Guest guest Posted June 8, 2005 Report Share Posted June 8, 2005 I never understand why breastfeeding moms feel they have to recruit all other mothers to breastfeed. We all make our own decisions. If you decide to breastfeed then that's fine. If you bottle feed that's equally as fine. Most women do not breastfeed and there is nothing wrong with that. There is also nothing wrong with having some modesty and covering up while you are breastfeeding in public. It's funny to me. Breastfeeding moms have a problem seeing other moms bottle feed their baby. Yet they see nothing wrong with boob feeding a baby in public, in front of other children, anywhere they darn well want to. Yet the bottle is offending? Give me a break! Oops...baby's up, I need to go fix her a bottle. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 8, 2005 Report Share Posted June 8, 2005 This is in no way an attack on bottle feeding or on anyone on this list. I feel the need to include this disclaimer as I know this subject can be a very emotional one and I mean no offense or meanness to anyone. I don't think anyone on this list attacked anyone for bottle-feeding their babies, Jacqueline. I think there are some women who may not understand breastfeeding or are put off by it by people's nasty and often uneducated comments about it, or are just plain afraid to do it. Maybe that's why women feel the need to " educate " others (not recruit) about it. The fact is that pediatricians (APA), as well as the WHO, companies that make formulas and many other organizations advocate breastfeeding because it is the best way (in more ways than nutritionally) and most natural way to feed a baby not to mention inexpensive. All these organizations say so. That being said it is, as you say Jacqueline an individual person's decision. No one has the right to criticize anyone for their decision - whether it be to breastfeed (or as you so crassly put it, boob feed) or bottle feed. Seems like the shoe is on the other foot whereby you are criticizing those who do one of the most natural things in the world. To do this in public? I see no problem in it. Why should a mom take her baby into a nasty, often times filthy and smelly public restroom to have to feed her baby where she has to hear others bodily functions? Because someone else feels uncomfortable should be cause for them to look away not criticize, Jacqueline. As there is nothing wrong with bottle feeding in public, there is nothing wrong with breastfeeding in public. Like you said, we all make our own decisions and we should have the latitude, respect, and support to do so. BTW, where do you get your statistics that " Most women do not breastfeed " . Just curious, not challenging. God's Peace, Gayle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 8, 2005 Report Share Posted June 8, 2005 on the " public boob " issue, i do breast feed in public, not terribly covered up but also not all hanging out. i don't even think about it - when my 3rd child wants to eat and i am out someplace with my 2 and 3 year olds i figure - what would bother people more(i have found in all of my breastfeeding experience that kids don't even notice or care - it is only when adults make a issue of it that they would even notice) - a screaming, hungry baby or a little boob. since the nipple is being sucked inches down the baby's throat (oh my poor national geograpic style boobs that would probably make people cringe and turn away rather than gawk at!!!! :-() so there is really just a little skin-in-the-boob-area showing. i don't take place in public breast-ins but perhaps some do feel a little hesitant and would love to see the support. for whatever reason, as a vegan parent i have learned alot of tolerance for differences as well as having been the target of difference-haters. peace! heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 8, 2005 Report Share Posted June 8, 2005 Sorry if this is not the right place to discuss it here, but i could not resist replying to this post. I agree with one of the replies that breastfeeding is not always an option to all.. many a times its not possible to BF at all and sometime its not enough (so the baby is both Bf'ed and bottle fed) And I'd like to say that I don't intend to bring up any arguments or hurt anybodies feeling by my reply. IMHO its a personal choice and sometimes an option that a parent is forced to choose and others have no right to comment/criticize about it either way. If someone chooses to BF that because they wanted to and because they could And if someone decided not to BF they have their reasons for that too.. and no one has a right to discriminate, comment someone about it Having said that, there is one thing that i agree to the initial post, which is encouraging ppl to bf in public. When i was bf'ing my son i always felt odd to bf in public, i'd always choose to go to a closed room to do so and that was partially because i was not comfortable doing it in public (sply in front of other men and older kids) and partially because i felt others looked at me as if i was running naked or something like that. Now simply for this aspect i feel its good to encourage BFing in public. if its ok to be dressed in skimpy dress in public why should it be not ok to bf ur baby in public. its not like we are showing the other boob to public while the baby is drinking from one. once again i am sorry if i offended anyone here. Discover Get on-the-go sports scores, stock quotes, news and more. Check it out! http://discover./mobile.