Why Do People Make Such a Fuss About Breastfeeding?
It has always amazed me the fuss people make about breastfeeding. Most these days will concede that it is best for baby, but they certainly don’t want to see it!
This came up in a topic on the Digital Point Forums, in reference to the cover of BabyTalk magazine. People were quite offended because the cover showed a mother nursing her baby.
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that the cover shows a lot more than I did any time I nursed in public. However I’ve seen women wear clothes that showed about the same.
This has long been an interesting topic to me. The one thing that always amazes me is how many people suggest that a woman should go into a restroom to nurse her child! All I ever say to that is “Would you eat in a public restroom?”
I know many people see the female breast only in a sexual manner. To such people, there is just something wrong with seeing a woman breastfeed. Even people who support breastfeeding often feel uncomfortable seeing a woman do so.
I had to deal with some lack of support when I had my daughter. My mother-in-law had been raised to believe that one simply did not breastfeed a baby. She had her kids in the time when formula companies had people convinced that formula was best. How times change! Fortunately, so did she, and she eventually became quite supportive.
That so many people can have a problem with a woman doing right by her child is quite sad to me. Breastfeeding is hard work. It takes dedication. Being told you shouldn’t do it in public just makes it even more challenging.
This is, of course, a deeply personal topic for most mothers. If you breastfeed, you often hear about why you should not be doing it in public, told at what age you should quit, etc. at the same time as you are being told what a wonderful thing you are doing for your child. If you bottle feed, you’re told all about how you aren’t doing what’s best for your child, made to feel a failure as a mother and so forth.
I have no doubt that the magazine cover was planned to be somewhat controversial. What better way to get people talking, both about the topic and your magazine? I see the amount of skin revealed as more than I would do when breastfeeding in public (at least deliberately!), but nothing horrifying.
No matter what you think of breastfeeding in public, you cannot deny that breast is the best source of nutrition for a baby. That point has been proven quite well now. I truly wish it were easier for mothers to feed their babies when they’re out and about. That this is such a controversial topic makes breastfeeding even more challenging than it needs to be.
[tags]breastfeeding, breast feeding in public, babytalk[/tags]