UP Beauty Online
“Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for up to six
months of age. Continue breastfeeding along with appropriate complimentary
foods up to two years of age or beyond...”
World Health Organization
As National Breast Feeding Week wrapped up a
few weeks ago, many news articles and segments were produced to celebrate and
elaborate on the age old nursing practice. Some statistical highlights below:
- According to the latest Breastfeeding Report
Card from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, breastfeeding rates
in the United States are on the rise with 79% of babies born in 2011 having
been breastfed.
- Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and West
Virginia had breastfeeding rates below 65% as Southeastern states lagged behind
the National average. Western states California, Montana, Oregon and Washington
led the nation with breastfeeding rates above 90%.
- Only about 50% of infants were still breastfeeding
at 6 months even though The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that
breast- feeding continue for at least 12 months.
Public and Corporate Breastfeeding Policy – A
Perspective
With
breastfeeding clearly on the rise, there are even more reasons for the general
public, as well as the world of commerce, to openly embrace this sacred bonding
and nurturing practice between a mom and her newborn. In this world gone crazy,
with social media likes and comments instead of conversations, video
conferencing over face-to-face exposure, etc., the last thing we need as a society
is to hinder intimate contact between mother and child, say nothing of
obstructing home-grown nourishment. This, of course, assumes that discretion is
the better part of valor, or in other words, breastfeeding tolerance and acceptance
doesn’t give women the right to unnecessarily flaunt or expose themselves in
public.
Businesses
that don’t give their female employees both accommodations and the latitude to
breastfeed, or at least pump as a last resort, should go the way of the
dinosaurs - extinction. And the stores/shopping areas that cause issue with
breastfeeding mothers deserve the PR nightmare they often incur from such
actions. We must remember that a hungry baby keeps no exact feeding schedule,
and as such, will be hungry at some of the most “inconvenient” times possible. Some
of the newer, more progressive malls and shopping centers have “family” areas
where breastfeeding can be done more conveniently, while entertaining older
siblings as well.
It
occurs to me that most women probably don’t treasure public breastfeeding, as
ultimately it can be much more enjoyable and stress free in a private, quiet,
intimate setting like ones home. But in order for new moms to have any mobility
what-so-ever, it is inevitable that public feedings will be necessary some of
the time. It is here that common sense and empathy need to be the driving
force, both for the mother and those around her, possibly including the store
or business owner.
Look Better, Feel Better, Live
Better
In the September issue of Glamour Magazine, Olivia Wilde, new mother
(April) to baby Otis with her fiancé Jason Sudeikis, discusses breastfeeding
her 4 month old son. Along with the interview, a beautiful picture of her nursing Otis accompanies the
piece.
“Being shot with Otis
is so perfect because any portrait of me right now isn’t complete without my
identity as a mother being a part of that," Wilde said.
"Breastfeeding is the most natural thing. I don’t know, now it feels like
Otis should always be on my breast."
Olivia Wilde to
Glamour
PS: What are your feelings on breastfeeding? Do you have any experiences, either positive or negative, that you’d like to share with us?
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