Breastfeeding
So we’re at war. Mums everywhere, online, on the radio, in the sand pit. Judging each other for the choices we make as parents. Putting each other down to sooth our own insecurities. Driving ourselves to competitive distraction.
If you believe TIME, and the reaction to it, we’re in the trenches and the enemy is other mothers who do things differently.
Only, we’re not… Because behind the controversy whipped up by so-called parenting experts, the media commentators and the shock jocks, ordinary parents are just getting on with the job of parenting.
Continue reading "Despite the furore, no one really cares how you parent" »
There’s only one thing wrong with the Newsweek cover celebrating America’s first gay president - Barack Obama is not gay.
Yes his public endorsement of gay marriage in America shows courage, humanity and true leadership. But it’s a political triumph, not a personal one.
Obama has not fought for the right to be recognised for his sexuality. He hasn’t struggled for acceptance within himself or his family, friends and workplace. And he certainly won’t be the one waiting with heart in hand until this statement becomes something more tangible.
Latest 2 of 68 comments
View all comments-
RyaN says:
@andye: “where is your universal definition of sexual deviancy and normalcy?” How many straight vs gay people are there in the world andye? I think you will find at the very largest 10% of a community anywhere are recognised as gay OR bi. Now considering that Bisexuals are not likely… Read more »
-
Jim says:
Tina Brown managed to do exactly what she wanted to do - get some no-name columnist to get 66 people to comment and a few of them to go to the newstand and look at a copy. Read more »
This is the latest TIME magazine cover which hit American news stands yesterday.
It’s a picture of 26 year old mum, Jamie Lynne Grumet of Los Angeles, breastfeeding her three year old son, Aram.
Grumet believes breastfeeding a child this old is “biologically normal” and has posted several pictures of herself breastfeeding Aram on her blog.
It’s caused a storm in America and you can read all about that here.
And check out this news.com.au story - some experts say breastfeeding up to seven years is ‘natural’.
There’s plenty to say on this issue. One Puncher’s first reaction was concern for the child when he grows up and how much he’ll be teased at school.
What’s your gut reaction? Eeww, or whatever?
Follow The Punch on Twitter: @thepunchhq
Latest 2 of 179 comments
View all comments-
John says:
Yes - it was her. Not me. All her own words. Read more »
-
Erin says:
http://www.breastfeeding.com/all_about/all_about_osteoporosis.html This is a small article with three references but a google search brings up many other studies to support this. Read more »
I can feel the prod of pitchforks, the heat of flaming torches and suction of rampant breast pumps to nether regions already, but here goes.
A. I am no prude, and
B. I’m not a woman, so
C. I’ve never had a baby (Where’s the fetus going to gestate? You going to keep it in a box?”) So obviously therefore,
D. I’ve never breastfed.
There. A few disclaimers to hopefully delay said prodding, heat and suction. I understand the evolutionary purpose of breasts, that they shouldn’t be sexualized, I get the whole feeding is natural, women shouldn’t be ashamed, blah blah, I get and concur with all of that.
What I don’t get and strongly un-concur with is why a woman would choose to graphically breastfeed her baby in a crowded city café at lunchtime (ours as well as the baby’s apparently).
Continue reading "I don’t mind breastfeeding, but I’m trying to eat here" »
Latest 2 of 205 comments
View all comments-
mark says:
Imagine my surprise…. wandering through a major city in the Islamic Republic of Iran. A woman is sitting on a seat in the street - breastfeeding (shock, horror!) this isn’t some poor street dweller, we’re dealing with a middle class woman, sorta covering herself while she does what she has… Read more »
-
Cate says:
Why are we even discussing this? This is what the world has become. Everything is extreme. I can’t keep up with what goes on. I don’t encourage it. I simply go the equanimity path. Whatever. Nothing surprises me much anymore, but apparently there is much more to come so my… Read more »
The Facebook ban on photographs of women breastfeeding their own children raises some important issues about freedom of choice and the role of social media in setting behavioural standards.
There is no valid reason for any social media network to ban legitimate pictures posted by women of themselves breastfeeding their own children.
Such pictures can help normalise breastfeeding and educate others about how breastfeeding is done in real life.
Continue reading "Facebook’s being a boob over breastfeeding pics" »
Latest 2 of 102 comments
View all comments-
Enough Already says:
There is nothing natural about a picture of a woman with one breast attached to a pump and the other to a kid. Naked from the waist waist up. It’s offensive because of the way she is posing and because of the sheer amount of “information” thus making it gross.… Read more »
-
Enough Already says:
Dear BBPD: I breastfed my kids too, but at no time did I have an urge to “display” my “love” for them by exhibiting photos, of what to me was a very special time between my kids and I, all over the internet, worse; doing it in such a way… Read more »
Four friends were dining over lunch in a swish Adelaide restaurant last weekend when a woman at the next table pulled out her chair and proceeded to change her baby’s nappy on the floor.
Can you believe that? The four friends couldn’t. They were so stunned they decided to phone The Sunday Mail.
