Hannah/Muddling Along published this post on 4 March, 2011...
Come on, we’ve all read the guidance, the party line that exclusive breastfeeding for six months is the right thing to do
The WHO goes further and says that children should be breastfed until age two or when they self wean (note: babies don’t self wean before age one, they can go on a nursing strike but that’s different)
The message is clear – breast is best!
Ok we could argue breast is normal but hey you mums who breastfeed go and congratulate yourselves.
You’re doing a fab job. You’re reducing the risks of childhood obessity, saving the NHS £££ per year by reducing the incidence of sickness in babies and making your child cleverer (always good to pop that one to keep the middle class mums motivated) and even helping your child be better socially.
Well done breastfeeding mummies!
Except there seems to be a tipping point at which people stop congratulating you and start asking why you haven’t stopped.
And then they start implying you are getting some sort of twisted sexual pleasure from breastfeeding, implying that there is something unnatural about breastfeeding, implying that breastfeeding now makes you a bad mother. They start making comments about ‘bitty’ (or maybe that’s just my colleagues…).
Hey?
How?
When did that happen?
I thought the message was that breastfeeding was good and now people are making out is bad?
What happened to every drop from the first drop having benefits?
What happened to the support?
What happened to those pats on the back for doing this?
And I’m not talking her about breastfeeding a university aged child. I’m talking about anytime after 6 months as far as I can tell. Or at least breastfeeding at point where you have a child that moves, that can communicate that s/he wants milk through speaking or signing.
But what if neither you nor your child are ready to wean? I mean have you tried to persuade a toddler to do something they don’t want to? Have you hear about the dummy wars when parents try and wean their child off a comforter? Well what if that was an actual boob involved? If the child still wants to there is not a lot you’re going to be able to do that won’t end up in tears. Either yours or the child’s.
Where and why have the messages got so twisted? Why is there so little support for mothers continuing to breasfeed? Why do people feel that breastfeeding past the teeny tiny baby stage is in some way warped?
When do the goal posts move and why?
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