As we move into another week of the month of January, I pondered on what to blog about for Birth Defect Prevention Month and it came to me…breast…more specifically breast feeding. In the United States breast have seemed to have more recognition sexually than for their physiological purpose, which is for nourishment. This attitude has led to the discomfort of many around the issue of breastfeeding, which has many medical and psychological benefits for both mother and baby. I stumbled on an article “Got Milk? Not in Public!” by Jacqueline Wolf, which comments that as far back as the 1960s a woman whose father was an obstetrician responded to her breastfeeding her baby saying “you will ruin your breasts you know”. Now years later, right here in DC, where laws are made everyday, the breastfeeding debate made the news when a mother breastfeeding her baby in a government building (Department of Motor Vehicles) was told she could not do so because it was considered “indecent exposure”.
The uneasiness around breastfeeding will continue unless there is a collective effort to promote its acceptance by the public at large and programs to support this effort. You can read more about the statistics and what is being done to foster change in “Hospital Support for Breastfeeding”.
Check out Breastfeeding.com for some good resource information.
For helpful information to help you with having a healthy pregnancy/baby...check out my colleague Dr. Linda Burke-Galloway's site The Smart Mother's Guide to a Better Pregnancy.
Let’s get some dialogue started on this one…leave a comment on your thoughts.
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