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 8, 2005 Report Share Posted June 8, 2005 Wow - you people are being very harsh - I don't think her post was in any way being negative toward bottle feeders, just trying to be encouraging to breast feeders, and give support to those who often feel attacked by doing what is natural and healthy for their baby. And as a breast feeding mom, I personally don't have any problem seeing bottle feeding or breast feeding moms in public. So please don't make assumptions. , TeaLovingWriter@a... wrote: > I never understand why breastfeeding moms feel they have to recruit all other > mothers to breastfeed. We all make our own decisions. If you decide to > breastfeed then that's fine. If you bottle feed that's equally as fine. Most women > do not breastfeed and there is nothing wrong with that. There is also nothing > wrong with having some modesty and covering up while you are breastfeeding in > public. > > It's funny to me. Breastfeeding moms have a problem seeing other moms bottle > feed their baby. Yet they see nothing wrong with boob feeding a baby in > public, in front of other children, anywhere they darn well want to. Yet the bottle > is offending? Give me a break! > > Oops...baby's up, I need to go fix her a bottle. :-) > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 8, 2005 Report Share Posted June 8, 2005 Below is a news release on a policy statement appearing in the the February issue of Pediatrics, the peer-reviewed, scientific journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). CHICAGO - A long-time advocate of breastfeeding, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is issuing a revised policy statement on " Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk " to replace its existing policy developed in 1997. The new recommendations reflect new research on the importance of breastfeeding. Studies on infants provide evidence that breastfeeding can decrease the incidence or severity of conditions such as diarrhea, ear infections and bacterial meningitis. Some studies also suggest that breastfeeding may offer protection against sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), diabetes, obesity and asthma among others. Research indicates that breastfeeding can reduce a mother's risk of several medical conditions, including ovarian and breast cancer, and possibly a decreased risk of hip fractures and osteoporosis in the postmenopausal period. Increased breastfeeding also has the potential for decreasing annual health costs in the U.S. by $3.6 billion and decreasing parental employee absenteeism, the environmental burden for disposal of formula cans and bottles, and energy demands for production and transport of formula. Although breastfeeding initiation rates have increased steadily since 1990, exclusive (no water, juice, nonhuman milk or food) breastfeeding rates have shown little or no increase over the same period of time. Similarly, the proportion of infants who are exclusively breastfed until about six months of age has increased at a much slower rate than that of infants who received mixed feedings (breast milk plus infant formula). The policy recommendations include: a.. Exclusive breastfeeding for approximately the first six months and support for breastfeeding for the first year and beyond as long as mutually desired by mother and child. b.. Mother and infant should sleep in proximity to each other to facilitate breastfeeding; c.. Self-examination of mother's breasts for lumps is recommended throughout lactation, not just after weaning; d.. Support efforts of parents and the courts to ensure continuation of breastfeeding in cases of separation, custody and visitation; e.. Pediatricians should counsel adoptive mothers on the benefits of induced lactation through hormonal therapy or mechanical stimulation. f.. Recognize and work with cultural diversity in breastfeeding practices g.. A pediatrician or other knowledgeable and experienced health care professional should evaluate a newborn breastfed infant at 3 to 5 days of age and again at 2 to 3 weeks of age to be sure the infant is feeding and growing well. The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 60,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults. I never understand why breastfeeding moms feel they have to recruit all other mothers to breastfeed. We all make our own decisions. If you decide to breastfeed then that's fine. If you bottle feed that's equally as fine. Most women do not breastfeed and there is nothing wrong with that. There is also nothing wrong with having some modesty and covering up while you are breastfeeding in public. It's funny to me. Breastfeeding moms have a problem seeing other moms bottle feed their baby. Yet they see nothing wrong with boob feeding a baby in public, in front of other children, anywhere they darn well want to. Yet the bottle is offending? Give me a break! Oops...baby's up, I need to go fix her a bottle. