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Whip 'Em Out Mamis : It's World Breastfeeding Week

08:43 H | Topics: Children - Food - Health - Women

I already took heat for expressing myself about taking heat for breastfeeding in public, for supporting women who choose not to breastfeed or who cannot for numerous reasons, and for suggesting of all things that there is ::gasp:: racism in some lactivist circles. The debate on when, where, and how to breastfeed rages especially loud this week as it is World Breastfeeding Week called for by World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, a partnership that includes the World Health Organization, UNICEF, La Leche League International and a host of lactation specialists and consultants.

The event, which will be celebrated in more than 120 countries from Aug. 1 through Aug. 7 this year, includes an attempt to create a Guinness World Record on synchronized breastfeeding in multiple sites. The event will start at 10 a.m. local time in each country on Aug. 8. Participants register at the Breastfeeding World Web site to be counted.

Interestingly enough the list of participating Latin American and Hispanic countries is small and certainly there has been little outreach in the Spanish speaking community here in NYC where breastfeeding advocates are cheering the decision to stop formula company gift bags given to new mamis at NYC public hospitals.

There are many barriers to breastfeeding among women of color in urban areas including the challenges of working mothers, short maternity leaves if any (I had none with my first child), and general employer and public lack of awareness and support for mothers who breastfeed. Uninsured women face additional challenges and government programs such as WIC, while promoting breastfeeding on paper, are still very formula oriented. And I am not even mentioning the cost barriers including access to breast pumps and lactation consultants.

A huge complaint heard by all mothers who experience hospital births are the interventions by hospital staff that impede the early nursing process, key for both mother and child, including tests given to the newborn that separate mother and child, and the administration of medication that dry up mothers' milk.

While many states are initiating legislation to promote and enforce the rights of breastfeeding women, the biggest challenge that has to be overcome is an attitudinal one. Many women feel that as a child gets older , breastmilk doesn't fill and they begin to supplement with formula without really needing to. There is also the misconception that only tiny babies should be breastfed, with people often asking anyone who breastfeeds a child over three months, "How long you gonna do that for?" The World Health Organization, and others, say that babies should be exclusively breastfed until six months of age.

What really needs to happen are more grassroots support organizations from within communities. While organizations like La Leche League mean well, them coming into inner city 'hoods and preaching feels suspect to many. Who better to learn from than a comadre or a vecina?

Via / Women's eNews

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