading the magazines that are considered "everyday material." Get over it.>

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