Will "Too Much" Pumping Curtail the Progress We Have Made?
Saturday, January 17th, 2009
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Jill Lepore wrote this article for The New Yorker magazine. I felt it was a very interesting and thought-provoking piece talking about, among other things, the increase in pumping in our culture and the possibility of it having a negative affect on the progress we have made with women's rights to breastfeed in public.
National Public Radio interviewed Jill Lepore on the same subject.
Tell me what you think and leave a comment over at Motherwear too!
Comments
Diane Sam
January 20th, 2009 @ 4:22 pm:
Wendy Armbruster Bell
February 9th, 2009 @ 10:35 am:
Thanks for the insightful comment Diane. I absolutely agree.
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Definitely a thought provoking article, and I'm glad you posted a link to it. As much as I support pumping, I don't really support it as an out-and-out substitute for breastfeeding. Promoting it as an "easy/convenient" alternative can lead to the mis-guided idea that it's just as good as direct breastfeeding. It isn't. If you do it too early, it can lead to your milk production slowing down. Do it too often, and you can become engorged, etc...
For preemie babies, babies who can't latch, moms with health problems, it is *Invaluable*. After nursing's been established for a while, when you need to go out or whatever, it's great. It's great for allowing moms who have to return to work to continue to feed their babies breastmilk.
But let's not think that its' convenience lets society off the hook - we still need to support and encourage breastfeeding, including extended maternity leave, health care coverage for lactation support, better education for healthcare professionals etc...