The Romantic Notion of It
The lack of education about breastfeeding hurts society.
As I watch Dr. Drew host "16 and Pregnant/After Labor" he commented that breastfeeding is harder than the romantic notion people have of it. The painting (and I don't know which one) of a mother lovingly lookiong at her eating child comes to mind. That's really my only romantic picture of breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding, like almost everything with parenthood, is hard. Society, norms, and expectations make the situation harder. One is the hospital situation.
All breastfeeding sources recommend breastfeeding immediately after birth. Many times, new moms have guests rushing in to see the baby. This is fine if the mom is comfortable feeding for the first in front of a group (in-laws, fathers, brothers, sisters, etc.) and is willing to focus on the baby and not everyone else. She's probably not and the group isn't educated in breastfeeding enough to allow the focus.
Another problem that the rush into the room brings is misinformation. Many people fear the baby starving, and comment that they see no milk at the beginning, which of course mothers are not supposed to have yet. Others say the baby is eating for too long a period, which he probably is and should. Some will tell the mother she needs to give a bottle to rest, which she is doing while breastfeeding due to the contractions and hormone release breastfeeding causes. Information helps the breastfeeding mother; large groups of people normally have misinformation.
Other members of the rush may comment that breastfeeding is gross, that the mom won't be able to do it, or other ignorant comments.
The idea that a mom is to host a group of people after delivery or even a few days post-partum is nonsensical. Her job is to learn about her new baby, becoming a mom, and figuring out breastfeeding. If she needs to be naked from the waist up or spend 7 minutes teaching herself and a babe how to latch on, she needs to. New moms don't need a rush of visitors, and this picture--the romantic rush--needs to end.
About Lauralee
Lauralee Moss, an Illinois native, grew up in a pitifully small town with little to do. Her boredom led to reading which led to a career. Her writing focuses on societal issues such as education, breast-feeding, and feminism.
Her heroes growing up were Lois...
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Lauralee’s Favorite Books
Slaughterhouse Five, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, She's Come Undone
I was fortunate to have
I was fortunate to have breast feeding come to me naturally. I never understood why it is considered ''gross''. That is almost laughable to me if it weren't so sad.
It didn't come to me
It didn't come to me naturally. It took tons of trying and finally kicking everyone out of my room (and eventually home) so I could concentrate on it. I was thoroughly told how awful I was...
Well, good for you for
Well, good for you for persisting. I met so many women over the years who found it difficult and opted for the bottle feed straight away! Why were you told you were so awful?
Lauralee, you did the right
Lauralee, you did the right thing. Baby first. People will have plenty of time to meet the new baby later. Besides, it can be kind of painful in the beginning and the last thing you need at that moment is people staring at you. I had to kick my mother-in-law out of the room more than once because she kept saying why don´t you just give up and give the baby a bottle?
I breastfed both my children until they were one year old. The bottom line for me was walking. Breastfeeding in public is fine in Brazil. Everybody looks at you and smiles approvingly, as if you were the Mother of the Year or something.:-)
Breastfeeding in the US is
Breastfeeding in the US is fine too, but people just look at you like you are crazy.
I was told I was awful mostly because I refused to use the blanket trick. Both of my kids hate having their heads covered. I would too, so I never use a cover up. The funny thing is, I am mostly concerned about people seeing my stomach and not my breast.