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 :)

talhotblonde I agree with you.

I found the message given by various HCPs and groups really offputting. I didn't like it at all.

I have also BF 2 children and found it a bind and was v glad when I stopped!

cailin I don't know why you are jumping on talhot so much.

Loads of women don't really enjoy BF. They do it because they know the benefits. It doesn't mean they have to like it.

Pressure is put on parents in general to feed their babies the best food available. Breastmilk is the best possible food for a baby up to 6 months, that's a fact. The fact that it comes from a woman's body is just a biological thing, it can't be helped.

Where did I say they had to like it SardineQueen?

I've one bfed kid and one ffed kid. I can only speak for myself, but I found bfing (with great support!) one of the most empowering things I've ever done!

I didn't particularly like it and I was bloody glad to stop. A lot of aspects of being a parent are a bit shit, but you just do it because it's the best thing for the baby.

fotheringhay that stat is incorrect.

See here

here

• In 2005, 48 per cent of all mothers in the United Kingdom were breastfeeding at six weeks, while 25 per cent were still breastfeeding at six months. Between 2000 and 2005 there was an increase in the prevalence of breastfeeding at all ages up to nine months in both England and Wales and Northern Ireland. The pattern of fall out was broadly similar across all countries.

• In 2005, 45 per cent of all mothers in the United Kingdom were breastfeeding exclusively at one week, while 21 per cent were feeding exclusively at six weeks. At four months the figure was 7 per cent while at six months the proportion of mothers who were breastfeeding exclusively was negligible (<1 per cent).

• At six weeks the rate of exclusive breastfeeding was 22 per cent in England compared with 13 per cent in Northern Ireland, while at four months rates of exclusive breastfeeding were twice as high in England (8 per cent) compared with both Northern Ireland and Wales (4 per cent). By six months rates were negligible in all countries.

• Over eight in ten mothers (84 per cent) said they were aware of the health benefits of breastfeeding.

• Three-quarters of all mothers had given their baby milk other than breast milk by the age of six weeks, this proportion rising to 92 per cent by six months.

It's just worth saying that Elisabeth Badinter (the French feminist who is so down on breastfeeding, and who's just published a new book with attendant publicity for her views) part-owns a PR company that works with the major formula milk producers:

www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/features/2012/elisabeth_badinter_s_the_conflict/the_conflict_elisabeth_badinter_publicis_and_nestle_.html

People often quote the exclusive stats which paint an unduly grim picture I think.

In fact 80% of mothers know that "breast is best" and 25% of women are still BF at 6 months.

Well they did in 2005 anyway!

The more recent surveys seem to focus on smoking so don't have the same "key points"

It is definitely worth saying that mooncup!!!

I think perhaps if we lived in the third world, for example, we wouldn't even be having this conversation as breastfeeding would be necessary. But here and now, where formula is a perfectly good, safe option (I was ff myself) I'm not certain that the benefits to the baby are always worth the sacrifice to the mother. (I don't mean me, I was quite lucky with bf but some women aren't and I feel resentful on others' behalf whenever I hear of women making themselves feel guilty/struggling)

Nethuns I find it empowering too, and without getting too wishy washy I feel proud that not only have I grown him I'm continuing to grow him from my own body and that creative power belonging soley to the female is wonderful. I think mothers who FF are also wonder btw. I live in Ireland too I might add which has the lowest BF rates in Europe and the attitudes are vile towards it on the whole here. I will not BF discreetly thank you very much.

The feminist issue is not bfing per say, it is the fact that about 100 yrs or so ago breastfeeding was taken away from women by the patriarchy as we and our milk was judged not good enough for babies. Hence the advent of formula and the loss over the next 2 generations of that knowledge and learning and support for breastfeeding. In addition, society and the medical establishment is no longer set up to enable breastfeeding. The mother's expectations are not managed as to how much time, how exhausting etc it will be. Society still frowns upon babies being fed wherever and whenever. Problems such as the major issue of tongue-tie are dismissed or not understood and trying to get it fixed is like pulling teeth. Over/under supply is misunderstood. Overall women no longer have the confidence to breastfeed, that it will work, that problems can be solved and that support will be there from both HCPs and family.

