When does extended breastfeeding become weird....

kafkathecat

Taking away the choice could lead to some horrible situations for women who culturally and socially do not always want to breastfeed[/QUOTE]

thatgirlsam you have twice mentioned cultural reasons without stating what you mean. I am pretty certain there are no cultures anywhere which hold this view so please explain.

poet123

HariboJunkie wrote: »

I think she explained that she meant that could be the case in an ideal world where formula use hadn't been encouraged as being the better option. If that had not been the case women would have continued to learn bf as the norm and receieved help from sisters and mums who had bf before them as was the case pre formula. I wonder how many women in the first world war didn't fancy breastfeeding or felt it didn't fit in with their lifestyle.

For the record, I don't agree that formual should be prescription only.

No, she said that it should happen today, and that in an ideal world we would never have got to this point where formula was a choice.

Many woman died from backstreet abortions during the period you mention, they had no choices. Fortunately times have changed and we have choice both in that area and in how we choose to feed our children. That is progress and not to be lamented because some mothers think only their way of doing things is correct or better long term.

Why is this such a divisive issue? why does it matter to others? If they are happy with their choice that should be enough.

Lotus-eater

A UK Department of Health survey found that 84% (about 5 out of 6 people) find breastfeeding in public acceptable if done discreetly, however 67% (2 out of 3) mothers are worried about general opinion being against public breastfeeding.[27] To combat these fears in Scotland, a bill safeguarding the freedom of women to breastfeed in public was passed in 2005 by the Scottish Parliament.[28] The legislation allows for fines of up to £2500 for preventing breastfeeding in legally permitted places.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_and_culture_of_breastfeeding#UK

HariboJunkie

blabberwort wrote: »

So because something is perfectly natural it's okay for all and sundry to see? The human body itself is natural doesnt mean we all want to see naked bodies walking down the street in the summer though does it?
Sex is perfectly natural, again... doesnt mean we all want a public display of it does it?

On a natural point to get back to children... it is natural for a baby to make use of it's nappy (putting it politely lol) but that doesnt make it acceptable to change a baby on a table in a cafe does it? So you tell me where people are supposed to draw the line with this whole "natural" argument. It's a cop out answer in my opinion.



.

You are giving examples of sexual activity and defecation as natural human actions, which they are, but breastfeeding equates to neither of those. It is simply a child drinking and I have never actually seen a woman expose her breast while feeding anyway. I didn't ever expose my flesh in public even though I fed both together.

thatgirlsam

kafkathecat wrote: »

Taking away the choice could lead to some horrible situations for women who culturally and socially do not always want to breastfeed

thatgirlsam you have twice mentioned cultural reasons without stating what you mean. I am pretty certain there are no cultures anywhere which hold this view so please explain.[/QUOTE]

In some cultures the younger women have to do what the older women say

So if the MIL says the baby should be bottle fed, then the baby is bottle fed, what the mother herself wants doesn't really matter as the baby now belongs to the family and not just to the mum

I see this a LOT, I am not making it up

I am not saying that all Asian families act this way, far from it, but sadly this scenario happens far too much

bylromarha

poet123 wrote: »

Propaganda from the NCT;) which is not actually borne out by the evidence obtained from studies.

I didn't think propaganda - I thought the reality is that parents who choose to breastfeed until 2 years and beyond have social factors going on that affect these results and would skew them. The breastfeeding alone cannot be taken in isolation at all.

I remember here on MSE years ago a parent asked me, in my capacity as a reception teacher, if I could tell whether a child had been breastfed or not due to their ability on entering school. Was shocked I was even asked!

thatgirlsam

poet123 wrote: »

No, she said that it should happen today, and that in an ideal world we would never have got to this point where formula was a choice.

Many woman died from backstreet abortions during the period you mention, they had no choices. Fortunately times have changed and we have choice both in that area and in how we choose to feed our children. That is progress and not to be lamented because some mothers think only their way of doing things is correct or better long term.

Why is this such a divisive issue? why does it matter to others? If they are happy with their choice that should be enough.

It is so strange! Why is it anyone else's business??

I expect there are aspects of parenting from the people who think all women should breastfeed that I do not agree with .. would I tell them? NO!

Gingham_R

HariboJunkie wrote: »

I'll leave it for her to post in response though. I should know better by now than to get involved on a breastfeeding thread.

LOL Indeed.

When people are comparing a woman without the ability to buy mass produced milk to a woman being raped, it isn't really worth joining in any more.

Lady_Tara

Gosh this is fascinating to read – some strong opinions around.:o

Going completely off original topic - can I just say that psychologically it isn't a "choice" for some of us. I was abandoned at birth, so bottle fed myself from day 1, then as a teenager suffered a serious sexual assault. I would say both of those experiences have affected my mental health badly, and a bit of counselling had absolutely no effect in making things better. When I was pregnant 15 years ago (with a much wanted baby) there was no way I could even begin to consider breast feeding as I have such screwed up ideas about maternal relationships/bodies... I made it very clear from the beginning I wouldn't even consider trying breast feeding, and luckily - even though the maternity nurses had no idea of my background - I was not made to feel like I'd failed at all for not even trying.

I'm not sure what my point is, except to say, by looking at me you wouldn't think I'd have any particularly strong reasons for not trying, but there can be hugely complex reasons behind people's decisions.

Please don't shout at me!

blabberwort

HariboJunkie wrote: »

You are giving examples of sexual activity and defecation as natural human actions, which they are, but breastfeeding equates to neither of those. It is simply a child drinking and I have never actually seen a woman expose her breast while feeding anyway. I didn't ever expose my flesh in public even though I fed both together.

I appreciate that not all women show their breasts while bf , I think I mentioned this fact in a previous post. My point is that having a 3 year old climbing onto a mothers lap in a cafe or public place is unecessary. There are other options. I have nothing at all against breast milk for any aged child but I do feel that when the time comes that there are alternatives to having a child breastfeeding directly in public then why not use them. I really dont understand the need for it. For me there can be only one reason as to why a mother feels it is necessary to continue bf an older child in public rather than finding an alternative that still allows a child to have breast milk and that is convenience.