Buffy Sainte Marie nurses Cody on Sesame Street, 1977.

awesome! thanks jaime.

I agree that tetas are way better for babies (and for most people in general) and the formula co's have horrible records in our hoods and countries of origins, but we also have to be really careful about condemning mami's who can't or don't use tetas because of their work situations. As a teta feeding mami, it can get ugly in the lactivist community.

If you have to use a bottle, use glass!

http://vivirlatino.com/2007/02/06/mamis-show-us-your-tetas.php

glass, yes. glass, metal, wood. good materials all around! tho without my own share of plastics, i'm not sure i'd have many possessions left, i have to admit. i have to stop holding this graphic tablet pen in my mouth when i type...

i understand. i hope i didn't come across as condemning people aside from the formula companies and the general push behind their product, and the resultant social pressures arising from that, as well as those of us who objectify and harm women.

thank you.

When I hit the text of the article, I think my face literally contorted into an "I'm-pissed-off-or-constipated" look. What the fuck?

I've never really understood the backlash against mothers who nurse or even the women who have the gall to say, "I don't want to see her breast while she's nursing!" When choosing between hypersexualizing and feeding the hungry (and often cute, tiny, and loud when unfed), I vote feeding the hungry. Every time.

Right on! Although it's time to stop when the "baby" starts saying "Want tittie!"

With the usual caveat that there are many good reasons why some women end up using a bottle, (and I do hate it when people get defensive or righteous about it) I'm so glad when people speak up in favor of breastfeeding. It's free, fast, no need to heat anything, all that stuff.
I did use glass containers when I left my milk at the childcare center when I had to go back to work for exactly that reason; the plastic bottles have a taste (I tested one)! can't be good to be tasting the plastic.
We nursed for a long time. The bond it created over that period of time is one of the most important experiences of my life.

I breastfed as long as I could (6 weeks with The Girl, 1 yr with The Boy) with each of my children. I have trouble maintaining milk production and have to take meds to keep the milk flowing. Those meds cause a chemically induced depression. Add that to natural post-partum and you can see why I had to cut it short. Feeling like a milk cow got hard sometimes too. I swear I was topless with a human stuck to me more often than not during that time.

However, I'm glad I did it. Neither of my children were sick as infants. Further, I put off The Boy's need for ear tubes by at least 3 years since he didn't have formula backing up in his mouth.

The only thing that concerns me is that, as Al Gore reported, human breastmilk is among the most polluted substances on Earth. I guess that simply means that it's all connected. Progressive policies as diverse as environmentalism and reproductive justice are really working for the same goals.

(Now I'm going to click 'post' and see if I'm still on the Watch List. (c;)

Whooohooo! I'm not.

On top of all the other good reasons for breastfeeding, human breast milk is specifically chemically formulated for brain development. I read one place that in Japan, they used to ask not whether a child was breastfed, but how long. Apparently, the longer the child breastfeeds, the quicker they learn to read. It's not uncommon in some cultures (even in the U.S.) for the young to breastfeed to one extent or another until the child is even three, four, or more. My daughter was two and a half, my son over three when they quit (this is called baby-led weaning). La Leche League (the highly-respected international mother-to-mother breastfeeding organization) is a great source of free information and assistance. Industrialized nations (especially the U.S.) encourage norms that make women's milk dry up early, such as giving the child unnecessary water or cereal before the baby is six-months-old, making it uncomfortable to breastfeed in public, and so forth. The best parts about breastfeeding for moms and families: it's easy, it's convenient, it takes off all the weight the pregnant woman gained, it releases tranquilizing endorphins in the mother when the baby is feeding, and it's free! That's a lot of positives.

Bravo!

Very insightful, and thank you.

This is just a post from a little white suburban girl, but I have to say that from what I have seen in La Leche League, Hispanic culture has a big PLUS when it comes to breastfeeding...the number of latino moms who nurse is pretty high, and from what I gather, culturally valued. Employment is probably The Biggest barrier standing in the way of these families, which is unfair to say the least.

The most common thing we hear from WIC participants (especially African-American) is, "Why should I do THAT?? I get formula for FREE. You'd be stupid not to get everything that's coming to you!" Those who breastfeed are derided as chumps and fools. Sometimes I want to grab these women and shake them...they are convinced that anglos are systematically trying to crush their lives and dreams...yet they trust that the powder they are handed is somehow a benefit they might be missing out on? That powder makes you DEPENDENT. Besides the fact that your kid may not be as healthy, you won't be quite as bonded as you would otherwise (I've had moms who BF one and not the other say it's so. I'll take their confidential word on it.), and that Junior might've had an extra ten IQ points...even BESIDES all of that (which I think should be damages you can sue on, frankly), once you switch over to formula they have you completely over a barrel. If they want to raise the price or cut supply or put in cheaper (contaminated?) ingredients from China, or do whatever they want, you're left standing there with your hand out, begging. Begging for more, begging for a new price, begging for quality checks...essentially being at their mercy.

