*sigh*
i'm sorry, i don't like this book. i got 10 minutes into browsing through it and was bored and frankly put-off by the almost-creepy "breastfeeding is the holiest of holies" attitude just barely hidden under the surface.
i have said before i have NO intention of using formula or bottles for any of my future children, but that doesn't mean i have to secretly worship lactation or spread the divine word of the breast in my free time. and of course, i appreciate all la leche league does in the world, they are educators and counselors and support for millions of women and that shouldn't be discounted... but let up a little. i felt like i was reading propaganda.
i do believe in "too much of a good thing" so maybe that is where this attitude of mine stems from, or maybe i have been a little bit influenced by pop media myself, but i feel like there is a point at which the obsession with breastfeeding becomes something a little creepier than just mama-feeding-baby-naturally. anyway i've already mentioned how i *personally* feel about extended BF (no way) so i'm probably just repeating myself on a similar tangent here.
sure, there was good advice for what to do about engorgement, plugged ducts, etc, but you can find all that online without the hoo-ha it's surrounded by in the book.
i guess i was a little bit offended(? is that it?) by the attitude taken in the book that breastfeeding is THE ULTIMATE in being a mother... as if pregnancy and delivery and years of nurturing pale in comparison to the simple act of feeding the baby with your body... and i just think that's ridiculous. true, i have yet to experience it, but come on. seriously? not every woman who formula-feeds has bonding issues. not every woman who breastfeeds is a good mother. but they really seemed to present it that way, and i found it disturbing and completely illogical. i'm sorry but 18+ years of caring for and loving someone (not to mention 9 months of sharing a body!) mean more than a scrawny 6 months of intimate physical contact, hormones or not.
...and if it doesn't, we have more problems as a species than i ever thought imaginable.
i'm sorry, i don't like this book. i got 10 minutes into browsing through it and was bored and frankly put-off by the almost-creepy "breastfeeding is the holiest of holies" attitude just barely hidden under the surface.
i have said before i have NO intention of using formula or bottles for any of my future children, but that doesn't mean i have to secretly worship lactation or spread the divine word of the breast in my free time. and of course, i appreciate all la leche league does in the world, they are educators and counselors and support for millions of women and that shouldn't be discounted... but let up a little. i felt like i was reading propaganda.
i do believe in "too much of a good thing" so maybe that is where this attitude of mine stems from, or maybe i have been a little bit influenced by pop media myself, but i feel like there is a point at which the obsession with breastfeeding becomes something a little creepier than just mama-feeding-baby-naturally. anyway i've already mentioned how i *personally* feel about extended BF (no way) so i'm probably just repeating myself on a similar tangent here.
sure, there was good advice for what to do about engorgement, plugged ducts, etc, but you can find all that online without the hoo-ha it's surrounded by in the book.
i guess i was a little bit offended(? is that it?) by the attitude taken in the book that breastfeeding is THE ULTIMATE in being a mother... as if pregnancy and delivery and years of nurturing pale in comparison to the simple act of feeding the baby with your body... and i just think that's ridiculous. true, i have yet to experience it, but come on. seriously? not every woman who formula-feeds has bonding issues. not every woman who breastfeeds is a good mother. but they really seemed to present it that way, and i found it disturbing and completely illogical. i'm sorry but 18+ years of caring for and loving someone (not to mention 9 months of sharing a body!) mean more than a scrawny 6 months of intimate physical contact, hormones or not.
...and if it doesn't, we have more problems as a species than i ever thought imaginable.
Posts
February 24, 2009 at 5:20 PM
Hey there! Its Readingrenee from LHC. I don't know your views on extended bfing because everyone has a different idea on what extended is but I was so anti until I had my baby and then I ended up nursing her til she was 2. It sounds strange but when she was nursing, she was my baby. Anyway, you never know what will happen to your views after baby.
I also personally don't feel that every woman should bf. If they are not comfy with it, I think their child can feel it and its not good for mom or baby. Anyway, I guess I have some opinions too. :D