The New Yorker Article

[polykow]

Here



A great article full of history.

[yoginisarah]

I loved that article! Thanks for sharing. I especially loved the picture they chose too- what a sweet, content, milk drunk baby!

[polykow]

Yes Its a great article and very well written. Jan Hunt from
Natural Child sent me.
She knows I am a big Lactivist and so is she.

[sarahr]

I loved that article. It made me really sad though.

[bri276]

so....we needlonger maternity leave? I think we would almost all agree (except for the rare woman who actually does want to return to their career ASAP). that's the pump's fault how? let's not put the cart before the horse. since right now, in reality, we do not have excellent maternity leave, we need to absolutely maximize women's rights to pump and store breastmilk in the workplace to facilitate breastfeeding. THAT is lactivism.

Pumps put milk into bottles, even though many of breast-feeding’s benefits to the baby, and all of its social and emotional benefits, come not from the liquid itself but from the smiling and cuddling (stuff that people who aren’t breast-feeding can give babies, too).

right....which is what the family member, daycare provider, nanny, etc. is doing when they feed the bottle of pumped milk. of course, that's not a substitute for mom, but wow, I'll let the mom decide for herself if she feels her relationship with her baby is being compromised by her working.

I guess this article is just a little too anti-pumping for me when the reality is, half of mothers work. the discussion about what led to the circumstance we're in today with many families requiring two incomes is very interesting, but the fact is, we're here, and what's best for babies is to get breastmilk somehow even if it's in a bottle. seems like more mommy wars to me, I hope I'm misinterpreting.

[mirlee]

Great article. Love the photo with it.

[polykow]

The article in not anti-pumping. The article is pro- mom-longer-maternity-leave-or other form of baby close to mom solution.
I have frends from another country in Europe (Czech sp?) And they give them 3 years maternity leave at 50% of the salary paid. They also give the father like 3 months or so to be home with mother.
Of course going back to work for some women ( not all some HAVE to and I do understand) is a choice and they can choose to do it sooner.
IS it better for baby? I don't think so.
But I have to say that I do take my hat off to pumping moms because I find pumping a hassle and I really don't care for it as it is so much work.
THose moms that work and pump are dedicated moms doing the best they can for babies.
Wouldn't it be better if those moms could stay home longer to bond and nurse their babies?
Absolutely.
Woudn't it be better if the moms had a choice?
Sure
but they don't. Most would have stayed home if they could. Some would choose to go back. And that is their choice but the way it is now is that most of those moms HAVE to go back to work and some NEED to go back a lot
earlier than 12 weeks.
Why not have a longer maternity leave, or have day care in the work place if possible ?
I went back to work with my first at 8 weeks but my employer was awesome and I took the baby to the office for almost 13 months.
I was not the first employee that had the priviledge.
There are work places that let you bring your dog. Its is becoming very popular but very, very few that let you bring a little baby.
I even took my son to a Conference at 4 months and people was so surprised how quite he was and not a problem at all. He just nursed and slept most of the time in my arms and played with everyone in the intervals.
I think that is what the article was all about.
Let make it easier for moms to be with the babies so they can nurse their child and bond.
That is waht I got from it.

[zinemama]

I heard the author interviewed on NPR and she did not sound anti-pumping to me in the least. Her point was that it's not the best solution for working mothers. She mentioned that while there's no money to be made off women staying home and breastfeeding, there's a bunch to be made off nursing mothers who need to pump at work. Resulting in pump companies sponsoring "pump rooms" in businesses, leading these businesses to be labeled super progressive. When what would really be progressive is a year's worth of paid leave for working mothers, like other countries have.

[bluetoes]

If/when I have another baby I am 100% committed to making breastfeeding work this time. I plan to stay home three months and get a good nursing relationship with my baby and my breastpump. I am lucky enough to have my own office at work so will pump on a good schedule. I am also close enough to daycare to go and nurse a time or two a day.

Still I am frightened I will suffer the fate of so many women who just can't manage to keep up their supplies while pumping and working. I just wish I could be off a full year like women in other countries are. If I could make it that first year without giving formula than I would be happy to give cow's milk at daycare and then nurse at home until baby self weans.

But not working isn't an option for us AT ALL now matter what we do so I guess when the time comes I just have to do the best I can and hope for the best. I just hope I can get a quiet pump and people start to actually respect the DO NOT DISTURB sign on my door when I have it up!

