It’s World Breastfeeding Week sponsored by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), a global network of individuals and organizations concerned with the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding worldwide.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “breastfeeding contributes to a lifetime of good health. Adults who were breastfed as babies often have lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol, as well as lower rates of overweight, obesity and type-2 diabetes. There is evidence that people who were breastfed perform better in intelligence tests.” And, “Breastfeeding also benefits mothers. … It reduces risks of breast and ovarian cancer later in life, helps women return to their pre-pregnancy weight faster, and lowers rates of obesity.” WHO recommends women have at least 16 weeks off from work after giving birth in order to adequately rest and breastfeed their child. However the organization reports many women abandon breastfeeding before the recommended six months because they lack the time and a place to breastfeed or pump at work.
Here in the U.S. women definitely struggle to find the time and space to breastfeed. Most women are lucky if they can take 12 weeks maternity leave. I pumped in an electrical closet full of spiders when I returned to work 12 weeks after my son was born. My supervisor, who suggested I quit when I told her I was pregnant, told me it was up to me to figure out how and where to pump at work.
When I returned to a different job following eight weeks of unpaid leave after my daughter was born, I pumped in a common area bathroom. That boss told me she was withholding my bonus because I got pregnant and only had this to say about my breastfeeding, “You’re not going to put that milk in the fridge, are you?” I didn’t. I brought my own cooler to the office.
Women hear such a mixed message when it comes to having children. Embrace motherhood, raise good and healthy children, earn a living (because we need your income) but manage it all on your own time behind closed doors. Just last week The Mama Bee was harassed by a conductor on the Long Island Railroad because she was breastfeeding her baby on the train. Her story is upsetting and sadly still too common. Read it here.
The Mama Bee writes about the fact there are men who are comfortable viewing women’s breasts for pleasure but not for nourishment. I wonder where the support for breastfeeding is from the people who made pregnancy a preexisting condition, don’t want women to have control over when they have children and fail to implement family-friendly policies in the workplace?
Visit the WABA website to learn more about the benefits of breastfeeding and what we can do to support nursing mothers.
