breastfeeding debate ? how boring ...

i must be feeling more like my normal self these days. the whole 'should we / shouldn't we encourage mothers to breastfeed in public' has been reignited by a petition taken to downing street by big breasted women.

ok, maybe they didn't have big breasts but something about all this makes me think that the ladies protest too much.

sure, there's a lot to deal with when breastfeeding. e.g

1) the pain

2) the embarassment of your boobs becoming PUBLIC

3) the uncomfortable feeling of being devoured by the thing that has just destroyed your body.

but maybe that's just me. which is exactly my point. it's personal.

personal means 'up to you'. personal means 'rough with the smooth'. personal means 'adult enough to know what's best for baby and for you as a mother'. and personal means that if you get your boobs out in public, people will stare.

i admire women who breastfeed, because i know how tough it is. it didn't click for me, so formula was the way forward for us.

i'm happy with this and i'm happy that my next baby will be formula fed from the off. the hubs is less happy but hey, i'm in charge here.

the one thing that riles me slightly is women who 'can't understand' why others would choose NOT to breastfeed.

i'm thinking it's a weird kind of mummyhood nazism, a horrible middle class NCT inspired holier than thou-ism and a real lack of sisterhood where it's needed.

can't we all just grow up a bit ?

the debate should be about making sure women have access to the right information about the benefits of bottle v. breast and breastfeeding techniques. we should also make sure there's access to professional troubleshooters AND increasing numbers of places where it's possible to breastfeed privately in public should you so wish ( bluewater we love you).

what doesn't help is pointing the finger at women who admit they tried and failed. it's simple, it's personal, not all of us can breastfeed. it's not school, we don't have to send in a note explaining why.

let's just focus on making it easier for the women who can and do.