MSNBC Covers Breastfeeding in Public

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Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Well, apparently I wasn't deemed "quote-worthy" enough for this one. ;) The journalist that I spoke with last month has her article up on the MSNBC web site this week. It's a pretty solid, in-depth look at the issues of breastfeeding in public, discrimination and a variety of other issues. Well worth a read.

A snippet:

While lactivists — the name breast-feeding activists have come up with for themselves — defend their right to nurse publicly, others say the pro-nursing argument can sometimes go too far, making mothers who can’t or don’t want to nurse feel guilty. Breast-feeding should be sold on its benefits, they say.

They argue that mothers won’t respond to negative messages like the television ad in one federal government-funded campaign that showed a pregnant woman riding a mechanical bull. “You wouldn’t take risks before your baby’s born. Why start after?” the announcer asked. The conclusion: failure to breast-feed puts babies in danger.

Alicia Feldman, an Iowa mother, breast-fed all three of her children — including her twins. But she believes women need to be supportive of each other, regardless of how they feed their children.

"I have friends who have been successful at breast-feeding, and some who haven't," she says. "You don't judge each other. Sometimes your body won't keep up."

Labels: In the News, Nursing in Public

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