Some Thoughts I Just Can’t Keep to Myself

There’s been a minor little story in the news lately about a group of mothers, women and other supporters that have banned together on Facebook to protest the required removal of pictures from Facebook that contain any portion of the areola, including pictures of mothers breast-feeding their children. Anyone who knows me well knows that I am an ardent supporter of breastfeeding, and anytime I read something like this it really fires me up. I hope you don’t all think I’m beating a dead horse here, but I need to say some things.

First of all, breast-feeding is the absolute best thing you can do for your baby. It is the gold standard. Anything you give your infant that is not breast milk is inferior. These days, that little bit of knowledge is pretty common, and yet, many, many women in the United States choose not to breast-feed their babies. Why is this? I have a theory, and of course, I’m going to share it.

American society and our economy are consumer-driven. Formula is a consumer product that is sold, marketed, and, shamelessly advertised as an acceptable alternative to breast-milk. People will buy anything, and they think that if they are buying something for their baby, then they must be doing something good. Now, you may have noticed that every formula commercial ever made has a little disclaimer at the bottom that says, “Breast-milk is best,” or something very similar. Yes, they actually admit that breast-milk is best, but convey that if you can’t breast-feed, then formula is acceptable. I guess my definition of acceptable does not include babies that are sick more often, constipated, more likely to develop childhood diseases, more likely to be allergic, more likely to get diaper rash, and a whole host of other things that I’m leaving out. (And those are just benefits for the baby – the mother gets a whole host of them, too.)

I am well aware that a very, very small percentage of women truly cannot breast-feed their children, and for them, I feel awful. To me, not being able to nurse my baby would be devastating. However, most of the excuses that women give about not being able to breast-feed or choosing not to breast-feed are just that – excuses.

American society has told them it is okay to give their babies formula, and what I’m saying is that it is not okay. Our society needs to change some things so that women can feel more confident and empowered and make the right choice. We have to accept that a naked breast is not just a symbol for sex, but a symbol of nurture, nutrition and motherly-love. People have to stop being uncomfortable around a women that is nursing. If a nursing mother becomes a more widespread site in the public arena, then women will begin to feel as comfortable nursing their babies in front of others as they are giving them a bottle. Nursing would begin to become common place, and more and more mothers would just believe, recognize, acknowledge and accept that when you have a baby, you nurse a baby. These basic, simple changes need to occur so that we can do what’s best for our babies and for society.