The Court of Motherhood
by Kate Kahn - 16th July 2007
This weekend ABC news did a story about women and their right to breastfeed in public. The network also posted an article from Babytalk magazine on the challenges women face with breastfeeding, and how many have to supplement with formula. I'm writing about it because within minutes hundreds of people had posted opinions. It's a private decision on such a public issue.
While providing some helpful tips the article also had some interesting facts in it that highlight the realities of women who have trouble breastfeeding. The magazine did a survey and found that many mothers are caught off guard by the challenges breastfeeding can pose. There are numerous reasons women can't breastfeed for the recommended amount of time; returning to work, illness, previous medical conditions just to name a few. We've talked about them here before so I'm not going to elaborate more.
But I do want to talk about something else the article included. Importantly, it also addressed how women are made to feel if they decide to supplement. According to the article: "Under pressure to breastfeed exclusively during the first six months, many moms are crippled by an all-or-nothing mentality that nursing must be done flawlessly or not at all. Almost half of the moms in a recent Babytalk poll said they were made to feel that they were "cheating" if they supplemented breastfeeding with formula. But the bottom line is that you'll have more flexibility is someone else can help feed you baby.
So relax. A 2005 Babytalk poll found that 82 percent of breastfeeing babies were able to alternate between breast and bottle. And many experts ( and moms) will tell you that it's fine to introduce a bottle between 2 and 3 weeks if breastfeeding is going smoothly---rather than wait until 3 to 4 weeks as is often recommended.
While supplementing with expressed breast milk is ideal, there's no need to feel guilty if you're a "combo mom" who feeds her child breast milk and formula." In the words of Marianne Neifert, M.D., a breastfeeding expert also quoted in the piece, "Success isn't always related to the amount of effort a mom puts in."
The article shows what so many of us feel; that we are guilty in the court of motherhood if we don't breastfeed exclusively. And that simply shouldn't be the case. The article quotes Joan Meek, M.D., the editor-in-chief of the AAP New Mother's Guide to Breastfeeding. While talking about the obvious benefits of breastfeeding, Dr. Meek acknowledges that not all women can do it for six months or more. And guilt doesn't enter her vocabulary. "The baby is going to get some benefit from any amount of breastfeeding......Each mom has to decide what's right for her." Kudos to Dr. Meek for accepting all women's right to choose. It is each mother's right to decide what works for her, her child and her family. Empowering women with all the information they need to make the best choice for them is critical. Check out our Petition!
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