By now, you've no doubt seen the cover of TIME magazine. It was an effective marketing strategy: they are selling magazines like crazy in a time when print media is suffering sales. Good for them. Here's what I don't like about the cover, as a mother who breast-fed her three children: it makes breastfeeding look creepy. Breast-feeding is not creepy, but many people think so. In fact, in my own experience, breastfeeding was something I had to explain and defend, even to my own family.
When I had Aidan, I chose to breastfeed, and some of Michael's family questioned me like I was some kind of social pariah: "How long are you going to breastfeed that baby?" followed by the cautionary urban legend of some mother in Lock Haven who breastfed her kid until he was ____ (insert age here; it was higher every time I heard the story). By the way, I remember that question being asked of me when Aidan was 10 days old, not 3 years old.
I understand why the women of Mike's family thought it was weird: when my mother had her children, the doctor gave a shot to "dry up her milk" and a can of Enfamil to take home. No one talked to her about the option of breastfeeding. It just wasn't done, for some reason.
Things have changed in the 7 years since I had Aidan -- Mike's cousin and sister breastfed their babies and no one thought they were freaks. Progress has been made.
Personally, I did not nurse my children for more than a year: Aidan weaned himself at 11 months; Gabrielle was born as I was starting student teaching and I couldn't keep up milk production; Liam was born as I had a limited number of sick days to comprise my maternity leave from school. Would I have nursed until they were 2 or 3 years old? No. Liam is almost 2 now; he rarely sits still enough to eat his real-food lunch, and it helps that his sippy cup is portable because he's always on the go. Does that mean I disagree with women nursing their children longer than I did? No. Each parent needs to make personal decisions based on the well-being on their children. I can't decide what is right for someone else.
But, TIME -- I hope you enjoy those sales revenues because you did little social good by depicting breastfeeding in such a way. The reality is that while more women are breastfeeding, not all women are, and some women who would benefit from nursing don't do it, in part because of the social stigma.
I suggest reading this excellent article on the topic written by a pediatrician, published in the Boston Globe:
http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/mdmama/2012/05/what_being_mom_enough_really_means.html
Recent Comments