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Christianity Today, April (Web-only), 2009 |

The Politics of the Pump

How breast-feeding became the new front in the Mommy Wars — and why I'm going to breast-feed my first child.

Christine J. Gardner | posted 4/22/2009 09:03AM

The Mommy Wars are alive and well. In the latest skirmish, the attack is squarely on the most womanly of arts: breast-feeding. Harvard historian Jill Lepore fires the first volley in the January issue ...

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Karen Holmberg-Smith

Posted: April 24, 2009 9:37 PM

Thanks so much for this article. I bore my one child while working as an ordained pastor, and chose to breast-feed her. I took her to meetings and Bible studies as much as possible, but after the first couple of months she also went to daycare. Some people loved it, and others hated it, but I felt that both the bonding and the health-benefits have had long-term consequences. As a pastor, I have reassured women that not breast-feeding is not a sin; as a mother, I was grateful that I could do so for my child.

Jinny Brow

Posted: April 23, 2009 4:37 PM

I was raised a feminist and wasn't expecting to stay home and raise kids, but as a university student studying nutrition, when my husband and I found out I was pregnant the first time, I had no hesitation about choosing to breast-feed. Was I pleasantly surprised! Breast-feeding really helped me bond with and love that baby (and the next 2) and get over having to "give up my freedom" to be a mom. Another point: I find the debate over whether breast milk is best rather laughable! Clearly, studies are showing routinely that more natural foods are more full of nutritive value than artificial foods in almost all cases, whether for adults or for kids. Every year that food is studied, more elements are discovered that are good for us that we missed supplementing for for decades. I'm sure that will continue to happen for breast milk, as has happened already many times. There is a clear superiority of breast milk over formula for most babies from a nutritional standpoint.

Robyn

Posted: April 23, 2009 10:10 AM

Sorry, Gabrielle, but I disagree with you. The fact that the question of breastfeeding is usually laden with judgement seems clear by your response to me. Therefore, I choose not to discuss it, as it is a personal decision and no one else's business. While you are right that the Bible says that we are to treat our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit, many take that too far and treat their bodies as idols in and of themselves, elevating breastfeeding and breastmilk to an idolic status that, in my opinion, it doesn't deserve. Is breastmilk the best food for an infant? Yes, of course. Is formula *wrong* or *sinful*? No. Most parents are just doing the best they can with what they have. By the way, I consider the question "Are you saved?" to be highly personal as well, and would refuse to answer it if I felt it was asked in the argumentative and judgemental way that "Did you breastfeed?" often is. I don't need to justify my decisions to others who just want to argue with me.

fikalo

Posted: April 23, 2009 7:22 AM

I don't know how things are in America but here in Australia there seem to be 2 main thoughts: (a) breastfeeding is normal and natural and should be freely practised (b) it's disgusting and shouldn'tt be seen in public. I'm of the former, and successfully breastfed two children until close to the age of 2 years each. As an allergy prone and pro-breastfeeding family it made sense. I could spend a lot of time espusing the benefits of breasfeeding on multiple levels. In Australia free support is available for nursing mothers and financial assistance available for most stay-at-home mothers. I made the conscious choice to devote my time to staying with the children through their early years. Difficult at times but always worth it.

Kim	Posted: April 22, 2009 10:39 PM

This was a good article. As an experienced mom I promise you that you will not regret giving breastfeeding a try. In a few cases breastfeeding does not work out but in most cases it does and there are people that will help you (Lactation Consultant, Le Leche League) if you run into problems. This was a much better article that either Judith Warner's article or Hannah Rosen's. I hope it will be as widely read. I always encourage new moms to breastfeed but at the same time mothers ( especially Christian mothers!) should try to understand and support each other rather than having a "war". What does that accomplish? For mothers who want to continue to give their babies their own milk yet leave the baby in the care of others for part of the day to work or volunteer breast pumps are a great boon. For mothers who cannot or choose not to breastfeed then bottles fill the bill. I am an avid supporter of breastfeeding and consider it one of the best times of my life. Great Article!

