If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Plainly, "natural living" has a deep foothold among the political left. Reproductive rights, however, vividly reveal how the progressive thrust of advocacy for a "natural" life can have profoundly conservative implications.
Think about breasts. Breasts. Is there a female body part with which our society is more obsessed than breasts? Is there any obsession so equally matched by inherent shame?
Nothing made me happier than motherhood, despite the loneliness of the suburbs. Despite the fact that my husband left early in the morning and came home well after nine at night. Despite the fact that I missed my mom, my friends, my touchstones.
Dr. George H. Napheys' advice on pregnancy and nursing is totally insane, but much of his child rearing advice still applies.
"We want pregnant and breastfeeding women to have good information and to know that they are not alone and they don't have to sacrifice their wellbeing for their baby's health. We want to help them make good decisions with their health care providers."
In 2005, I was a new mother -- dreamy, sleep-deprived, but also acutely aware of the sharp new changes in my life. The profundity of my newest relationship to an 8-pound, bald person I had just met, trumped all.
No one would breastfeed for a year (which is really just the minimum recommendation) if we could not continue with our lives while doing so. If we were stuck at home, unable to go shopping, eat at restaurants or play with our older children, it would be impossible.
Adoption is a lot of things. It is a prism. It is an hourglass. It is dark cave. It is a light at the end of a terrifying tunnel. It is a beginning.
I've been an advocate for formula-feeding without shame, and I believe with every ounce of my mama heart that babies who are nourished with formula are still fed with love. Still, I am desperate to nurse.
"I breastfed my friend's baby," Alice blurts out. If I were drinking coffee, this would be the perfect spit-take moment. Feelings started rapidly running through my body -- quickly flipping through disgust, confusion, intrigue and acceptance like they were cards in a Rolodex file.
Breastfeeding whenever, wherever a child is hungry is an integral component of breastfeeding success. To take that away is to inhibit mothers who only want to do right by their child.
Last Monday night was the very last time that I nursed Avery. If I had known it was going to be our last, I would have savored it more.
Americans want nursing moms to get the support they need in hospitals, workplaces and public spaces.
There is great hope that we can finally stop infants from getting infected with HIV by their mothers. But first, countries with high rates of HIV infection must work out how to deliver reliable health programs to protect babies form their mothers' infected breast milk.
Here are 11 things never to say to a breastfeeding mother.
As babies like to do when their mothers are seconds away from taking the first bite of a meal, my infant son started to cry. He was crying because he was hungry. I tried to decide if I should feed him or just eat a few bites of bagel myself. Feed him or eat? Feed him or eat?
Most Popular
