Monday Madness - Udder Covers and Lactophobia

Instead of the Friday Funny that most sites have, I figured we could use a little humor on Monday to start the week off right. A pro-breastfeeding friend of mine posted this on my Facebook page recently:


 Found on this site, it highlights the need for us moms to resist covering up due to other's shaming us. After all, we are simply feeding our children the best possible food in the most natural of circumstances. Why should we be ashamed of that? This, coupled with the fact that most babies resist being covered in a hot sweaty blanket while they eat, means that not only should we be daring for society's sake, we should also be daring for our child's sake as well.

In many parts of the US, women find it nearly impossible to nurse in public (NIP) without awkward glances or even rude comments. If you are ever asked to stop, speak up. The law is on your side. If you need to call in reinforcements, Human Milk 4 Human Babies is a great place to start. The global community helps organize nurse-ins and can direct you to a licensed lactation consultant in your area to help with breastfeeding issues. They are truly passionate about changing the tide of misinformation.

Moms, until the day when babes can eat without criticism, keep on smiling at those ignorant glances. Our kids are worth it!

For more information, check out this awesome article on lactophobia by Ilithyia Inspired.

Changing the View - Putting the "Eats" Back into BrEAsTS!

Everyone wants to do their best for their baby, but with so many conflicting opinions and social pressure to "get your life back," many moms find it hard to find the time, energy, and willpower to go the distance as far as breastfeeding is concerned.

Change is Coming

Things are changing. While the formula companies of the 40s and 50s were successful in getting women to think their boobs were not as good as their substitute, we are slowly gaining our lost ground. Organizations like the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) are taking on the misinformation from the formula companies and we are starting to see more normalization of a perfectly normal, ordinary, and beautiful bodily function. With breasts on the cover of Time magazine, used in the way that they were intended, you can see how far we've come. Natural does not equal dirty, no cover-up is needed.



Still the battle wages in the pediatrician's office. Instead of a list of donor moms whom mothers of slow weight gain babies can go to in case of an emergency, they are handed a can of dried powdered chemically altered cow's milk loaded with additives in an effort to try and match what has been found naturally in mama's milk. The problem is that these additives are in a chemically made form, and are not as good as the bio-available form of the nutrient found in boob milk. The formula manufacturers cannot duplicate what is in mother's milk, and trying to do so may be more dangerous than we think.

Duped AND Degraded

From 2001 to 2009, I was one of those misled mamas. Even though the World Health Organization announced that donor milk is preferred over formula, I was chastised by my pediatrician for using donor milk from a single trusted source. I left the office with my 5-day-old with a sample can of formula and tears streaming down my face.

This was 12 years ago, but I still remember the shame I felt from the doctor's uneducated stance on milk-sharing. With the formula shortage front and center in current news, we finally may see a permanent turn to milk-sharing as the primary source of infant supplemental feeding.

So the battle for thoughts wages on, including battling the opinions that come out of the mouths of our health professionals. The facts are clear though, breastfeeding cuts healthcare costs, decreases the likelihood of cancer for both mom and baby and cuts the rates of infant mortality and illness.

Now we just need to convince the public so moms aren't shamed for doing the best they can for their little ones.

Babies are Able to Eat Again in GA!

Congratulations to the Forest Park, GA council for changing the wording of their public decency law to not include breastfeeding as public nudity. To celebrate, here is a public service announcement about your "tatas" and what they are for. :)

It is a sad day for Moms in Georgia...

The town of Forest Park, GA has taken it upon themselves to legislate where, when and for how long Moms can breastfeed. Under the guise of a public nudity law, John Parker, the City manager, has proposed legislation that would limit public breastfeeding in the city to any child that was two years of age and younger. This is an infringement of our rights as citizens and an outrage to say the least. Breastfeeding is not nudity. Please contact John Parker and ask him to rewrite the legislation to remove any language that referrers to breastfeeding.

Forest Park website:

http://forestparkga.org/city-manager.aspx

John Parker’s Email:

jparker@forestparkga.org

Forest Park’s FB page:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1770447401#!/pages/City-of-Forest-Park/114488078563730

Mailing Address:

City of Forest Park

c/o City Manager John Parker

745 Forest Parkway

Forest Park, Ga. 30297


Phone Number:

404-366-4720

SAMPLE LETTER:

Mr. Parker,

It has come to my attention that the town of Forest Park, in an effort to control public nudity, has legislated breastfeeding. This letter is in response to this legislation.

It is not in the best interest of your town to sexualize breastfeeding in this manner. Breastfeeding is merely the most appropriate way to feed a child. To legislate the act of breastfeeding gives the local government jurisdiction over the lives of residents and visitors in a way that they should never have, and gives a stigma to the practice as something it is not.

A breastfeeding relationship should be between mothers and their children. It is an extremely personal, intimate relationship, one that you as a man may not fully understand. I as a breastfeeding mom here in the US, and a visitor of GA several times, ask you to remove the breastfeeding language from the legislation.

Respectfully,