Breast Bullies

At the risk of alienating and/or grossing out my male readers, I'd like to touch on the topic-du-jour, guilt-induced breastfeeding, as described in an already infamous article from Tuesday's New York Times and expanded upon in this column from Salon's Broadsheet (whence I stole my title).

My credentials are pretty good: I have three kids, all of whom were solely breastfed until about 6 months, and who were, in good earthmother fashion, allowed to wean themselves gradually thereafter. Our income was extremely modest at the time, and my husband and I made large financial sacrifices so I could be a stay at home full time mom. But we did have the opportunity to make that choice, one that many mothers are denied due to their circumstances.

There's a discomfiting tone to the Times article, which I found simultaneously pious and fascistic (talk about cognitive dissonance...) It illuminated a weird point of convergence between the foulest barefoot-and-pregnant ideas of the right wing, the Taliban, and the ultra hippie left. At what point do women have the right to be considered adults with the right to determine how they will raise their own babies?

Obviously, breastfeeding brings many, many health benefits for both mother and child, but it should hardly be considered child abuse if a mother needs - or chooses - to turn to formula. If we want to encourage more women to breastfeed longer, we might think seriously about offering mothers, at a minimum, day care near their jobs and part time work with benefits.

Carrots, not sticks.

And - note to the New York Times - if you want to encourage women you might also want to lay off the stories of the zealous women who nurse their kids until they're four. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's hardly the norm.