Quantcast
Channel: Mother By Nature » Lactivism
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 7

Bragging about Breastfeeding

0
0

When I say to the world:

I exclusively breastfed my infant until 6 months;

I continued to breastfeed my daughter until she was 3 and a half;

My child never had a drop of formula;

I am not braggin

g

.

I am not saying “look what a great mom I am.”

I am not saying “I am so much better than you, you who failed at breastfeeding, you who gave up, you who weaned at a year, you who chose the bottle.”

In any other area, in any other subject, in any other endeavour, a person who is successful at something is held up as a role model. They serve as an inspiration to others, an example of how achieving this is indeed possible. Especially when it’s just a ‘regular person’ who has met this success, with no special talent or training.

I’m just a regular person. I succeeded because I had the fortune of information. Enough strong information that I knew what to do when I faced obstacles, whether from doctors giving me faulty advice (which they did) or when it was just difficult. I understood what was happening and what was to be done about it.

Formula marketing and societal pressures tell us “breastfeeding is difficult, and you will probably fail. Most women do. So why bother trying?”

Instead, let us say “breastfeeding can be difficult, but you could very well succeed. Many women do. So it’s worth the effort.”

Sharing success stories in all areas of life serves to motivate and encourage each other. If it’s something that many people struggle with, then we look at what successful people do differently, and we learn from that. Without judgement. It’s just the logical thing to do. We don’t say “well most people don’t succeed, so let’s not bother learning from those who do.” We don’t say “those people who do succeed are so holier-than-thou, they just want to make the rest of us feel bad.”

In breastfeeding, it should be no different. I did it. You probably can too. If you feel you can’t, then let’s honestly look at what the moms who succeed at breastfeeding did differently, and learn from that. You still might not make it as far. You might not succeed as highly as you would like. You might face obstacles too difficult to overcome. But it is still worth the effort, and it is still worth looking at the success stories as inspiration and role models — not as braggarts trying to make you feel bad.

           

Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 7

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images