Another article about how awful breastfeeding is, this time in a feminist publication

[Caligula]

I thought some of you would like to read this.

This misinformation bugged me:

"Times change though, and the formulas on the market are hopefully as close to what comes out of your boob, as they will ever be".

Wonder what the rest of you think

the new breastfeeding taboo

And also imo the feminist postition should be that we should be designing our society, job market, health service etc., in a way which enables the majority of women to make the choice which is best for women and best for children. Which is breastfeeding, there's just no getting round that. Instead, we have designed everything to ensure that the choice to breastfeed is being hampered. Most women want to breastfeed - over 2/3 start off doing so. The fact that the majority give up, shows that we're not giving women real choices.

OK Xenia I'm talking about moral right.

I guess the correct formulation should be "you don't have a right to say this without being strongly and vociferously challenged on it!"

i agree, pitchounette. but the fact that the baby is a factor makes it different from the other two examples.
that, i think, is why those of us who tried and failed to bf feel so awful, precisely because we feel like we have removed something (immunities, closeness, whatever) from the baby without him or her having been involved in the decision. to ignore that is to miss an important part of why women can take bfing so to heart and why 'failure' to bf can be so traumatic. it's not as simple as 'happy mummy, happy baby' if the mummy is gutted at not being able to bf.

I don't think she implies that at all, Caligula - she specifically states that breast is best and adds 'of course it is'.

What she says about formulas is that they are 'hopefully as close to what comes out of your boob as they will ever be' - which is in itself a pretty weird statement, but doesn't say or imply it is as good.

Everybody else seems to be reading a different article to me [confused emoticon]

That's the statement I was thinking of Kathy!

There was an interesting thread on this a while ago where the "Breast is Best" language is discussed and was decided to be unhelpful. People felt that "Breast is normal" should be more emphasised. "Best" is a term which we all know we can't acheive in the real world, whereas normal is one we can.

That's very badly summed up, but it was the gist of it. If I have time later I'll try and find the thread and link it.

Breast is normal....hmmm.... I like that

It is possible that "breast is best" is making some women (not all obvioulsy) who decide not to or can't bf feel guilty.

Guilt is a complicated issue though. I think one would have to find out how that guilt is being caused. I doubt it is all due to the term breast is best.

How does the term "normal" make it sound any better or easier for those who are feeling guilty ? Surely that would only make formula sound "abnormal" ?

I am really interested in this because the issue of guilt seems to come up again and again on these threads even when the poster says "I decided not to bf".

The article itself is completely embedded with guilt (if you read between the lines).

It is possible that "breast is best" is making some women (not all obvioulsy) who decide not to or can't bf feel guilty.

Guilt is a complicated issue though. I think one would have to find out how that guilt is being caused. I doubt it is all due to the term breast is best.

How does the term "normal" make it sound any better or easier for those who are feeling guilty ? Surely that would only make formula sound "abnormal" ?

I am really interested in this because the issue of guilt seems to come up again and again on these threads even when the poster says "I decided not to bf".

The article itself is completely embedded with guilt (if you read between the lines).

that's SO TRUE, caligula, i've never thought of it like that (always just been a bit pummelled by the 'ergo formula is second-best' flipside, tbh). WHY are they selling us BFing? it's the normal thing to do... and the campaigning money could be spent better helping people to achive normality or even helping the abnormal ones like myself.

i suppose because my not-brilliant bfing was at least in part caused by a drug interaction i don't feel so bad about being abnormal, yellowrose, because i was. but i do feel bad about giving dd second-best, iykwim? but you might be right about people who choose not to bf, although i've never met anyone who chose without trying. and i'm sure there are valid reasons for doing that too.

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Aitch - that's interesting. I would have thought second best sounds better than being abnormal. So I guess it is very subjective. Some might prefer normal, some best ?

The other way to look at (in a more positive and sympathetic light !) is that formula is good, ebm is better, but bm is best ?

Or am I stretching it too far

That was bloody good 1-handed typing MummyP- takes me 4ever!

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i suppose abnormal has a nice practical ring to it for me. if i've had high bp throughout pregnancy and am on meds for it, if i have PCOS then i'm abnormal, in that i'm not the norm.

so long as the medical staff i encounter are informed enough to point out to me in advance that these factors might make my struggle to bf all the harder then i thingk i'd have been okay with it and have managed to get my top line supply higher in the first few weeks. as it was by the time i accessed people who could talk knowledgeably about drug interactions etc and prescribe me drugs that might help, the most i could produce was already compromised by having under-produced in those early weeks. i think bbwlisa has spoken very well on this subject further down. it's advance warning, and staff well-trained enough to give us that warning, that could make all the difference for a lot of women with medical conditions. (and given that you're attending the hospital twice a sodding week you wouldn't think it'd be too much to ask for someone to mention it to you, do you? )

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but breastmilk is best, though.

mummy - that is a very good point. I have been on antibiotics (for chest infections) several times in the past year and my DS never said, "that's disgusting milk you have today mummy, what the feck have you been eating" (not that he would say such a thing at 2.6 years old ), but perhaps a new born would be more sensitive to it ?

Apparently only minute amounts of meds. get into bm any way, but it is possible I guess that whatever she was taking would alter the taste ?

I am intrigued as to how absolutley CERTAIN she seems in the article that it was the taste of her milk that was bothering her baby. I really don't think she can be that certain. It may have been any number of things. Any experts out there who can comment on this ?

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i certainly can't see how lactulose would have caused a problem, it's just sugar...

i do sympathise with the writer, though, in that she's asked fifteen people 'why is this happening to me?' and they've not been able to tell her, so she's clung to the one answer that rings true for her... even if it's unlikely to have been the case (and if anyone accuses me of doing the same i'll come over and biff ya ). you do get a bit mental when your bfing is going wrong, as i recall, everyone tells you something different and you can feel like you're in a pinball machine just boinging around.

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