Celebrity Dad Style, Jon Gosselin: Would You Buy Lemonade From this Man?
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009By Glinda
In an article published many moons ago in the Atlantic Monthly, writer Hanna Rosin launches into a fascinating and well-researched article about breastfeeding. And how in her opinion, it really isn’t all that great. This is coming, mind you, from a woman who breastfed all three of her children.
I cheered when I read it.
You see, I happen to think that there is a very judgmental group of women, members of the militant wing of the Salvation Army types, if you will, that see breastfeeding as the end-all, be-all of motherhood.
Hogwash.
Am I a bit biased on this topic because I tried and failed to breastfeed my firstborn? Possibly. But, I pumped for months until my milk ran out due to an undiagnosed immune disorder.
No one ever said to my face that I wasn’t as good of a mother, but there were certain women who would smugly state how long they breastfed and how fantastic it was, even though I had already admitted I felt badly for not being able to myself. Heck, there was even an acquaintance I met who still breastfed her three year old, even in public at a restaurant.
That, they were not-so-subtly trying to tell me, was dedication.
Myself? Apparently lacking in said dedication.
Well, I’m firmly with Hanna Rosin on this one. The evidence in favor of breastfeeding is not all that it’s cracked up to be, despite what certain groups would like you to think.
So I’m here to say that I support women either way. If you choose to breastfeed and it makes you happy, then may the winds of fortune be at your back.
But, if you choose not to breastfeed, I am not going to immediately apply my fingers in an “L” shape on my forehead.
I would like to suggest that more women do the same.