Bordering on the absurd
by Kate Kahn - 17th June 2008
File this under the "scare tactic" category. I read an article in The St. Petersburg Times yesterday that, I think, bordered on the absurd. It preyed on the vulnerability of new moms whose homes are in hurricane zones. The writer, a nurtrition educator with a local county health department, maintained that in emergencies the best way to feed your child is through breastfeeding because of sterilization problems and disease caused by natural disasters.
Okay....I can buy the fact that if you're in a situation where there's no electricity or running water, breastfeeding is certainly an easy and risk-free option. But....come on! Scaring people before something's happened? Give me a break.
But what really offended me was the paragraph where she says another reason for breastfeeding during emergencies is that "women need validation of their own competence, and breastfeeding is one of their important traditional roles..." Yes, you read it right! Can you stand it? Really, the idea that breastfeeding during an emergency gives a woman validation of her own abilities is downright insulting. I breastfed. Never once did I think of it as validating my own competence. There are several other metrics I use to validate my sense of competence such as whether my children are growing up to be good citizens in their classrooms and in their communities. That has nothing to do with breastfeeding and everything to do with parenting.
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