Breastfeeding

[PamBeesly]

I am a feminist and I breastfeed, I have heard that breastfeeding isn't feminist and I can't quite understand it, I love feeding my son and its my body. I don't bow to pressure from anyone to feed him any particular way. Can anyone enlighten me as to why its not feminist, I'd love to know so I can see it from a different viewpoint. Thanks in advance :)

Where did you hear that?

There was a french writer who said this IIRC and president sarkozy echoed her ideas recently.

sarkozy

I think the idea is that if a mother breastfeeds it usually means she ends up taking on most of the childcare. If the child is formula fed, the father can care for the child just as much, the aim being that both parents contribute 50% of the care. I don't agree with that viewpoint.

I've heard it mentioned in articles and a few posters on the KellyMom Facebook page have alluded to it, I've such little time to go and look for it so did the lazy thing and came on and asked my knowledgable mumsnet friends ;-)

Sarkozys' ideals make me boak, making mothers feel 'uncertain' and doubt themselves, you will have enough milk by and large and he is glad men get off the hook, boak boak boak.
Yes I do all the feeding CailinDana (excellent name) but he does more or less most everything else

I wouldn't have thought it's a very widely held opinion.

AFAIK it was this french book that suggested this idea, like fotheringhay I can't imagine that many agree with it.

If ffing and bfing were equally good for the baby then I could see how bfing would be a feminist issue. But the fact that bfing is demonstrably better for the baby means that it's not a simple either/or choice and that choosing ffing just because you want your partner to do more childcare is pretty ridiculous. If you don't want to bf or can't for some reason then that's an entirely different thing, but it's certainly not a feminist issue IMO. Bfing is a biological function that can only be carried out by women, so if a baby is going to be bfed it has to be done by the mother, there's nothing sexist about that it's just a fact.

I don't like the societal pressure on women to breastfeed. It's almost as though women are made to feel inadequate as mothers just for wanting their bodies back after pregnancy. Breastfeeding, however wonderful, is a bind and lots of women feel forced into it.

Do you equally dislike the pressure on parents to feed their children healthy food and ensure they get exercise TalHotBlond?

No because that doesn't involve my body at all.

I think I read that most have stopped by 6 weeks, so there shouldn't be a huge pressure? (I'm prepared to be corrected if there is)

So because it involves your body it's ok to say that a baby can't have it?

I have breastfed twice and there is huge pressure from hcps to and also from other women (check out some of the threads on here).

Why do you think that pressure exists TalHot?

Well yes. There is no need to feed my baby from my body if I don't want to.

Because I have breastfed twice and experienced that pressure. I've been to breastfeeding support groups and watched women cry because for some reason bf is failing. I've been handed the literature, spoken to other mums at baby groups, read MN!

Would you also argue that there's no need for parents to feed their children fruit and vegetables if they don't want to TalHot?

Bf wasn't a bind for me at all. It freed me to be able to leave the house with my baby, my purse, and a nappy shoved in my back pocket.

I did every night feed, that's true (although often I did the feed, went back to sleep and then dh did the nappy change etc), but dh & I didn't find it any trouble to balance the childcare obligations in other ways, and since ds weaned it's almost always dh who gets up with him in the night or morning.

There are other issues - I would have found it less straightforward if I'd had other children I was getting up for in the morning or if I'd had to return to work full time very early. It was isolating when I had major problems at the start (although part of that was the assumption from many people that stopping bf was the obvious solution) and when you're the only bf in your peer group that can be isolating as well.

Sorry my previous question didn't mean "What makes you think it exists" it mean "Why, in your opinion, does the pressure exist?"

No because that doesn't involve my body.

I cried when I couldn't bf. It wasn't patriarchal pressure. It was a biological imperative and, as such, difficult to let go of.

Hmm, I'm not sure why. Relatively new to this (have a two year old and an 8mo) and my mother and mil were both baffled by the enthusiasm for breastfeeding. I'm not sure whether it's sonething women are doing to themselves, whether it's coming from the medical profession, whether it's some kind of marker of "status" (bfers more likely to be older, educated, middle class etc) I really don't know!

I can't say I experienced any pressure, only support. I bfed because I figured it was the best thing to do for my baby. Don't you think a lot of mothers feel that way TalHot?