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 8, 2005 Report Share Posted June 8, 2005 I think we're lucky to live in a society with formula as a substitute for breastmilk in the event it is necessary, but our society is so skewed that many women are detered from breastfeeding and lack the necessary support to do what is best for babies, which is breastfeed. Now, about your thoughts on covering up in public, that's another story. Here is an excerpt from an e-mail I wrote to someone who seems to have similar views as you have: " Breastfeeding is eating. As a vegan, I find it offensive when people eat animal products out in public, but I would never expect people to stop doing that just to appease me. I look the other way. If breastfeeding bothers you, you should do the same. No child should be expected to drink his/her mother's milk in a rest room or under a blanket just to appease those who are bothered by it. . . . Since breastfeeding women show less breast skin than most bikinis, I'm trying to figure out what exactly the problem is for you. Is it the fact that the baby is sucking on it that bothers you? Please do let me know as I am stumped here. You have right to your own feelings, as we all do, but you shouldn't expect the world to stop doing good things because you're bothered by them. And, it's rather tasteless of you to publicly speak out against those good things. " Personally, the only " problem " I have with someone who bottle feeds is that I feel sorry that, for whatever reason, she wasn't able to breastfeed. I know a number of women who simply couldn't do it even with the help of multiple lactation consultants. I know others who wanted to and could have physically except that they didn't have the support they needed. And there are some who just don't know enough to even consider it. Again, we are lucky that we have formula when breastfeeding isn't possible, but even the formula companies can't claim that formula is equal to breastmilk. My mother was extremely unsupportive of my decision to breastfeed. I had to put up with many snide comments from her until one day I finally let her have it. The only reason I didn't say anything sooner was because I know she was saying those things because she saw my breastfeeding as a way of saying her formula feeding of us was less than best. I know she did the best she could with the knowledge she had. When commercialism is outlawed, I'll stop educating about breastfeeding. --Allison Who went to NYC for a Nurse-in on Monday; see nurseout.org for details! , TeaLovingWriter@a... wrote: > I never understand why breastfeeding moms feel they have to recruit all other > mothers to breastfeed. We all make our own decisions. If you decide to > breastfeed then that's fine. If you bottle feed that's equally as fine. Most women > do not breastfeed and there is nothing wrong with that. There is also nothing > wrong with having some modesty and covering up while you are breastfeeding in > public. > > It's funny to me. Breastfeeding moms have a problem seeing other moms bottle > feed their baby. Yet they see nothing wrong with boob feeding a baby in > public, in front of other children, anywhere they darn well want to. Yet the bottle > is offending? Give me a break! > > Oops...baby's up, I need to go fix her a bottle. :-) > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 9, 2005 Report Share Posted June 9, 2005 Thank you for you post, it was that and idea to encourage breastfeeding women, not dicourage, insult, and harrass bottlefeeding mom as they have done to me in this group , Shreelakshmi Krishnamurthi <shreelak> wrote: > > Sorry if this is not the right place to discuss it > here, but i could not resist replying to this post. > > I agree with one of the replies that breastfeeding is > not always an option to all.. many a times its not > possible to BF at all and sometime its not enough (so > the baby is both Bf'ed and bottle fed) > > And I'd like to say that I don't intend to bring up > any arguments or hurt anybodies feeling by my reply. > IMHO its a personal choice and sometimes an option > that a parent is forced to choose and others have no > right to comment/criticize about it either way. > If someone chooses to BF that because they wanted to > and because they could And if someone decided not to > BF they have their reasons for that too.. and no one > has a right to discriminate, comment someone about it > > Having said that, there is one thing that i agree to > the initial post, which is encouraging ppl to bf in > public. When i was bf'ing my son i always felt odd to > bf in public, i'd always choose to go to a closed room > to do so and that was partially because i was not > comfortable doing it in public (sply in front of other > men and older kids) and partially because i felt > others looked at me as if i was running naked or > something like that. > Now simply for this aspect i feel its good to > encourage BFing in public. if its ok to be dressed in > skimpy dress in public why should it be not ok to bf > ur baby in public. its not like we are showing the > other boob to public while the baby is drinking from > one. > > once again i am sorry if i offended anyone here. > > > > > Discover > Get on-the-go sports scores, stock quotes, news and more. Check it out! > http://discover./mobile.