Monday, June 28, 2010

British magazine calls breastfeeding "creepy"

I was really annoyed to hear that the deputy editor at Britain's Mother and Baby magazine called breastfeeding "creepy." Kathryn Blundell wrote in a July 10th article that she couldn't stomach the idea of her baby taking over her "fun bags" (her words) and that she just "wanted [her] body back. (And some wine.)" Furthermore, "even the convenience and health benefits couldn't induce [her] to stick [her] nipple into a bawling baby's mouth."

Grrrr. This really bothers me, especially when Blundell has such a wide-reaching platform for her nonsense. Breastfeed or don't breastfeed--its up to you--but how dare she, especially as the editor of a parenting magazine, write something so insensitive and uninformed?

First off, we don't have breasts just for our (or our significant others') sexual pleasure. We have them primarily so that we may feed our babies--how can their natural function be construed as "creepy?"

Secondly, you can certainly enjoy alcohol in moderation while breastfeeding. Or did Blundell intend to get smashed on a regular basis? With a new baby, I would think she had other, more important things to focus on?

Finally, I'm just getting fed up with this new crop of "super cool" mommies who think its really funny to constantly talk about their children as if they are cramping their style. Don't get me wrong--I'm a wise-ass New Yorker and I'll joke around about poop explosions with the best of them--but Blundell seems like one of these ladies who is pissed she has to change diapers instead of going out for cosmos or because she now has to carry a diaper bag instead of her Coach (get a Coach diaper bag lady!)

Yes, we want our bodies back after nine months of pregnancy and, yes, life maybe isn't as raucously booze-filled as it was in our early twenties, but you chose to have a baby (and keep that baby) so get over yourself!

More importantly, even though times get rough (and will get rougher when that baby becomes a teenager), please don't ever talk about your children as if they are anything less than blessing... and, if you have a lapse in judgement, for God's sake don't publish it in a national magazine!

The Sun (UK) has an article about the whole thing HERE (link fixed!) if you're interested in reading more. Although, one of the women interview for the article is almost as bad as Blundell saying "I would never have got my boobs out in front of male relatives, my father-in-law would have had a heart attack!"

Um, nobody's asking you to breastfeed in public if you aren't comfortable with it. How do people get these thoughts in their head?

2 comments:

  1. Oh for cryin out loud. This is just another case of people being under educated about a topic yet writing about it like they're an expert. Even the bottle-feeding mom in the article you linked (the link is a little wonky by the way) said that she started out nursing and quit after a month. TOTALLY COUNTS!

    Oh! And did you notice how she talked about the hospital staff trying to get her to keep trying? Kinda different from what goes on in the USA, huh?

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