Roadblocks to breastfeeding for low income mothers - Page 3

[mamadelbosque]

BF was really hard for me the first week or so because DS had problems latching on. But I was lucky. My MW, and especially one of my nurses in the hospital were both super helpful - and on day 2 or 3 we finally saw the LC and she helped a bunch. Additionally, my dad was super supportive and so was DH to aa lesser degree. My mom EBF both me and my brother and so when she finally got here a week or so later, helped a ton too.

That said - not having much money can be a real struggle. But you do *not* need 90% of what is advertised as you "needing". Nipple shields aren't neccassary, and niether are breast pads (as long as you aren't too worried about a little leakage). A breastfeeding pillow (like Boppy) is super (IMO) helpful, but not neccasry either - I was surviving just fine using whatever pillows I had on hand before I was given mine.

As for WIC - its true every office is a little bit different. Some are super supportive of BF, some are not. Honestly if yours isn't try to find another one in the next county/city and see what they say just stop by and say "hey I'm in WIC in county X and need some support - they aren't giving it - what can you do for me?".

[fluffypenguin]

I guess I am one of the minority here. I live in the SE us (South of Atlanta, GA). I have NEVER had a problem with WIC and breast pumps. Then again, both of my kids were considered medically fragile when they were wee babes. With both kids, I had use of a medical grade breast pump rented from the hospital and paid for by WIC until they were "older" infants. 6 months for my daughter and 8 months for my son.

I guess I am an oddball too. I have seen more rich, white women formula feed versus the low income minority women who have actually extended breastfeed around here. I do not think that race or social status really plays into weather or not you breastfeed. In fact, most people that I know feel like breastfeeding is cheaper. Either that, or the fact that our local WIC office requires attendance at breastfeeding classes or a consult with a lactation consultant before giving out vouchers must play a role in education.

I must be the oddball in all of this because I have never gotten a negative comment when NIP. I have never had any issues with other people when it comes to breastfeeding. For me it has been a rather positive experience. I am sad to see that it is not that way for everyone.

[fluffypenguin]

I also think that a lot of moms have to learn to be vocal and speak up for themselves.

You have to educate yourself on how the system works and be your own advocate. If you know what WIC is supposed to offer and the office is shortchanging you, then you have to speak up. I think not knowing how things work or what is available is part of the problem as well.

[Nodtveidt]

Maybe it's the people in the middle that are most likely to BF...the working middle-class crowd with the typical setup...breadwinner husband, stay-at-home mother. There are definitely a lot of what I call "snob-class" people who don't BF, and I've seen countless poverty-level mothers FF but almost never BF (in fact, I'd never seen a single one BF until I came to PR, where I see them from time to time). My DW and I could be considered middle-class, we have everything we need and are still able to get the things we want most of the time, as we tend to make more money than most of the community around us. Maybe that financial advantage allows us time to do our research? I don't know. What I do know though is that formula companies make sure you know about their garbage and they'll do anything to push it onto you. There is little corporate interest in BFing, so having that same level of exposure is impossible, especially to people who perhaps can't afford an internet connection and might also lack the education necessary to learn about all of this (it's no secret that poverty-level people statistically tend to lack education, the US public school system is VERY discriminatory in this regard; DW's family is heavily involved in public schooling so we get front-row tickets to see the Screw You Show).

[MillingNome]

I was very low income when dd was born. I had to do everything on the cheap and one of the places to go cheap was bfing. I did two nursing bras but stopped using them after a couple months. I folded up cotton socks (gawd, I was so broke) and used those for breast pads. There wasn't alot of information got from WIC and the hospital though. That was 13 years ago so maybe they're better now. One thing to think about is what low income jobs out there make it more likely to get time to pump or better yet bring your baby with you. If it's a low income job that has little chance for advancing why stay if you can find another one that is more willing to accommodate you. I had a job as a nanny when I had dd and was able to bring her with. Yes, I admit. I was lucky! When I had ds, both I and another coworker brought the babies with us to the office. It was mostly data entry, lots and lots of data entry. Maybe a place to look at, in making bfing possible for low income mamas, is what jobs make it easier.

I am unsure how to counter the ways bf'ing is viewed by others around the nursing mama. Some things are so ingrained.

To the op- thank you for your post. It was alot to think about

[cjuniverse]

Fluffypenguin -

Nobody, anywhere, makes any sort of decision in a vacuum. Including how or what to feed their children. Not possible. We are all part and parcel and on some level products of our cultures and family dynamics. There's no escaping it.

I am so so glad you've had a positive experience in general with breastfeeding!! That's wonderful, and I sincerely wish more people will share in your experience in the coming decades. But please understand that there are many, many, many people out there who experience the exact opposite, do not have the support or sense of self or self-sufficiency you do, and are not educated to the degree about certain things that you obviously are.

As such, they will not see things the way you do, experience things the way you do, or come to the same decisions/make the same choices you have. They live in different worlds, in different communities and sub-communities, and have a completely different ways of looking at the world, interacting in it and reacting to it. In short, they are not you, they have not lived your life as you, and they are not privy to the circumstances and entitlements you are.

It's very upsetting to me to read responses like yours to posts like the OP's and mine. Responses that paint any and all experience with a broad brush and assertions that "If I did it, they should be able to do it to", and/or "This is my experience, therefore it must be everyone else's, otherwise they are exaggerating, lying, or missing something". That's how your post read, in case you were unaware. This line in particular was very telling: "I do not think that race or social status really plays into weather or not you breastfeed." Please understand that there is an awful lot of assumption and privilege behind that statement! Just because you have a certain set of experiences (and opinions) does not mean that everyone else does.

You are very, very, very fortunate to have had the experiences with breastfeeding that you have. You are lucky. You are not the rule. You are the exception. Again, which is great! Hopefully, this exception will become the rule in time. But know that it is, at this time, the exception. A large number of mothers struggle with breastfeeding on one level or another, because it is not the standard in our culture. It should be, everyone should have experiences similar (identical!) to yours, but they don't. Sad, disappointing, frustrating, unbelievable, yes. But true all the same.


Once more:

"I do not think that race or social status really plays into weather or not you breastfeed."

What accounts for the differences in breastfeeding rates among different races/ethnicities/classes in this country, then? What factors do you think make the biggest difference in whether or not a person breastfeeds their child? Do you truly think race/class issues have *nothing* to do with the issue, have no influence/bearing on the subject at all? If so, why?

This post is a bit on the testy side, I understand. I'm a bit testy right now. Having seen what I've seen, it really blows my mind that people cannot understand how life circumstances affect life choices. It's simple logic to me.

Then again, you have not seen what I've seen. Still, it would seem sensible to at least acknowledge the fact that people who live very different lives/in very different worlds would not always come to the same conclusion you/I would about stuff.