I hate it when people refer to "the breast"

[Pagan]

As in

"put baby on the breast".
"When baby is at the breast"

Feeeeeeech - it really makes my toes curl, like they no longer belong to the woman who has them.

Oh yes, it's the "the" that annoys me too.

You don't say "the leg" or "the arm" or anything else do you?

It makes it sound like a piece of equipment like "the bottle"

I think that's what's horrible about it - it refers to a disjointed "breast", not part of a woman at all. Maybe at some deep-rooted level it's connected to the distaste some people have for public breastfeeding. The same old contempt , fear and sexual disgust that women have been putting up with for centuries! "The breast" refers to a piece of equipment/a process/a feeding method, which can be quantified, controlled and assimilated by the medical establishment. Breastfeeding in its natural form is personal, it's between women and babies, and is therefore subversive. Sorry, bit heavy but I think it's an interesting topic.

ok, I'm going to be the lone voice here - I think a HV asking me "when do you intend to wean dd off your breast^" sounds a bit pervy. If she used "... your boob", even worse!

I prefer HVs and medical staff to use a more formal way of communication. They are not my best friend, just professionals who happen to be advising on areas which involve the human body, my body. Am I odd?

BTW, I am all for bf-ing, having bf-ed dd for 17 months, co-slept and bf-ing in public.

I suppose I think it's none of the HV's business when you plan to wean your baby off breast milk. So the semantic difficulty would never arise!!

mom, it was just a example. But I like your "breastmilk" expression. Sounds much better.

Yes...or they say "babe"!! They come barging in with a CTG machine when you're just nodding off (I was in hospital for 6 weeks when I had DS1 - long story!) and say "Just have a quick listen to babe" or "Just have a quick feel of your tummy" - I don't know what their training's like but it seriously got my back up.

Hate, hate, hate the use of 'baby' instead of the baby's name. But even worse, surely, is the use of 'mum' as in 'How are we feeling today, mum?' I have a name, it's in my notes, you are holding my notes, just look down, it's right in front of you, ffs!

Urgh. Have resolved to never slip into that. However, even though I don't like 'the breast' either and do think it's overly formal it's quite hard to know what else to say sometimes. Much as I would love to say to a breastfeeding mother 'Let him have a good old slurp on your norks' I'm not sure it's regarded as particularly professional

Being called "mum" by someone insufferably chirpy and younger than me Winds Me Up. As does being asked graphic personal questions and having notes written about me, which serve no purpose other than to make me feel as though my son belongs to the state and I am very lucky to have temporary custodianship.

Oh, completely agree. Definitely the "the" that is off-putting. And being called mum by professionals.

snafu, may I suggest that you unilaterally introduce the term "The Nork" to try and solve your dilemma?

I think it would be rude not to, wouldn't it, tamum?

"wean your baby off breast milk" That's the whole point, isn't it. You're weaning the baby off the milk, not the breast.

Why "put the baby to the/your breast" though?? Shouldn't it be "latch your baby onto..." or just "feed your baby"

I think so snafu, yes, and think how proud you and MN will feel when it becomes accepted into the professional literature.

My least favourite "medical" expression is "And how are you feeling inside yourself?". I now know this means "are you depressed/have you gone completely bonkers?".

But it's not an expression that we have in Canada. And it always makes me want to ask "as opposed to what? inside someone else?".

Which probably isn't a good answer to the "have you gone mad?" question.

Have never thought about this before - I use that term all the time

If we're referring to the post-natal midwife/HV daily interrogations, I hate "how's your loss" (re lochia) and I loathe "have you had your bowels open". Gross. And mind your own damn business. So to speak.

I think it's fine to use with British people. But for us foreigners, it's quite puzzling. Luckily, it was my own midwife who used it first with me, and she knew me.

I had a dream about the word 'nork' last night! In it, someone registered it as a trademark and then ran a fleet of big haulage lorries with NORK or NORKMEISTER writ large on the sides. Only Mumsnetters knew the real meaning of nork and it became like the Masons - if you saw another woman laughing as a NORK lorry went by, you knew she was a fellow mumsnetter.

PS dh says I need my head seeing to, with dreams like this!

I think it's more accurate to say 'chomp at the nork', snaff.

I hate it when people refer to 'baby' and 'mum' (usually midwives)

when 'baby' comes along

come along now 'mum'

(bleuch!)

suedonim!!!

Ah yes, MI, good point.

While we're at it, another bf-related word I'm not keen on at all is suckling, which is rather unfortunate, given the circumstances...

The word 'breast' is fine. It's the 'the' that I dislike.

I hate "let's have a feel of your tummy"
that won't help tbh
baby is in my womb, not my stomach
"wee" I can't stand either
or "wee wee" urgh
how are you feeling "down below"
AGH!