VivirLatino

Great article until the end where you tell everyone reading that it is OKAY to not breastfeed.

Kind of like publishing an article on not smoking due to cancer and then saying at the end that you smoked for 30 years and are fine.

Always exceptions to the rule and always folks out there that want to be right about their choices.

http://www.babyreference.com/InfantDeaths.htm

Glad that you and your first daughter are fine. Sad that other Latinas and their babies have to suffer the consequences of postpartum depression, less bonding, sick babies and quick next pregnancies since this country does not value mommy's milk. Sad, indeed.

I am currently a breastfeeding mami. I said that it's ok not to breastfeed because of the huge guilt trip that many lactivist orgs like to lay on mamis who choose not to breastfeed or who cannot breastfeed. I was one of those mamis who was told by mainly white Attachment parents and their orgs that I was basically killing my kid because I didn't breastfeed.

I believe that breast is best and that's why I exclusively breastfeed now, but that was not an option for me as a 19 year old single mami 10 years ago when I had to return to a minimum wage gig to provide for my new family very soon after giving birth. My job didn't have nursing rooms, or pumping stations. We need to be really careful and recognize some of the barriers that prevent working class and poor women of color from breastfeeding.

What a wonderful article. As Latinas we do need to support each other and make others aware of the importance of breastfeeding. This has encouraged me to reach out to other latinas and volunteer somewhere to get the information out there. Well done!

I find it hard to believe that any organization "likes to lay a guilt trip" on anyone. Lactivists are trying to get info out there, true info, and I believe that articles like yours do a disservice to those women who may be on the fence about whether or not to breastfeed. Guilt comes from within.

Formula does have risks, and it's not a guilt trip I'm trying to lay on you but the truth. The reasons why people don't breastfeed do not change the risks. That's not to say that it's always feasible. It isn't, and because of that, formula is a lifesaver. But to just shrug off the risks does not promote breastfeeding, it waters down the message and perpetuates the cycle of fewer breastfed kids.

Re your comment that White Attachment parents told you you were basically killing your child:
Is this really what you were told, or what you heard?

You believe that breast is best? I don't. I believe that breast is normal. Saying it's "best" is like saying that it's above and beyond what a baby's body is expected. It doesn't lower any risks. It doesn't promote higher IQ. NOT breastfeeding RAISES risks, and NOT breastfeeding promotes LOWER IQ.

Thanks for listening; I know my comments sound harsh but sometimes watering down the truth hurts more than it helps.

Re your comment that White Attachment parents told you you were basically killing your child:
Is this really what you were told, or what you heard?

Just the fact that you question what my experiences were as a young single Latina mother, and what other women of color and poor women have experienced is telling. You downplay my personal experiences and the experiences of others. Such poor listening is what is often experienced by many women at so called breastfeeding support meetings which is why so many women have formed "alternatives" groups that are responsive and reflective of our realities.

Jennifer : Right on! This is what we need to do, reach out and work within our communities so that as mujeres we can make educated choices and support each other in those choices.

"Just the fact that you question what my experiences were as a young single Latina mother, and what other women of color and poor women have experienced is telling. "

First of all, I didn't know you were a young single mother. Was that in your article?? Second, what is telling is that you didn't answer my question. And that's all it was, a question.

"You downplay my personal experiences and the experiences of others."

I didn't downplay anything. I asked a question.

" Such poor listening is what is often experienced by many women at so called breastfeeding support meetings which is why so many women have formed "alternatives" groups that are responsive and reflective of our realities. "

So-called breastfeeding support meetings? What does that mean? That there's another agenda being pushed? LOL!
What are these alternate groups?

You seem to think I have my own agenda to push, and I do--same as you--to help mujeres make educated choices. One cannot make educated choices if one's mind is closed.

I find it interesting that the comment policy on this site states: "Any and all outright racist, supremacist...language is prohibited" and yet you are able to make it sound as though "white attachment parents" are at fault for your perceived difficulties with breastfeeding your first child. Pot, meet kettle.

Perhaps *you* were the one who was not listening.

As for your article: it was perfectly fine until you added that last paragraph. Your statement that you and your daughter are "fine" is not only scientifically baseless, but false. Formula alters the health and/or development of every individual who is fed it instead of the biologically appropriate milk produced by his or her own mother.

Sorry, I must disagree that it is OK to not breastfeed. Your breasts are there for a reason, to norish your children.

In our research (large hospital, pretending to be a college) we have found breastfeeding is very beneficial to children. This is true in more ways than we originally thought and we are still discovering new benefits. If at all possible, I would recommend breastfeeding, unless you have a medical condition that prevents this. True formula is not a bad substitute, but the real thing is always better and is customized to your child.

I also want to give a gigantic thumbs up to the entire community for having the highest percentage of breastfeeding moms, of any ethnic group - 86%!

I think people are missing my point, I am a breastfeeding mami and my baby is now almost a year , so I am probreast but I didn't breastfeed my first daughter for numerous reasons and I don't think we should guilt mamis because they can't or choose not to breastfeed.