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 9, 2005 Report Share Posted June 9, 2005 No bottle feeding is not equal in anyway to breastfeeding. Sorry that you have been misinformed. I also feel that it is great that other children see mother;s breastfeeding. They will learn from the start what " boobs " are for. Nurturing a child like other mammals in nature and not as a sexual object. It amazes me that bottle feeding mother's need to defend there choice to give there child chemically engineered breastmilk. I feel no need to defend why I breastfeed. JMO Heather - <TeaLovingWriter Wednesday, June 08, 2005 8:13 AM : An idea for breastfeeding moms.... >I never understand why breastfeeding moms feel they have to recruit all >other > mothers to breastfeed. We all make our own decisions. If you decide to > breastfeed then that's fine. If you bottle feed that's equally as fine. > Most women > do not breastfeed and there is nothing wrong with that. There is also > nothing > wrong with having some modesty and covering up while you are breastfeeding > in > public. > > It's funny to me. Breastfeeding moms have a problem seeing other moms > bottle > feed their baby. Yet they see nothing wrong with boob feeding a baby in > public, in front of other children, anywhere they darn well want to. Yet > the bottle > is offending? Give me a break! > > Oops...baby's up, I need to go fix her a bottle. :-) > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 9, 2005 Report Share Posted June 9, 2005 Allison- Beutifully stated. I agree with everything you said 100% Heather Allison <ammg said: > I think we're lucky to live in a society with formula as a substitute > for breastmilk in the event it is necessary, but our society is so > skewed that many women are detered from breastfeeding and lack the > necessary support to do what is best for babies, which is breastfeed. > > Now, about your thoughts on covering up in public, that's another > story. Here is an excerpt from an e-mail I wrote to someone who seems > to have similar views as you have: > > " Breastfeeding is eating. As a vegan, I find it offensive when people > eat animal products out in public, but I would never expect people to > stop doing that just to appease me. I look the other way. If > breastfeeding bothers you, you should do the same. No child should be > expected to drink his/her mother's milk in a rest room or under a > blanket just to appease those who are bothered by it. . . . > > Since breastfeeding women show less breast skin than most bikinis, I'm > trying to figure out what exactly the problem is for you. Is it the > fact that the baby is sucking on it that bothers you? Please do let > me know as I am stumped here. > > You have right to your own feelings, as we all do, but you shouldn't > expect the world to stop doing good things because you're bothered by > them. And, it's rather tasteless of you to publicly speak out against > those good things. " > > Personally, the only " problem " I have with someone who bottle feeds is > that I feel sorry that, for whatever reason, she wasn't able to > breastfeed. I know a number of women who simply couldn't do it even > with the help of multiple lactation consultants. I know others who > wanted to and could have physically except that they didn't have the > support they needed. And there are some who just don't know enough to > even consider it. Again, we are lucky that we have formula when > breastfeeding isn't possible, but even the formula companies can't > claim that formula is equal to breastmilk. > > My mother was extremely unsupportive of my decision to breastfeed. I > had to put up with many snide comments from her until one day I > finally let her have it. The only reason I didn't say anything sooner > was because I know she was saying those things because she saw my > breastfeeding as a way of saying her formula feeding of us was less > than best. I know she did the best she could with the knowledge she had. > > When commercialism is outlawed, I'll stop educating about breastfeeding. > > --Allison > Who went to NYC for a Nurse-in on Monday; see nurseout.org for details! > > , TeaLovingWriter@a... wrote: > > I never understand why breastfeeding moms feel they have to recruit > all other > > mothers to breastfeed. We all make our own decisions. If you decide to > > breastfeed then that's fine. If you bottle feed that's equally as > fine. Most women > > do not breastfeed and there is nothing wrong with that. There is > also nothing > > wrong with having some modesty and covering up while you are > breastfeeding in > > public. > > > > It's funny to me. Breastfeeding moms have a problem seeing other > moms bottle > > feed their baby. Yet they see nothing wrong with boob feeding a baby in > > public, in front of other children, anywhere they darn well want to. > Yet the bottle > > is offending? Give me a break! > > > > Oops...baby's up, I need to go fix her a bottle. :-) > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 9, 2005 Report Share Posted June 9, 2005 Here we go again. As important as the issue of breastfeeding is, it can also (clearly) painful and divisive. Is it really necessary that we have the breastmilk/formula debate on this board? There are so very many other parenting sites & lists at which this discussion occurs. It seems to me that we hvae moved away from the topic of breastmilk as it relates to vegetarianism to a more generic " breast-versus-bottle " argument. Is that what this list is for? My $0.02. Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 9, 2005 Report Share Posted June 9, 2005 I think the problem comes from this often being a very emotional subject. I desperately wanted to bf my children and couldn't. Spent tons of money on lactation consultants and it just didn't work, as hard as I tried. It does make me refeel the disappointment I felt after I put each kid on the bottle. I did take the original post as somewhat judgemental and was upset by it. I believe that it wasn't meant that way. We all need to examine the tone of our posts because it is hard to get intention across in writing. I've never been upset by seeing bf moms in public except that I feel bad I couldn't do it. We all have to do what we have to do and perhaps we shouldn't talk about it terms like " best for baby " or " most natural " . While it may be true, it makes some of us who bottle feed feel like we are doing less than we should for our babies. smartgirl27us <thesmartfamily3 wrote:Wow - you people are being very harsh - I don't think her post was in any way being negative toward bottle feeders, just trying to be encouraging to breast feeders, and give support to those who often feel attacked by doing what is natural and healthy for their baby. Carol, mom to Melissa, 3/14/94 Julia, 2/18/97 Lily, 9/7/04 Discover Have fun online with music videos, cool games, IM & more. Check it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 9, 2005 Report Share Posted June 9, 2005 Karen, I think (which is a very rare occurrence, indeed! LOL) that this list is for any parenting issue that the members feel they need or want to discuss. Breastfeeding and bottle feeding are indeed two topics that fall under parenting issues. Obviously some members feel the need to discuss this topic. God's Peace, Gayle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 Hi Carol, I know there's a few people from " far away " on LI that I haven't followed through with, you being one of them. Where do you live in Nassau? Let's get together sometime. Amie carol sobczak wrote: > > I think the problem comes from this often being a very emotional > subject. I desperately wanted to bf my children and couldn't. Spent > tons of money on lactation consultants and it just didn't work, as > hard as I tried. It does make me refeel the disappointment I felt > after I put each kid on the bottle. I did take the original post as > somewhat judgemental and was upset by it. I believe that it wasn't > meant that way. We all need to examine the tone of our posts because > it is hard to get intention across in writing. I've never been upset > by seeing bf moms in public except that I feel bad I couldn't do it. > We all have to do what we have to do and perhaps we shouldn't talk > about it terms like " best for baby " or " most natural " . While it may > be true, it makes some of us who bottle feed feel like we are doing > less than we should for our babies. > smartgirl27us <thesmartfamily3 wrote:Wow - you people are > being very harsh - I don't think her post was > in any way being negative toward bottle feeders, just trying to be > encouraging to breast feeders, and give support to those who often > feel attacked by doing what is natural and healthy for their baby. > > > > Carol, mom to > Melissa, 3/14/94 > Julia, 2/18/97 > Lily, 9/7/04 > > > > > Discover > Have fun online with music videos, cool games, IM & more. Check it out! > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 Gayle, you are too funny! I agree that this can be a valid topic for this list. After all, we are here pretty much to talk about how and what we choose to feed our children and how we want to raise them, right? quintmom wrote:Karen, I think (which is a very rare occurrence, indeed! LOL) that this list is for any parenting issue that the members feel they need or want to discuss. Breastfeeding and bottle feeding are indeed two topics that fall under parenting issues. Obviously some members feel the need to discuss this topic. God's Peace, Gayle For more information about vegetarianism, please visit the VRG website at http://www.vrg.org and for materials especially useful for families go to http://www.vrg.org/family.This is a discussion list and is not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. edical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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