[polykow]

If/when I have another baby I am 100% committed to making breastfeeding work this time. I plan to stay home three months and get a good nursing relationship with my baby and my breastpump. I am lucky enough to have my own office at work so will pump on a good schedule. I am also close enough to daycare to go and nurse a time or two a day.

Still I am frightened I will suffer the fate of so many women who just can't manage to keep up their supplies while pumping and working. I just wish I could be off a full year like women in other countries are. If I could make it that first year without giving formula than I would be happy to give cow's milk at daycare and then nurse at home until baby self weans.

But not working isn't an option for us AT ALL now matter what we do so I guess when the time comes I just have to do the best I can and hope for the best. I just hope I can get a quiet pump and people start to actually respect the DO NOT DISTURB sign on my door when I have it up!

Good luck!
A few things that may help:
Do go nurse the baby as much as possible.
Do take good care of yourself
Surround your self with supportive friends
Start going to LaLeche meetings
Read aand learn about Lactation and pumping
my favorite website for that is here:kellymom
be confident it will work ( I have sucessfully breastfed two kids exclusive after breat reduction- still nursing almost 3 year old and di tandem for almost 20 months)
Take the days off to just chill with your baby and nurse as much as she wants.
Get a really good breatpump. It makes a difference.
Don't hesitate to ask for help.

[Yuba_River]

Originally Posted by bri276

so....we needlonger maternity leave? I think we would almost all agree (except for the rare woman who actually does want to return to their career ASAP). that's the pump's fault how? let's not put the cart before the horse. since right now, in reality, we do not have excellent maternity leave, we need to absolutely maximize women's rights to pump and store breastmilk in the workplace to facilitate breastfeeding. THAT is lactivism.


right....which is what the family member, daycare provider, nanny, etc. is doing when they feed the bottle of pumped milk. of course, that's not a substitute for mom, but wow, I'll let the mom decide for herself if she feels her relationship with her baby is being compromised by her working.

I guess this article is just a little too anti-pumping for me when the reality is, half of mothers work. the discussion about what led to the circumstance we're in today with many families requiring two incomes is very interesting, but the fact is, we're here, and what's best for babies is to get breastmilk somehow even if it's in a bottle. seems like more mommy wars to me, I hope I'm misinterpreting.

I see how it could be read this way, but from hearing her interviewed, I really got that she is not anti-pump per se, but feels that we are settling for too little. When we let companies off the hook by giving awards for having pumping rooms, rather than pushing harder for longer maternity leave, maybe we are missing an opportunity? By "we" she is talking more about the women's movement, and big organizations like NOW.

[AstridS]

Originally Posted by Yuba_River

I see how it could be read this way, but from hearing her interviewed, I really got that she is not anti-pump per se, but feels that we are settling for too little. When we let companies off the hook by giving awards for having pumping rooms, rather than pushing harder for longer maternity leave, maybe we are missing an opportunity? By "we" she is talking more about the women's movement, and big organizations like NOW.

This is the reaction I've gotten from mothers over here in Europe when they hear about the lack of mat. leave in the US. "Why do they put up with that?" "Why are they not protesting in the streets?" "Why are they not doing anything to change that?". I know it's not that easy. But it must be doable. After all, we have done it over here.

[rivkah]

I finally got out copy of the New Yorker yesterday. I hate reading stuff online, so I had only skimmed it earlier.

I thought it was a great article. I didn't find in anti-pumping. I found it to be critical of using breast pumps as the single solution for working mothers. I think it is important to keep in mind that this was written by a pumping (or once pumping) mother.

I thought that it was extremely interesting that some WIC offices fear an unexpected consequence of breast-pump distribution is a decline in breast-feeding.

I know at my office it is so accepted that women will pump (we have had quite a few births in the last 2 years for a small office), that I am dreading to ask if I can work at home in the afternoons after my LO is born this summer. I am afraid I am going to get a sort of, "Why? You can just pump your milk. Why do you need to be home?"

[krystyn33]

Originally Posted by AstridS

This is the reaction I've gotten from mothers over here in Europe when they hear about the lack of mat. leave in the US. "Why do they put up with that?" "Why are they not protesting in the streets?" "Why are they not doing anything to change that?". I know it's not that easy. But it must be doable. After all, we have done it over here.

