About breastfeeding

Interesting post here on the issue.

My thoughts: one thing that gets me about the posts on jezebel re: breastfeeding are the comments about breastfeeding nazis. I nursed Katie and I think nursing mothers have this one in the bag when it comes to being made to feel uncomfortable about their choice in infant-feeding.

An example: no mother who feeds her child a bottle ever has to cover up. No parent who feeds their child for any period of time is ever made to feel as if they might in some way be sexually abusing their baby when they feed with a bottle. Bottle-feeding is never seen as erotic or inappropriate. Yet, a nursing mother has to go in hiding basically to feed her child.

I think, one, the bottle-feeding medical paradigm still so strongly permeates our culture that folks have a tough time accepting that nursing is actually the way things were intended between mother and child. Formula is a great medical intervention when a mother cannot nurse- and I accept that some women cannot nurse- but I would argue that people doubt the overwhelming benefits of breastmilk because it has been intrenched in us to doubt the worthiness anything a woman's body does. And yes, this pertains to value placed on pregnancy and childbearing in this country.

More to the point, maybe we remember reading about wet nurses back in English lit, but women of means did not nurse themselves up until very recently when it is now upper-class women who are most likely to nurse. Back in the day, women from the lower classes were paid to nurse rich people's children because breastfeeding was seen as primitive. This myth persists; as one former student said, one of his cousins told his sister when she said she was breastfeeding: "You're not a cat!"

When making the decision to breastfeed, I made sure to look at it as a challenge and something I had to figure out and work on. If it didn't work, if Katie didn't learn to latch on, I'd quit. But I had more than one meltdown worrying if she was getting enough to eat.

I think that's the thing: mothers want what's best for their kids and I think no mother ever decides not to nurse her kid because breastfeeding isn't healthy...or at least, I don't think they do. But I think the breast itself is just so fraught with sexual connotation in our culture, that it disguises the value- and really, the absolute joy- that breastfeeding can be if people just calm down and take it easy. (not to mention, IT'S FREE!).

On a sidenote, my biggest plug for nursing is that in that 8 eight weeks before Katie started to really respond to us with smiles and laughs, nursing her was the most gratifying thing about motherhood. If she was upset, she'd nuzzle my chest and nursing would calm her down instantly. But that was me, and I want to respect the choices of other mothers who do not nurse. I just wish those who don't even consider nursing would give it try.

...and I will nurse the next baby. There, the cat's out of the bag. We're expecting again (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)