Anonymous

Posted: April 22, 2009 6:54 PM

I breastfed my two kids and I'm very glad I did. It was hard at first and sometimes inconvenient, but I figured bottle-feeding would be too, and I really enjoyed the intimacy of breastfeeding. It does seem, though, that some women approach aspects of mothering with unrealistically high expectations concerning how "fulfilling" or "bond-enducing" it all is. The same dilemma of whether to nurse or not can be extended to whether to strive for natural childbirth or use drugs. I mean, having a baby without using drugs can become a status symbol, a sign you're "more" of a mother!

EF	Posted: April 22, 2009 6:24 PM

This is a good article to a point, however, it seems that some people take almost a holier-than-thou attitude about this topic. Breastfeeding is designed by God, however even in Biblical days when bottlefeeding was not an option, there were always women who served as a "wet nurse", or surrogate breast-feeding mother. There are many situations which would necessitate another option and dependent upon the culture, these options will vary. There is no need to make anyone feel "less-than" because they do not or cannot breastfeed their baby. For those that choose that and are successful it is a blessing. For those who cannot for whatever reason and bottlefeeding is the answer, that is also a blessing. Children are a blessing from the Lord....have never seen Biblical instruction for breastfeeding. On a personal note, I was a failure-to-thrive baby for 2 months as my mother chose to breastfeed me and I am an adoptive mother myself so breastfeeding was not an option for me with 3 days notice.

Barbara

Posted: April 22, 2009 4:46 PM

To breast feed or not to breast feed: the question shouldn't be such a big deal. I had two children and chose to bottle feed both of them...and they're happy, productive Harvard and UC Berkeley grads with no allergies or health problems. God gave us all sorts of resources and most of us use only a percentage of them. I actually think our society's focus on the importance of breast feeding is quite odd. From conception to age 21 we present our children with a wide range of opportunities, advantages, mistakes, disadvantages and experiences. Breast feeding is but a small percentage of the total. Women should not be pressured into breast feeding by society. In the scheme of things, breastfeeding has a very small impact on the person to be.

Kurt	Posted: April 22, 2009 4:04 PM

My wife is a senior paralegal and I'm a respiratory therapist at a local trauma center. Our twin son and daughter were born early at 28 & 1/2 weeks after >12 hours of brutal back labor via emergent c-section. Providing them with what was intended by the Lord was obvious to us. My wife has pumped for two years in May for these beautiful children the Lord has gifted us! She is truly amazing! She wakes at 2am and pumps every 2 hours. She pumps during her commute to work, at work and at home again. Although she (and I) can't wait to stop in May, she's said she'd do it again in a heartbeat. In this day of convenience and excuses, providing the ideal food for babies is sadly rationalized away. I also agree that this is a personal choice and there are some good reasons not to breast feed/pump, but the ideal choice (supported by AAP-see link below) for children is mom's milk, period. http://www.aap.org/breastfeeding/policyOnBreastfeedingAndUseOfHumanMilk .html

Gabrielle

Posted: April 22, 2009 3:12 PM

Hi Robyn, I would have to disagree with you on the question being "highly personal". It's not any more personal than, "Are you saved?" or "What's your middle name?". As Christian's we are called to treat our bodies as temples. Breastfeeding treats both the mother's and the baby's bodies as temples. It also saves millions of dollars in health care costs every year. Of course, there are times when breast feeding is just not possible (about 3% of the time). But most women can, and should, be providing breastmilk for their offspring. Honestly, it should be considered an extension of pregnancy. Thanks, Christine, for a great article.

Robyn

Posted: April 22, 2009 2:15 PM


Perhaps no one has asked you if you are going to breastfeed because that is a highly personal question that could only be appropriatel asked by the most intimate of your friends and family. How I feed my infant is no one's business unless I choose to discuss it.

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