“It was just so unhygienic and inappropriate,” said one. “Luckily it was only a wet nappy – imagine if it had been really messy.”
No thanks, ladies. Might put me off my own lunch. But talk about taking the new mums’ cause back 20 years.
Latest 2 of 58 comments
View all comments-
Danny B says:
BTK, Then I’m not complaining about you. I’m talking about those with the music loud and windows down - who do nothing to stop disturbing other people. Read more »
-
Eloise says:
I wonder if it would cause a stir if I changed a sanitary napkin or tampon in the middle of a childcare centre/day care centre/kindy whilst the kids are eating? It shouldn’t cause a fuss, because it has to be done and I just can’t be bothered with going to… Read more »
How can a new, first-time parent feel any sort of confidence? Seriously, after being told time and time again that exclusive breastfeeding until six months of age is the best thing for our babies’ health, we now hear that maybe those recommendations are putting children at risk of other health worries. Just maybe. If you’ve recently had a baby, you know the pressure to breastfeed.
The stress placed on new mums to get their babies on the boob, and keep them there until they are at least six months of age, can be pretty overwhelming in those first few months. Especially if breastfeeding is not going so well for you. In fact, the pressure is so great that most new mums either persevere, or give up and are wracked with guilt.
So when stories like these are released questioning the advice we are given in those early weeks of parenthood, we’re left wondering who and what are we meant to listen to? Especially when the official government response is they will review the national breastfeeding guidelines later this year. Great! What if your baby is past that stage by then? What if you have a seemingly hungry four-month-old baby now, and want to know what to do?
Continue reading "The best authority on breastfeeding is you" »
Latest 2 of 53 comments
View all comments-
Robert Smissen of country SA says:
Mothers knew what to do for thousands of years what to do & got on with raising babies long before there was any experts. As for when to start solids, let the child decide, my youngest grand daughter now 6 started solids at 14 weeks & just THRIVED. I find… Read more »
-
Sickemrex says:
I don’t know what the fuss is about regarding solids at 4 months - the Community Health nurses at the mum’s group I went to told us it was a good time to start if our kids were interested in food, and that we didn’t have to wait 6 months. … Read more »
Dear Jackie O, what a bugger of a week!
Did you have time to read the Sunday newspaper between changing nappies, feeding your baby, changing another nappy, washing up bottles, having a shower, changing another nappy, eating some Weetbix, getting ready for work and cutting your baby’s fingernails?
I hope you did. The message was clear. Most women want you to know – you’re a good mother.
Latest 2 of 168 comments
View all comments-
niko says:
I’d like to see that research paper… Read more »
-
Mum who cares says:
Spare me Alissa and Jackie. Unlike most Australian Mums, you both earn a sizeable amount of money and have wealthy husbands to support you, yet you both raced back to work. Jackie earns in the hundreds of thousands and Alissa well into six figures - and is married to a… Read more »
So, radio personality Jackie O crossed a quiet, leafy, Double Bay pedestrian crossing while bottle-feeding her six-week-old daughter and made the mistake of being photographed.
Mothercraft and Nannies director, Jenni Waldron, tut-tutted in the Daily Telegraph that “it would be best to sit comfortably in a chair and hold your baby correctly while feeding”. She was probably caught off guard too.
Jackie felt compelled to explain herself on air: ‘I was running late and Kitty was screaming…’. Yes. I feel like doing that myself when I read stories like this.
Continue reading "The perils of breasts, bottles, and babies" »
Latest 2 of 114 comments
View all comments-
ERin says:
“Do these imitation nipples crack and bleed while you cry and feel like a failure? Does the set come with a bonus pack of bottles and unprompted judgmental comments from perfect strangers if the plastic flowers don’t work properly? If not, I’m not buying it. It doesn’t really sound like… Read more »
-
Slick says:
Stephy, I had 2 c-sections so I don’t know about it blocking out the 15 hours of incredibly painful contractions. The 12 hours I had was without any drugs as I wasnt offered and didnt know I could demand as I was going in for the ceaser anyways… Stupid natural… Read more »
What is it about the fanaticism of the breastfeeding lobby? Why do they fixate so intently on this tiny aspect of childrearing?
Wouldn’t they do better to divert some of their energy to shouting about child protection? Housing for kids in low-income families? Water safety, perhaps?
Aren’t there dozens more pressing children’s issues where they could better channel their blusterings?
Continue reading "There’s nothing unhealthy about being bottle fed" »
Latest 2 of 226 comments
View all comments-
Elizabeth says:
Totally agree with this article, but then it seems to feed into the paternalistic attitudes that still fuel our health care. Have you ever noticed the “orders” women receive to have cancer screening and we’re scolded like children and called names if we don’t obey? Contrast that to men’s cancer… Read more »
-
Jules says:
That is GOLD mike!!! Read more »
“It’s just like feeding your baby McDonald’s.’’ This was the blunt, uncaring and highly inappropriate comment made by a breastfeeding advocate to a friend who dared to confess she was considering giving her baby a bottle of formula.
