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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Infant Feeding - Massive Straw Men with Ambivalence & Gaslights

230 replies

Ineedacupofteadesperately · 28/02/2019 14:17

I've felt for a long time that something is 'off' about the discussion in the media around infant feeding. Apart from anything else the fact that the alternative to a mother breastfeeding is automatically accepted to be formula rather than donor milk, and no-one seems to ever question this. Why? Throughout history the alternative was wet nursing, not feeding cows milk. We have successful blood donation - why have all the milk banks been destroyed, we used to have more? Why is no money put into this in a supposedly rich country?

Anyway, someone sent me this link and I found it thought provoking. I think the comparison of adult feeding habits very pertinent at the end, but I do think part of the problem is that there are vested interests very focused on this remaining seen as individual choice rather than individual decisions in a very stacked environment without proper investment to support women, which often means there is no real choice at all.

www.analyticalarmadillo.co.uk/2019/02/infant-feeding-massive-straw-men-with.html

OP posts:
MagicMix · 28/02/2019 14:30

At least from what I know of the practice. Thinking about it a moment longer, I realise it's very likely that altruistic wet nursing also took place, so I suppose that post was a little hasty!

Stinkytoe · 28/02/2019 14:30

Personally I’d prefer to feed my child formula milk which is a perfectly fine alternative rather than use other women as some kind of dairy cow.

MagicMix · 28/02/2019 14:28

Wet nursing seems to me to be exploitation of women for their female biology, much the same as surrogacy. Wet nurses were poor women, basically being treated as dairy animals by rich people. I'll have to think harder about my position on donor milk as I've never really given it too much consideration before, but I do not think wet nursing was a good thing.

And in the past babies were given non-human milk, orphans in particular. Wet nurses were for rich families.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donkey_milk

NeurotrashWarrior · 28/02/2019 14:24

You might find the book 'The Politics of Breastfeeding' interesting.

NeurotrashWarrior · 28/02/2019 14:23

I agree. It's an extremely emotive area.