Thank you, Kathy, for a wonderful post.  What do you think of two other
issues that I am grappling with?  Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could start
with changing the wording from "the rights of all human babies to be
breastfed" to "the right of all human babies to breastfeed" so that we are
talking about the babies' right to normal eating, not the moms' right to
choose between normal and abnormal eating.  

The other issue is related to another idea you brought up:  "If you don't
want to take care of a baby properly (according to the currently available
scientific understanding) then by all means, DON'T HAVE A BABY.  Get a
plant."  IMO, that is a strong stance to take and admirable.  Most animals
do not abandon their responsibilities when it comes to their young; they
feed them.  I would take it a step further:  If you don't want to mother
(nurture) your young, then don't have a baby.  It is unbelievable that a
high number of moms in the USA abandon their young at a very early age (most
between 2 - 8 weeks) and go to work without their babies.  I know the
reasons given for that practice, yet the babies did not ask to be created
and abandoned.  If women cannot afford to stay with their young, then they
don't have to conceive them until they CAN afford to take care of them.

It is bizarre to think of any other animal leaving their young before it is
appropriate to do so.  Human babies need their moms (assuming they are
normal) for optimal development, whether it be physical, emotional,
intellectual, etc.  As an anthropologist, you often refer to norms in humans
by looking at other mammals.  One example I often refer to is puppies and
their mothers; we do not allow them to be separated before 8 weeks.  In
humans, that would be equal to 56 weeks (8 x 7).  Most women do not
recognize that need.  If we wouldn't cause harm to puppies by early
separation from their mothers, why is it okay to do that to human babies?

Warm regards,

Lee Galasso, MS, LLLL, IBCLC, RLC

Westchester County in NYS, USA

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"Children Are Born with the Right to Breastfeed"

 


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