I think womens bodies are amazing. Not only can I grow a human inside me from nothing to everything in 9 months but even after they are free I can still grow them. I found it very empowering.
I think what is anti feminist is that women who bf should be shut away in a place where a ff parent could sit openly. However the only time I have experienced this in several years of bfing was in a paediatric waiting room. I don't think the view is widespread.

I found the whole thing quite undignified tbh. I have never in my life felt so vulnerable and dictated to and had so many restrictions and expectations placed on me as during pregnancy / birth / having a new baby. It was as if I stopped being a person in my own right in the eyes ofmy friends, family, hcps overnight and I didn't have a particularly bad experience. I think getting pregnant is what first pointed me towards feninism actually. It was incredible! Probably all my own issues though!

I have a tiny dc clamped to my nipple as we speak. Accordingly, dh will return home from an 11hr work day, whip on a pinny, and crack on with washing up/sweeping the floor/laundry etc etc etc.

I've read the french parenting magazines. They sound like something from the fifties - peddling women insecurity about how their DHs will leave them if they don't spring back to being purring domestic goddess sex kittens a.s.a.p. Cheating myself and my tiny dc of bf for the sake of man-pleasing isn't any kind of feminism I subscribe to.

Completely agree InAnyOtherSoil.

My experience was more livestock than goddess .

If you are one adult in a partnership of two, and you have a baby, and you are bfing, the other adult (if they are sincerely trying to be involved) will absolutely not run out of things to do so that they are twiddling their thumbs in a spotless house full of clean, folded, put away laundry and frozen home cooking, going "please let me feed the baby! there is nothing left for me to do except feed the baby or go on the xbox!" This scenario will not happen. The idea that feeding the baby is the only way to involve the father is because a. we live in a formula culture (for commercial reasons) so justifications and rationalisations of formula are required; and b. it is sometimes the case that when there is a project on, the man automatically assumes he is going to be doing the high status, sedentary, high profile bit that brings him into the most privileged proximity with the new technology that has been acquired for the project. So if you have a new baby, and there is family work to be done all over the place, he will just look and go "OOOOOOOOOO new baby someone has to sit in a metaphorical spotlight and feed it, I hope that will be me". (cynical and rather tongue in cheek)

The uniting issue here seems to be one of women being judged on what they do with their own bodies.

Women are judged if they don't breastfeed.

Women are judged if they do breastfeed and (from comments on here) do so in public, with a child over 4 months, with too much breast showing, in the wrong outfit, in the wrong venue, with the wrong facial expression on their face.

Women are judged if they don't enjoy breastfeeding. Women are judged if they don't enjoy breastfeeding.

The first time I ever heard about bfing being a feminist issue was from reading french pareting magazines. I was, to understate it, totally shocked at the time. This view is nurtured in very french-based feminist theory - I seem to remember they went on about bf chaining all these women to the home. All my french friends however ff and all say it's because they want to keep their breasts for their husbands (they can't multi-task apparently).

Whatever the reason, rate of bf is pretty low in france. Carla Bruni, though, is the first public person I've read about bfing however in the 6 years I've lived here, so whatever her DH said, I think she's doing great.

I think pressure to bf is either imagined or depends on where you live. Where I live it is assumed that you will FF and wean at 4 months. I feel like I am 'admitting' to bf when I talk to mums at nursery, and as for leaving weanign as long as possible, why would I do that when I could be topping up with baby rice from 4 months?

BF can be a pain in the arse - I would love to be able to send DH up to dd in the evenings, but if I do, it's pointless because she wants me. Dh would feeed her if he could, if only to stop be berating him for not having milk-producing breasts. I BF because I am a bit of a teacher's pet and want to do everything 'right'. Luckily, my body obliges.

I will be a bit sad when I finish feeding dd, especially as that will be it for kids. But at the same time, it will liberating to say: "you do it", to DH.

Having said all that though, DS is still obsessed by his mummy, despite being 2.7 and not having bf for an awfully long time.