La leche post

First of all, a big shout-out to the local convention center, the staff of which did not bat an eyelash when I arrived there for an all-day event and brandished my breast pump at them. A nice gentleman showed me into a room with tables, chairs, and a sink, and then got on his walkie-talkie to spread the news that the room would be in use.

And now: Oh, for the love of heaven

Now, I'm all for breastfeeding. I own a copy of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. I nursed Boy Wonder for sixteen months. Except for, like, three, bottles of formula he had during the week we were both hospitalized and on IV antibiotics, he received no milk but mine until he was nearly ten months old, when I just wasn't able to pump as much during the workday. And by "not as much," I don't mean "less frequently;" I was actually pumping more frequently, but I think by that point he was drinking three 6-ounce bottles a day, and that is a LOT of milk to come up with on a daily basis! My supply was still fine when he was nursing (babies are much more effective than pumps), but I did need to supplement his daycare bottles with formula for the next couple of months, until he switched to drinking regular milk. Even after that, he still nursed at naptime and bedtime until we were through. And, obviously, since I have a two-month-old and was using a pump yesterday, I am nursing Baby Boone. He has not yet had any formula; my employer provides a secure and private space for nursing mothers, and I'm still in the heady days of having a rockin' milk supply. My freezer, it runneth over.

But I am sick, sick, sick of hearing it implied that mothers who don't breastfeed their babies for very long, or don't breastfeed them at all, are causing their children grave physical harm. Yes, breastfeeding is the best nutritional choice, and it would be very easy for me to say, "Why doesn't everyone just give it a try?" But I had a good supply, no big problems, and babies who latched on easily, decided breastfeeding was just fine with them, and proceeded to gain weight rapidly. (And, let's not forget, I also had/have employers who said, "You want to pump? No problem; we'll slap a lock on the empty office down the hall. Here's your key; use it as needed." Not everyone has that.) And, I am here to tell you that even if the nurse who teaches your breastfeeding class tells you that all of her breastfed children never, ever, ever got sick, and only visited the doctor for their well-child visits, not everyone has that experience. By the time he was ten months old, Boy Wonder had had three GI viruses, RSV, pneumonia, and four ear infections.

I have rather a lot to say about this, but very little time. So, in summary: Breastfeeding is good, but formula is not poison, yo. And, if you want to encourage women to breastfeed, provide every new mother with a free, high-quality breast pump, free in-home visits from lactation counselors, and free whatever else is needed to ensure that they'll breastfeed. Maybe with some of the money that's being spent on this ad campaign.