Why do people come down on a woman that doesn't breastfeed?
By shannon76
@shannon76 (1232)
United States
March 1, 2007 10:49am CST
I only breastfed my child for two months and after that I dried up. I had some people (including my mother-in-law and sister-in-law) constintly tell suggest things to help me bring my milk back and would always want me to talk to a doctor about and basically make me feel bad because in their eyes I didn't "try hard enough". Both of them breastfed their children for at least a year or so, so my two whole months wasn't of course good enough in their eyes. Besides that, what if I just didn't want to breastfeed? They make formula that is good for babies so why is it considered a crime to not breastfeed? I do understand the importance of breast vs bottle but at the same time, in my case, there was nothing I could do about it. I always had low milk supply and from day one had to supliment with milk. I feel that I tried my best. And my boy is healthy as can be. He is now 11 months old and just recently got sick for the first time.
So why do people (mostly other women) judge women who don't breastfeed???
1 person likes this
2 responses
@eden32 (3973)
• United States
2 Mar 07
Mothers seem to just judge each other harshly no matter what the subject. But perhaps your MIL & SIL just wanted to be helpful and make sure you knew how to keep your milk up. I know when I encounter a first time mom who tells me she stopped nursing early, it can be hard to tell if she stopped because she wanted to or because she needed more support & didn't have it from her family/friends/doctor etc. So if I can gently offer a few suggestions, maybe I can help her get back to something she didn't want to stop. And if she doesn't need the info, well it didn't hurt her to hear it.
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