Moms who can manage breastfeeding have another big advantage in that respect. They are more than self-sufficient, and nobody can play havoc with their baby's health and life. Formula shortage? So what. Contamination scare? Eh, not for us. Storms, power outages? Well, at least baby's food is OK!

Most moms are pretty strong and independent. Breastfeeding is another tool they have to foster that. Too many moms toss that tool aside with too little thought and/or recognition, and are often encouraged to do so by the very people who benefit from a more dependent and beholden society.

i do value your experience. thank you.

but i'm not sure how comfortable i am in laying out a type that defines black women on welfare as looking to get all the freebies they can grab up. i do agree that breastfeeding is best, and for many many reasons. i might be up late after a long, long day, but the comment here feels a tiny bit judgmental. i'm sure that comes from your emotion, and from your care. but i find it important to try and qualify my experience when possible, at least in the context of what i may not have seen, or how my life experience might have been narrower than it could be.

furthermore, the divisions created within the body of your post, between "hispanics," blacks, and chinese leaves me feeling very uneasy.

how many children have you had so far?

>>...that defines black women on welfare as looking to get all the freebies they can grab up.

I would agree, I'd like to not stereotype this as across the board, too, and I know it's not universally true. But in my own small circle of experience, this is simply what I, myself, have run into at the local WIC office. I offer that up as a source of deep frustration and grief, and a complete lack of understanding. Being blind-sided with that whole attitude shocked me, I never expected it and still don't really see where it comes from, or if it's just narrowly within this group of people within this particular community.

>>...the comment here feels a tiny bit judgmental.

Everything, by default, has to be judgmental. You really do judge everything, simply by living. You judge which TV programs are worth watching, which clothes you judge are appropriate for the day, you judge which people you will choose to be friends with. How you view your own experiences are also colored by the lens that you live and look through. Ask any reporter, cop or lawyer...a whole group of witnesses who saw the exact same event will report it back to you in dozens of different ways, and all to the best of their ability with what they consider complete accuracy. I think the best you can hope for is to realize that your experiences and own self-narration are, and always will be, skewed, and to try and do the best that you can with it.

>>...least in the context of what i may not have seen, or how my life experience might have been narrower than it could be.

You bet, and I kind of make the assumption (here goes judgment again) that the reader would more or less automatically bear this in mind.

>>...furthermore, the divisions created within the body of your post, between "hispanics," blacks, and chinese leaves me feeling very uneasy.

I think it's possible that you're reading too much into that. There may certainly be a lot of validity in the latino vs. black thing, which (as I noted) I have NO privy information on and can only speculate based on observation and published statistics. But the Chinese thing came from the contaminated pet food deal last year, not to mention the dozens and dozens of recalls that have been enacted with products coming specifically from China. There was nothing racial meant with that, just geographical and high-profile.

>>...how many children have you had so far?

Two, and I am 35 and done. If my personal life is of interest, I am also married (10 years), employed, live in the 'burbs and drive a minivan. (Didn't I say I was a little white suburban girl?)

Thank you for calling me out in such a nice way. That was really tactfully done.

1. makes sense, but it wasnt framed that way. just as a camera viewfinder is a world entire, we must assume the messages we type stand as typed.

2. judging and being judgmental: two different things in my lexicon.

3. assumptions are not the safest bet when leaving words that others can interpret. better to be overly clear.

4. its possible you are reading not enough into it. this is a blog primarily concerned with race and racial messaging as presented in the dominant culture vs. the effects and perceptions of those not part of that culture. what we DO here is read into these things, and perhaps with a different eye, eh? i'm sure.

5. personal life is of interest when we begin judging how others are living, sure.

i questioned the framing of your message. i am not here to attack anyone personally, especially since i don't know you.

thank you again. and i do appreciate you taking the time and sharing your thoughts.

hi, visiting from a link in someone's blog.

I think it's possible that you're reading too much into that.
why, hello privilege, I see you in all the comments in all the blogs I visit.

Hispanic culture has a big PLUS when it comes to breastfeeding...the number of latino moms who nurse is pretty high, and from what I gather, culturally valued. Employment is probably The Biggest barrier standing in the way of these families, which is unfair to say the least.
this statement is pretty gross.

you won't be quite as bonded
This really is not true.