Thursday, September 19, 2013

The Great Debate: BREASTFEEDING VERSUS FORMULA.

Lately I feel there has been a war between formula feeding and breastfeeding mothers. And to be completely honest with you, it's driving me nuts. I don't really have a stance. Obviously, breastmilk is nutritionally and economically superior to formula. That's a fact. Tried and true. I feel more strongly about the arguments women are using to back their views up with. Let me try to make this concise (for me, concise is less than 20 paragraphs. Lol!)

1. Only 2% of women in the United States of America CANNOT PRODUCE MILK.
Two percent. At LEAST 1 out of 4 mothers I have met claim that they cannot and did not produce milk no matter how hard they tried/are trying.

I. Call. Bullshit.

Claiming that you are physically incapable of producing milk is a disservice to the women who REALLY cannot produce breastmilk. For example, women with double mastectomies, women with diseases that pass through breastmilk, what have you. Unless you are one of the 2% of women who truly cannot produce milk for whatever medical reason, don't say you can't. Drives me freaking crazy.
Newsflash: If you try hard enough and put enough effort into it, you will produce enough milk to feed your child.

2. Another thing, saying your baby isn't getting enough in the first few days. What the actual heck? A newborn's stomach is smaller than a ping pong ball. The tiny bit of colostrum you make after birth is all baby needs. Your actual breastmilk doesn't come in for a few days, give or take a couple of days. And what do mothers base this off of? Crying. You've gotta be kidding me. Crying? Am I the only one who totally doesn't buy this argument? Newborns cry. It's normal. They just made the transition from your small, cozy womb to our big, crazy world, all in a matter of days...even hours sometimes. It's normal for them to cry. Shoving a bottle of formula in their mouth isn't going to magically change that.

3. "My baby didn't like my breastmilk." This one is just...I hardly have the words to describe how I feel about this. Babies. Love. Tits. They do. Have you ever tasted breastmilk? Have you ever tasted formula? Exactly. Even to the most objective person, breastmilk is far yummier than formula. Secondly, babies are born to nurse and to drink breastmilk. They are born to breastfeed. Period. Why wouldn't they absolutely love your yummy milk? Either evolution (or whatever you believe in) has some serious and sudden flaws, or someone's making excuses. I tend to go with the latter.

Now, there are many more arguments that I've seen and heard, but these three have really been bothering me. Really. NOW. I don't encourage mothers to formula feed from the get go, but I certainly don't look down upon mothers who do.

Breastfeeding is natural. But it CAN be very stressful and demanding. Sometimes having a 9-5 job, pumping around the hour, and downing Milkmaid tea like a madman is just too much. I understand, trust me. If I didn't have a good supply, I would be very tempted to just give up.
This is obviously the case with many mothers. And I think that this is why many women give up. Which is okay.

What is NOT okay is making excuses and trying to make your situation sound different than it is. Own it. Own the fact that you just couldn't handle it. It doesn't make you any less of a woman and mother. What does make you look bad is trying to cover up the fact that you quit.
I'm pretty dang sick of it. And I don't think I'm the only one.

Own your shit, ladies. Breastfeeding, or a lack thereof, does NOT define you as a woman. Your character does. And blatantly lying and covering up your true situation is in poor taste and shows a lack of character and integrity.

Personally, this is more than the superficial to me. This isn't just about what is or isn't in your baby's belly. It's about women. It's about women having enough confidence to be honest with themselves and others. So I encourage you to encourage others. Encourage yourselves. Be confident and honest.

The End. (for now...)