By: Don Caldwell
Why has breastfeeding become more "niche" than "mainstream"?
Excerpts italicized:
Most doctors and medical professionals tout the benefits of breastfeeding children. From the natural antibiotics in breast milk, lower rates of breast cancer in women to the psychological bonding between the mother and child, breast feeding perhaps seems like a no-brainer in child care.
Formula VS. Breastfeeding.
From Kidshealth.org:
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) joins other organizations such as the American Medical Association (AMA), the American Dietetic Association (ADA), and the World Health Organization (WHO) in recommending breastfeeding as the best for babies. Breastfeeding helps defend against infections, prevent allergies, and protect against a number of chronic conditions.
The AAP says babies should be breastfed exclusively for the first 6 months. Beyond that, the AAP encourages breastfeeding until at least 12 months, and longer if both the mother and baby are willing.
Why do so few mothers choose breastfeeding as an option?
According to the CDC, breastfeeding is practiced in a minority of mothers during the first year of a baby's life.
They report that mothers who do ANY breast-feeding during the first 6 months is only about 70% and drops to about 40 percent after that. Mothers who choose to ONLY breast-feed are only about 30% and drops to about 10% for the next 6 months.
It is also worth noting that the percentage of mothers who breast-feed is on the rise across all baby ages.
But why is it such a taboo topic in our culture?
Breastfeeding is perhaps considered "inappropriate" in the United States. In the past few years several incidents have gripped the media concerning this topic.
Some highlights from Wikipedia:
In November 2006, Emily Gillette, a 27-year-old from Santa Fe, New Mexico was refused service inBurlington, Vermont after being asked to leave a Freedom Airlines flight by a flight attendant after Gillette refused to breastfeed her child under a blanket.[13]
During June, 2007, Brooke Ryan was dining in a booth at the rear of an Applebee's restaurant when she decided to breastfeed her 7-month-old son. While she said she attempted to be discreet, another patron complained that her partially revealed breast was "indecent exposure." Both a waitress and the manager asked her to cover up. She handed him a copy of the Kentucky law[14] that permitted public breastfeeding, but he would not relent. She ended up feeding her son in her car and later organized several "nurse-in" protests in front of the restaurant and other public places.[15]
Barbara Walters
In 2005, Barbara Walters remarked on her talk show The View that she felt uncomfortable sitting next to a breastfeeding mother during a flight. Her comments upset some viewers who began organizing protests over the internet. A group of about 200 mothers staged a public "nurse in" where they breastfed their babies outside ABC's headquarters in New York.[16]
Facebook controversy
Facebook has recently come under fire for removing photos of mothers breastfeeding their children, citing offensive content in violation of the Facebook Terms of Service.[17] Facebook claimed that these photos violated their decency code by showing an exposed breast, even when the baby covered the nipple. This action was described as hypocritical, since Facebook took several days to respond to calls to deactivate a paid advertisement for a dating service that used a photo of a topless model.[18]
The breastfeeding controversy continued following public protests and the growth in the online membership in the Facebook group titled "Hey, Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene! (Official petition to Facebook)."[19]
There was also a recent incident in New Jersey, after a Dunkin' Donuts employee called the police on a breastfeeding mother.
From The Consumerist:
“It finally happened. A friend and I were just told not to breastfeed in Dunkin Donuts because there are "other people there". I was going to leave and just write a letter to Dunkin Donuts headquarters suggesting that they educate their employees better. The police were called, though.”
The mom says she and her friend just cleaned up and left the Dunkin' Donuts, but not before her friend was told by the police to "shut up" in front of her children.
For its part, Dunkin' Donuts posted the following statement on its Facebook page:
“We have looked into the matter concerning 2 moms at a DD store in NJ & have confirmed an employee was responding to another customer's complaint that wasn't related to breastfeeding. None of the DD employees challenged the guests about breastfeeding & all DDs must comply w/ local, state & federal laws w/ regard to nursing mothers. Our top priority is always to provide an excellent experience for our guests”
Should you have the right to breastfeed your children?
Is this a symptom of a culture that values children less and less (i.e. abortion, lower birth rates, increases in various forms of birth control, etc) or has the transition from breastfeeding to formula as the primary means of feeding our children helped to turn this into a taboo? Is it some representation of traditional views of the roles of women that is viewed at to archaic / embarrassing by our increasingly progressive culture? Have women been historically embarrassed by this? Why now?
It is likely that the answer lies in a combination of the reasons stated above, but the problem still remains and much needs to be done to change the perceptions surrounding such an important part of the relationships shared by mother and child.
Update: It should also be noted that modesty is important. In this issue most folks seem to take one of two sides in this debate (to the extreme). There are obviously instances where breastfeeding in public is inappropriate, but one must ask does it have to always be inappropriate (as our culture seems to dictate today)...
Breastfeeding in Public Controversies - Wikipedia.org
Formula VS. Breastfeeding - Kidshealth.org
NCSL Breastfeeding State By State Laws
US Centers for Disease Control Breastfeeding Data - CDC.gov
Breastfeeding Mom: Dunkin' Donuts Staff Called The Police On Me - The Consumerist
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