Breastfeeding Article

rshamos · October 2014

Hey Ladies!

I ran into this article about a woman who is not breastfeeding and how it has affected her life. What do you think?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/why-i-dont-breastfeed-if-you-must-know/2014/10/13/74c5fd3e-459a-11e4-9a15-137aa0153527_story.html

Saintelizabeth · October 2014

I hope the main thing people who read this article get from it is BFing is a mother's personal choice, no explanation needed for why a woman chooses to BF or not. How a woman chooses to feed her child shouldn't be open to unwanted opinions from friends, family members or strangers.

Meether · October 2014

Like the c/s article yesterday, another blogger with opinions. I agree no one should care or be judgmental about her choices but her article is very defensive. She ignores the benefits of breastfeeding, like it provides antibodies and certain hormones which can help prevent devastating conditions such as SIDS. We all know formula isn't harmful to anyone, and does not have any negative effects, but breast milk has some extra benefits and she chose to ignore that. I don't know why, if I can't breast feed my child, I'll give formula and I don't care what other people think....

AllTheTeaInChina · October 2014

I wonder where all these crazy people are that make comments like that. I BF DD for 2 yrs and never had anyone say something about it, positive or negative. I BF in public many times without a cover- no comments or dirty looks.
I remember being nervous the first time. DD was about 2 weeks old, we went to the mall of America. I knew there are women's lounges etc but I didn't want to look for one so I found an empty bench in a corner of the amusement park. After a few min another mom walks over with her baby, 8mo old maybe, and asked if I minded her sitting there too. We fed our babies together. I felt pretty cool.

rshamos · October 2014

I thought her perspective was interesting. I'm pretty neutral with the whole BF/formula debate, but I was amazed at how she was pushed, even though she physically couldn't BF.

acac104 · October 2014

I actually read the study that the author references in her article. When I was doing my research in order to inform my choice this seemed the only truly evidence based article out there.

I agree with one of the earlier posters that no woman should have to justify anything to anyone as it is her choice and her body. However, I have heard a lot of horror stories about the lactation consultants and how aggressive they can be. I am really hoping I don't have to experience one when I am in the hospital because I have no intentions of being polite about telling her to mind her business.

drpayne · October 2014

I'm really sick of these articles, in general.

Cheekers2010 · October 2014

Sigh. You just can't win. Breastfeeders get stigmatized and so do formula feeders.

bowlwoman · October 2014

Right after I had DD1, one of my neighbors came to visit as I was bfing the baby. She had a girl about 9 months older than DD1, and she and I discussed how it was going with bfing. She said that before she had her daughter, she had been a breastfeeding nazi, all women who formula feed are horrible people, etc. Then, she had her daughter. She breastfed, but every day at 3 pm she ran out of milk. She said she tried everything to get her supply upped, but she literally could not produce anything after mid afternoon. So, her situation forced her to look at the other side and completely reverse her stance because she finally understood the other side of the coin.

mlee116 · October 2014

Ainslie325 said:

Here's my issue: if the reason why a woman doesn't breast-feed truly doesn't matter, if it's no one's business but that woman's and her family's, why do we need to write articles about our reasons for not breast-feeding at all? It doesn't matter if an individual has what she perceives to be the most legitimate, justifiable reason imaginable for not breast-feeding. The simple act of her personal choice should be legitimizing enough. Every time a justification is offered, it suggests that a justification is owed. In my opinion, every time someone defends her own choice by providing a reason, the implicit reading by a critic is that someone else doesn't have a one that's "good enough." A woman should feel no more compelled to discuss her reasons for bottlefeeding then she should her reasons for breast-feeding. Clearly, though, this is the author's story to tell, and she's perfectly entitled to tell it.

drpayne said:

I'm really sick of these articles, in general.

I agree 100% with both of you. I'm also sick of these types of articles. Its just gotten so old. I'm over moms saying it is their choice and no one's business, yet new articles come out every other week it seems explaining their decision to the whole world. Then other moms use these articles as defense or to backup their decision. Honestly, I think its just perpetuating the whole argument and making even more women feel like they need to explain their decision too.

There are tons of reasons why women don't BF, the world doesn't need to be aware of every single one them. Make the best decision for you and your family and be confident in that.

ETA: Hit enter too soon

Ktrego · October 2014

Saintelizabeth said:

I hope the main thing people who read this article get from it is BFing is a mother's personal choice, no explanation needed for why a woman chooses to BF or not. How a woman chooses to feed her child shouldn't be open to unwanted opinions from friends, family members or strangers.

Amen, sista!

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