Give the Woman a Break!

Last week I blogged about an article in The Atlantic called The Case Against Breastfeeding.  It was written by a woman named Hanna Rosin who breastfed her first two children and is still breastfeeding her third.  Rosin is getting skewered left and right for no good reason.  If you read the article you'll see that all she did was lay out the reasons you might choose not to breastfeed.  She didn't say don't breastfeed.  She just said, if you choose not to, or if it doesn't work for you and your family, don't beat yourself up, you're not being a bad mother.   She researched the topic and found, like many others before her, that the evidence suggesting that breastfeeding will prevent a myriad of health problems for children, is, at best, inconsistent, and therefore inconclusive.  

I think part of the problem is the title of the article.  Perhaps it's a little inflammatory.  It's not that she's against breastfeeding.  Far from it in fact.  What she made the case for, is guilt-free choice.  And isn't that what's healthy?  Isn't that what's best for mother and child?    If you read what she writes, it simply lays out why breastfeeding isn't for everyone.  And again, let's not forget, she breastfed her first two and is still breastfeeding the third.   I'd hate to think that the title of an article is driving national debtate as opposed to real issues.  So give the woman a break.  And take a break and read the article.  You just might be surprised at how much you agree with her.