Homeschool Fiction

As a longtime breastfeeding advocate (I used to photograph women breastfeeding children of all ages in my photography studio in Iowa), I rarely talk about this subject anymore since my children are well past weaning themselves  (and I rarely think about breastfeeding anymore, although it used to consume my entire life).

However, with breastfeeding so negatively portrayed in the media lately, I have to speak up!  At a glance, things appear worse now than when I was breastfeeding my eldest twelve years ago (e.g. Facebook censoring breastfeeding photographs), yet I believe these negative events surrounding breastfeeding are actually fewer now — where they just used to be ignored, they are now found media worthy.  Due to positive ad campaigns like the life sized cutout breastfeeding women in California , it is becoming well known that breastmilk is far superior to all infant formulas and that feeding a child at the breast is a natural part of human life (and shouldn’t be looked upon with raised eyebrows).

Do Life Right’s official stance: Breastmilk is by far the most superior food an infant and baby can consume.  Babies (and toddlers) should be allowed to wean themselves at their own pace, and not before 12 months of age (ideally much much later, especially when healthy foods aren’t available for the child to consume).  Breastfeeding itself is about more than nutrition, it is also about the connection between mother and child, and the prevention of various diseases in both the mother and the child.  All around, breastfeeding is incredibly beneficial!

What you can do:

• Encourage women to breastfeed their children openly, with no shame, in all public places.  No woman should feel as though she needs to hide away to feed her child, nor have to put a blanket over her child in order to feed him in public.
• Allow your own children to feed on demand, as you can, until they wean themselves.
• Stand up for the rights of our babies to receive the very best nutrition and nourishing available.
• If you aren’t comfortable being around a woman who is breastfeeding her child, examine those reasons and realize that it’s about you — not the well being of the child who needs to eat and be held.  Learn the facts!

Click on one of these links for more information about breastfeeding:

• La Leche League International
• Breastfeeding.com
• The American Academy of Pediatrics stance on Breastfeeding
• The World Health Organization’s stance on Breastfeeding

Related Articles:

• 12; Twelve; A WHOLE Dozen
• Breast Cancer Prevention — It is possible! — Part 1
• Vegan Bashing and Sabotage
• 13 Things Zoë has Given Me
• “How much time does Unschooling take?”

By: Lisa