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Shaming women for not breastfeeding is really shitty.

• conductr 6y ago
  And really common. We've actually heard horror stories of the lactation nurses can be the worst. Personally, we're pretty open about the fact that my wife had a double mastectomy yet we still got "I would never" type of shade thrown our way for formula feeding. The struggle is real and it's not the right time to be shaming a new mother.
  • jjeaff 6y ago
    It's insane that anyone would try to shame a mother for things like this. As if their entire life at least for those first few months isn't already filled with self inflicted shame and fear of doing something wrong. To add to that, while I agree that mother's milk is best, the difference is vanishingly small in most studies. We are talking about a few percentage points in aggregate, just enough to be statistically significant. We had a good lactation consultant and I think she explained it well. All else being equal, breastfeeding is best. But if you have to choose between a mentally and physically well mother and breast feeding, I would choose a healthier mother, everytime.
• rblatz 6y ago
  Agreed 100%, the pro-breastfeeding movement on the whole is a great movement that attacked some really bad medical advice from last century. But it has gone way too far, to the point that women feel ashamed or guilty for not being able to breast feed their child. My wife had difficulties breastfeeding our daughter and ended up doing exclusive pumping for over a year. It was a huge strain on her, both mentally and physically. Then she still felt guilty for not being able to actually breast feed our daughter directly. Any woman that is able to provide any amount of breastmilk for any amount of time is an absolute saint. Women who can't or choose not to are also amazing and no one should be shaming or second guessing their choice on how to best take care of themselves and their child.