I am a strong supporter of breastfeeding. I realize that not all mothers are able to breastfeed their children for a variety of reasons, but when it is possible it should be done. Breastfeeding is meaningful to me because I have done it; in fact, I am still breastfeeding my son who is now 13 months old. I plan to continue until he decides to stop or the next baby comes along. Breastfeeding has fabulous benefits: bonding time and many health/nutritional benefits for baby. Why wouldn't you want to do it if you could?
Many women in the US don't feel as if they have enough rights when it comes to breastfeeding, especially in public. Depending on what state you live in the law varies. In most states breastfeeding in public is not against the law. The only problem is this: although it's not against the law there is not any way for the mom to enforce her right should she be harassed. I think that some mom's are scared out of breastfeeding because it's difficult to go out in public especially when the baby is young and still feeding often. There have been many lawsuits filed regarding breastfeeding in public, many of which have not been yet settled or have not been settled in a sufficient way. Perhaps this is the bigger issue in the US.
In Hong Kong breastfeeding is becoming more 'normal' these days, although the majority of the population don't breastfeed for long. Many mothers quit between 1-3 months. I found that the reason for this is mostly cultural influence. Breastfeeding is considered embarrassing (especially around anyone else), and there doesn't seem to be much support from family, the workplace, or other organizations as there is in the US. (We have lactation consultants... WIC services... and it's just not abnormal around here so employers tend to be more supportive of pumping, etc.). More recently the government in Hong Kong as well as the World Health Organization has begun to actively promote breastfeeding for at least 6 months exclusively and then up to a year. Perhaps more women will do so in the future.
As a PreK teacher in the daycare setting I interact with many families, not just my PreK families. I have had discussions with new moms several times about breastfeeding and I plan to continue to do so. It was interesting to look at this topic from another perspective and I think that I will continue to look at other countries and how they handle breastfeeding. I'm sure the the more developed countries do it less and the less developed ones do it more. I guess I'll find out!
Oh, and a website that I have taken a liking to - for personal information as well as research now - is the LLL site:
La Leche League International
It's great! There's great information for mothers (or anyone interested) as well as links to information from around the world.
Another great resource is:
Breastfeeding Law
*Some of my info about Hong Kong came from the following article:
Tarrant, M., Fong, D. Y. T., Wu, K. M., Lee, I. L. Y., Wong, E. M. Y., Sham, A., . . . Dodgson, J. E. (2010). Breastfeeding and weaning practices among hong kong mothers: A prospective study. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 10(1), 27-27. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2393-10-27
Hi Amanda,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great information and resources. I wish women in the US did not feel embarrassed or harassed when it came to breastfeeding. I also talk to the new moms at our center, and we try to set up a peaceful area where our mothers can come during their lunch breaks to bond and breastfeed.
Christina
I too started out breastfeeding my children. I had my children in a catholic hospital where they had a lactation consultant on hand 24/7. They encouraged and almost insisted that every mother breastfeed their children. I did breastfeed for the better part of their first six weeks of life, but after that I turned to formula. I would encourage mother's to breastfeed their children if they can, but also understand that it is not for everyone. Bottle feeding did allow my husband to share in that type of bonding and I felt like that was important as well. It has been interesting to read how these issues are handled in the different countries and to see the similarities and differences. Thanks for sharing the website. Have a new mother that I will definitely share this information with.
ReplyDeleteKudos to you for supporting and participating in one of the most significant gestures between mother and child that God gave us. If I would have known the things that I know now about breastfeeding, I would have tried harder with my son. I have had parents that breast fed versus parents who didn't and the statistics are true. I have seen the results of healthy growth and development, strong and vibrant children as a result of breastfeeding, not to say that children who are formula fed are not those things. I just think that there is a benefit to breast feeding and it's sad that we have to feel embarrassed or ashamed to do one of the most natural things in nature. Thanks for the insight.
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