The new mum had been through weeks of torture, suffering several bouts of mastitis and dealing with a son whose gummy bite was more brutal than Jaws and whose insatiable hunger was not dissimilar to the killer shark.
She had given breastfeeding her very best shot, but it was not working and, after six weeks, she and her son spent most of their days, and nights, in tears.
Continue reading "Gisele’s being a boob with her breastfeeding zealotry" »
Latest 2 of 44 comments
View all comments-
Lindsay Matthews says:
I wish that Mom’s whose ‘failed’ at breastfeeding would own up to their choice. I am a IBCLC and I have had to pay for my education and business. I get women daily trying to get me to offer my services for free. I wish that our Governments would see… Read more »
-
Make Money From Google run says:
Partly Wait,importance capital material man appeal direct along father firm build deep variation artist former except organisation intend once distinction assessment arm training thus sky less damage already after loss summer commission ride count obvious issue rock weekend order touch beyond fight boat labour labour mainly shot show equally terms… Read more »
Frown on me. Put me in the corner, stone me or just hang me: I chose not to breastfeed.
I am a bad mother.
I put my own needs before those of my child. Put me in the same category as a woman who smoked during pregnancy while she sank a schooner (or three) each day after work, laughing ‘this isn’t a beer gut! It’s my unborn child!’
Latest 2 of 81 comments
View all comments-
Travon says:
So true. Hoetnsy and everything recognized. Read more »
-
Glenn says:
I grew up on carnation milk.. it was all that was available as I was born in Rabaul PNG in the early 70’s. The local doctor suggested my Mum dilute it and it worked fine.. no allergies or problems later in life. Honestly women beat up on themselves so much… Read more »
I’m sick and tired of women turning on each other. Why do we do this to ourselves?
I don’t expect all of us to sit around singing Kumbayah.But surely a little bit of support from the Sisterhood isn’t out of the question.
The latest example of sororicide is the story entitled ‘Breastfeeding, it’s not about choice’, written for The Punch by Rita Panahai. Ms. Panahai contends that Australia has deplorable rates of breastfeeding because mothers are selfish. (I’d always thought was an oxymoron.)
Continue reading "Breast form of attack: the stupid war between women" »
Latest 2 of 54 comments
View all comments-
Carrie says:
I’m so glad I found my soluiton online. Read more »
-
Darold says:
Well macdaamia nuts, how about that. Read more »
The breastfeeding debate has reared its controversial head again with news that the NSW public service had granted new mums 60 minutes per day, over and above their allocated meal breaks, to breastfeed or express milk in a private room furnished with a refrigerator for their exclusive use.
It is hoped this measure will result in increased breastfeeding rates and allow women to continue providing their child with the optimal start in life after returning to work.
It would be wonderful if such well intentioned initiatives had the desired impact but sadly they are destined to fail as they do not address what is at the core of Australia’s deplorable breastfeeding rates; the selfishness of mothers.
Latest 2 of 259 comments
View all comments-
kel says:
People need to look for support if they want it. We are grown women and are capable of tracking down one of the many FREE resources in this Country… and if you don’t want to be kicked out of Hospital then maybe you should get health insurance instead of clogging… Read more »
-
kel says:
There are a lot of idiots on here,however i only read a few posts cause i was physically sick at some peoples stupidity…RHONDA,you are full of crap,mastitis is caused by being engorged with milk,i had it many many times and i know what causes it. You are pretty clever if… Read more »
Facebook Recommendations
Read all about it
Punch live
Up to the minute Twitter chatter
It's a Sydney thing, but 95.3FM... Why? It used to be all Bohemian Rhapsody and Walk this Way; now it's Father to Son and Country Road. Wah.
Recent posts
The latest and greatest
We don’t deserve this huge, exciting scientific project
I’d like to be able to say that sharing the world’s largest radio telescope with South Africa…
Mining money talks the loudest in Australian politics
When North Queensland Liberal MP George Christensen got the idea of launching a new political organisation…
Please enter your password
Help! I’ve succumbed to a crippling modern illness that can strike at any moment. Symptoms include:…
Nosebleed Section
choice ringside rantings
From: They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments
Michael S says:
"A teacher at Geelong Grammar had criticised her for using words that were too long, which had left her confused and had made her doubt her ability to write essays. She became ''quite distressed'' when her English marks began to fall." I can sympathise. My scholastic mentors conveyed to me a causal relationship… [read more]From: Welfare for breeders is a bonus for everyone
Change Up! says:
I have no problem paying my taxes. As a single, childless person on a very decent income, I can afford it and not have my life severely altered. Plus I understand that my taxes paying for things like schools, childcare and infrastructure is ultimately a good thing. A better community is better for me… [read more]Gentle jabs to the ribs
They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments
A private school girl’s family is sueing her elite, extremely expensive private school for not… Read more
Latest 2 of 74 comments
View all commentsAdd your comment