Suzy Q Homemaker

This is a photograve from 1890 Paris.  A group of mothers are getting their children vaccinated against smallpox.  Do you think they were concerned about that woman breastfeeding her baby in the corner without a “hooter hider” or whatever the hell you call it?

Cause seriously.  There are more important things.

So, in all of my fun creating that little slide show last week, I came across the best/worst breastfeeding advocacy poster I have EVER SEEN.  I would like to share it with you all and get your thoughts, mainly on these things:

• The lack of actual breastfeeding photographs
• The overall “design” of this poster
• The headband
• Why that woman is going to jump on her baby

(image courtesy of the IHM)

It’s World Breastfeeding Week!

This year’s theme focuses on breastfeeding during emergencies and disasters:

OBJECTIVES OF WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK 2009

• To draw attention to the vital role that breastfeeding plays in emergencies worldwide.
• To stress the need for active protection and support of breastfeeding before and during emergencies.
• To inform mothers, breastfeeding advocates, communities, health professionals, governments, aid agencies, donors, and the media on how they can actively support breastfeeding before and during an emergency.
• To mobilise action and nurture networking and collaboration between those with breastfeeding skills and those involved in emergency response.

RATIONALE

• Children are the most vulnerable in emergencies – child mortality can soar from 2 to 70 times higher than average due to diarrhoea, respiratory illness and malnutrition.
• Breastfeeding is a life saving intervention and protection is greatest for the youngest infants. Even in non-emergency settings, non-breastfed babies under 2 months of age are six times more likely to die.
• Emergencies can happen anywhere in the world. Emergencies destroy what is ‘normal,’ leaving caregivers struggling to cope and infants vulnerable to disease and death.
• During emergencies, mothers need active support to continue or re-establish breastfeeding.
• Emergency preparedness is vital. Supporting breastfeeding in non-emergency settings will strengthen mothers’ capacity to cope in an emergency.

Here are some fun things to do to celebrate!

Knit up one of my Breastfeeding Advocacy Dishcloths.

Add a “twibbon” to your twitter avatar.

Add a banner to your site.

Check out the WBW Blog Carnival over at Breastfeeding 123!

See if there are any WBW events in your state here.

Really?  Should it still be an issue after all these years?  REALLY?

It may just be my postpartum radar, but every time I give birth, another huge breastfeeding debate lurches out of the hell holes of controversy.  Whether it’s nursing moms vs. bottle-feeding moms, nursing in public, or whether or not breast is “best”, I am constantly amazed by the number of stories that get picked up by the media.

For the record, I am a lactivist.  I’ve breastfed all of my children and I’m currently nursing my 3-month-old.  I have no problem nursing in public, and yes, I do believe that breast is best.  But as much as I am passionate about all of the above, I think I’ve grown desensitized to all the hype surrounding the whole NIP issue.  I don’t go around flapping my nipples for all the world to see, and I’ve never participated in a nurse-in.   It does anger me when I hear another story about a nursing mother asked to leave a restaurant or store, or a mother who is asked to go to the bathroom to nurse.  You’d just think we’d be past this by now.

What’s really got my goat lately is the woman who was arrested while “drunk breastfeeding.”   The AP picked up the story and there are currently 143 articles on google news about this woman who was allegedy intoxicated when the police arrived on a domestic disturbance call.  She began nursing her infant and then the police arrested her after calling a hospital to see whether or not she should be breastfeeding.  According to the reports, they never actually did a blood-alcohol test.

And then there’s the jackass who decided to go public with his statement that breastfeeding research is “exaggerated” and “flawed”.  Cause you know.  Scientists always go around doing that sort of thing.  Not that he hasn’t done research…for Nestle.  I’ll be interested in actually looking through some of his publications to see if little ole me can figure out where exactly he might be coming from.  The evil conspirator inside of me really thinks that this is the work of a man who got slipped a pretty penny to go public with this statement in order to get some formula companies generating their own economic stimulus package (psst…breastfeeding is FREE, and I’ll bet there have been some cuts to WIC programs out there somewhere).

Around the blogosphere, moms are reacting to the debates.  It ain’t just me:

• Mama Feels Good — The Breastfeeding Debate Continues
• Joanne Jacobs — Drinking While Breastfeeding
• Home/Work — Yeah, I drink while breastfeeding. So arrest me.
• Conscious Breastfeeding Connections: Breastfeeding: To Drink or Not is the Question
• Ambush Predator: More Government Advice Found To Be…
• At Home with the Holmes: The Case Against Breastfeeding

I’d be interested in reading your thoughts on one or more of these issues.  Have you written a post about it lately?  Feel free to leave me a comment and I’ll add your link to my post.

For this week’s Weekly Geeks, Dewey asked us to write about the magazines we read. I only subscribe to one magazine, so this was pretty easy for me!

1. Name of magazine.

New Beginnings.

2. Do you subscribe or just buy it now and then?

I receive my subscription as a part of my membership to La Leche League.

3. What’s your favorite regular feature in the magazine?

I enjoy reading the personal stories submitted by readers. To hear about all of the struggles that some women have had to overcome just to be able to breastfeed amazes and inspires me.

4. What do you think your interest in this magazine says about you?

My interest in this magazine further emphasizes the fact that I’m a die-hard lactivist.

5. How long have you been reading this magazine?

I’ve been reading them ever since I started attending LLL meetings in 2006, though I’ve only started receiving my own since November or December of 2007.

6. Is there any unique or quirky aspect to the magazine that keeps you reading?

The whole magazine is unique. I think that it’s probably the only magazine in the world dedicated to breastfeeding. Although my “baby” is two and potty-trained, he still nurses. Reading stories in New Beginnings about nursing toddlers provides me with a sense of support that I wouldn’t otherwise get.