Feb 8, 2010

Breastfeeding: private or public?

Something I found on the news this morning:


"A new finding by Queensland University of Technology found most people in Generation Y (born after 1980) find breastfeeding uncomfortable or embarrassing.

"They are interesting findings but what most surprising was the comment that 75% wouldn't be exclusively breastfeeding during the first six months," says Carey Wood,

National spokesperson for the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA).

"Obviously that's what the ABA recommend, as do the World Health Organisation."

Generation Y, Wood believes, are bombarded with aggressive marketing of infant formula "and that undermines a women's confidence in her ability to nurture her child."

Wood believes studies like this are missing the point. "Academics should stop focussing on breastfeeding rates and start talking about why formula is an issue, why there are health risks."

It's part of the reason many Australian women begin breastfeeding, but soon stop, says Wood.

In Australia, eight-five percent of women start breastfeeding and that drops to sixty-percent at 3 months and thirty-percent by six months.

"For Generation Y, if the info is not given to them, if they don't see women in public breastfeeding, the only message they are getting through their brains is that it's sexual."

"Of course, the only other place they see breasts is advertising products or in music videos."

As a result of complaints and calls from distressed mothers, the ABA will be starting a Breastfeed in Public Day encouraging mothers to come out of their homes."

What do you think? Some people do make me sick....

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think it is sad. Just posted today my thoughts.

Anonymous said...

wife to the rockstar--> its super sick...as if boobies are only for sex.

Anonymous said...

Agreed. Thanks for making me laugh on my blog! So funny...

I really appreciated your comment and insight coming from another religion/culture.

Anonymous said...

wife to the rockstar--> no prob. sharing is caring.

its a wonderful blog u got there.

ibuaiman said...

pertama: saya mmg bkn generasi Y

kedua : saya rasa bukan sahaja generasi Y,malah generasi sblm saya pun lebih prefer guna susu formula bila dah habis pantang dan dah mula bekerja, takde pendedahan mengenai EBM waktu tu (kakak-kakak saya le...hehe)

ketiga :saya selamba aje kalau nak breastfeed kat public (of course with cover), breastfeed on demand...masa i pergi s'pore, i breastfeed Aqilah kat stesen MRT, mmg diorg mcm pelik tgk i...hehe

DeeYa said...

It's a fact.. Even my mum discourage me from bf in public... Come on the baby is hungry k... wake up

Anonymous said...

ibuaiman-> i am genY, di besarkan with formula milk. until late pregnancy, i still rasa FM is the best, but my maternal instinct said i should try breastfeed & now alhamdulillah dekat 2yrs miya dpt susu mama dia yg best. i mmg selambe BF mana2 as long as that country punye law protect BF moms.

MarDiah--> I suka2 BF mana2 i nak, tp kalo my mom ada around...mesti dia marah & ask me to find a baby room or tunggu blk rumah. unless dia nampak cucu dia merana sgt, br dia bg BF in public.

Ummi Salsabila said...

me slumber if BF aufa kat public.mmg ada mata yg pelik.tp wat dunno jela.even my sis pun ada tego, i slumber BF aufa kat dpn org.dia lak rs malu.hehe

Ely Hasrul said...

that day i watched oprah. segmen pasai mothers reveal psl anak yg kite pon xmo ngaku kat org spt bila anak nangis kite xattend cpt2 sbb kite penat etc la semata2 xmo org judge kite. so ade one mom nih ckp 'this upper part is only to feed the baby' dia jawab pasai having sex after deliver haha sambil tunjuk boobs dia. mmd sad kalu boobs nih dorg pk only for sex. punye la hebat Allah cipta anggota badan kite yg bleh berfungsi utk byk mende, mmg rugi la kalu breast nih guna utk satu tujuan aje.

transformed housewife said...

I'm also not Gen. Y (born 1978). My late mom used to discourage me to fully BF my eldest daughter but my hubby insisted me too. I was torn between my own mom and hubby. At last, I chose to BF her until she was abt 18 mths old even though it was not a FULL BF. I was ignorant abt breat pump and chose to mix BF & FM. Alhamdulillah I was able to fully BF her younger sis until she's abt 27 mnths old.

adrianathani said...

I'm Gen-Y, but fully BFing both my children because, to me, formula is just not an option.

I'm not surprised by these findings, since formula companies are super-aggressive about marketing their products (especially in the US..when I gave birth to my eldest there, I got a ton of free formula samples) whereas breastfeeding doesn't get much face time in mainstream media (which is why I get uber-excited when BFing is mentioned on TV and movies - like Christina Aguilera on Ellen, Nicole Richie, Rebecca Romijn, or Reese Witherspoon's character's SIL in Four Christmases).

However I honestly think that this can be turned around through openness in discussing and displaying breastfeeding on the INTERNET. That's how I made the decision to breastfeed & even tandem nurse - through my research and relationships with mothers over the net! I read somewhere that Gen-Y (or was it the gen after?) is the first generation to not know life before the advent of the Internet. That is why it p*sses me off when sites like Facebook remove breastfeeding photos, because to me it is a personal affront against me as a breastfeeding mother, and is also a negligent act towards unborn babies everywhere, because it sends the message to moms-to-be that breastfeeding is an unacceptable act, and cannot be seen by the general public >:[

Sorry for the essay! I really get riled up about things like this.

Btw, I nurse in public all the time, and its no biggie at all if you wanna do it discreetly: http://glam-mama-diaries.blogspot.com/2009/10/nursing-in-public-nip.html

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Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor nor am I a lawyer. I am not a scientist nor am I an expert. I am just a wife and a mother, who is putting her thoughts and findings in a blog. All of the posting on this website & my blogs were written by me for educational purposes and as my sentimental library, but are not meant to diagnose nor treat any medical disorders. Any other materials that I may have quote from other published materials are for educational purposes only and not for any other manipulative reasons. Anyway, whatever weird stuff that I published are the real stuff that I believe works for me. Tips and tricks that might work for me. You are free to put it in your head if you thinks its valuable, but if you think its rubbish... Please don't mock me. Do please shut your pie hole.
 
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