Things get done here when there is a bunch of money behind the initiative (or money to be made). A mother stepping out of the workforce to be with her child and nurse directly is not supported financially (who is going to gain economically directly from this?) and there is little money to be made (compared to purchasing pumps, bottles, etc.). Money is the bottom line, IMO, but then there's also the fact that bottle feeding is so deeply entrenched in our culture and there's the whole "mommy wars" defensive guilt conflict which gets played up when anyone urges an exploration of the benefits of mothers staying home with their infants--including the benefits of breast over expressed milk in a bottle, etc. (And my highest regards go out to pumping moms--it is a lot of work and so much love goes into that great effort!) We need a cultural shift to take place to garner more support for keeping mothers and infants together--for too few women this is a matter of choice rather than survival.

I enjoyed the article so much--I don't think the author so much took a stand as posed the difficult questions.

[hparsh]

I found the article interesting, but as a working and pumping mom, I was annoyed by it. Of course I'd rather have better maternity leave so I could stay home and nurse my baby, but right now that's not an option because I have to work, and our maternity leave laws suck. Pumping is a royal PITA, but I made the commitment to give DS 100% BM for his first year of life.

I guess I am wondering who she is directing that article to? When I read it, it feels like she is putting down or criticizing pumping moms and telling us we should demand better maternity leave because the pump is inferior. Women have enough guilt heaped on them, no matter what choices they make in life, and this article feels like more of the same.

[BaBaBa]

I also enjoyed the article.

I found it very fair and balanced. It didn't comes across as pro or con anything to me but rather explain the current situation and trends in the US.

It does leave one to consider how modernity and women working outside the home has changed our very notions of nurturing and motherhood.

[bluetoes]

Originally Posted by hparsh

I

I guess I am wondering who she is directing that article to? When I read it, it feels like she is putting down or criticizing pumping moms and telling us we should demand better maternity leave because the pump is inferior. Women have enough guilt heaped on them, no matter what choices they make in life, and this article feels like more of the same.

That is exactly how I feel. I am neither pregnant nor TTC yet and I already feel like I am setting up an impossible task for myself, i.e. guilty! I just have to think positive though when the time comes and I am glad that I am more informed about the support available out there, including MDC!

[BaBaBa]

That is exactly how I feel. I am neither pregnant nor TTC yet and I already feel like I am setting up an impossible task for myself, i.e. guilty! I just have to think positive though when the time comes and I am glad that I am more informed about the support available out there, including MDC!

I'm curious because I'm a SAHM.... the guilt is because you aren't home with your baby or because they're drinking from a bottle instead of your breast?

[rparker]

I enjoyed the information on bf history, but the end of the article made me uneasy, particularly this paragraph:

Lately, some WIC officers have begun to worry that pump promotion might be backfiring, having “the unintended effect of discouraging breastfeeding.” But such cautions have hardly stopped the anti-formula fire and brimstone. Between 2004 and 2006, a National Breastfeeding Awareness Campaign included TV ads that likened a mother feeding her baby formula to a pregnant woman riding a mechanical bull: “You’d never take risks before your baby is born. Why start after?” No one seems especially worried about women whose risk assessment looks like this: “Should I take three twenty-minute pumping ‘breaks’ during my workday, or use formula and get home to my baby an hour earlier?”

(emphasis mine)

I'm a SAHM, but that last sentence in particular really irritated me; it seems designed to incite feelings of guilt in pumping moms and/or to devalue the sacrifice they're making for their babies. The tone of the entire paragraph downplays both the dangers of formula and the benefits of bf-ing. It also totally ignores the necessity of pumping to maintain supply while away from baby.

[hparsh]

Originally Posted by rparker

I enjoyed the information on bf history, but the end of the article made me uneasy, particularly this paragraph:

(emphasis mine)

I'm a SAHM, but that last sentence in particular really irritated me; it seems designed to incite feelings of guilt in pumping moms and/or to devalue the sacrifice they're making for their babies. The tone of the entire paragraph downplays both the dangers of formula and the benefits of bf-ing. It also totally ignores the necessity of pumping to maintain supply while away from baby.

I agree. I also disagree with how the article made it seem like pumping is so common that you see women everywhere doing it. Actually, very few women I know pump, let alone BF. Pumping is a LOT of work. It's not something women do because it's convenient or easier than BF. Most women do it because they have to.