Ok, Let's Talk About It.

Breastfeeding.

There has been some buzz in the blogosphere recently about the toll that breastfeeding takes on mothers. (Read the article.) Some women with very loud thoughts feel that breastfeeding chains them to their baby so that they can never get a moments peace. While others replied that a mother's job is to nurture and it should not feel like slavery if you really take it seriously.

Here's my reality:

We have a decent risk of diabetes on both sides of our family and a severe risk of chronic asthma; breastfeeding was a must for our family. I never even really considered an alternative, but I wasn't going to enter into this new chapter in our family's life without a bit of research.

I read books, talked to other women in and out of my family for their take on breastfeeding, and most importantly, talked to my husband about what we should do together. We committed to the first six months of breastfeeding. We bought a pump before the baby was born. We purchased all the supplies: bags, breast pads, nursing bras, all of it. I was still working outside the home at that point and I was not going to let the baby have anything other than breast milk. I loved breastfeeding so much that I kept it up till our oldest was able to have whole milk. (Even though the last few months of my job did not like me breastfeeding.)

Pumping may not please many intense breastfeeding mothers, but it is a solution for those that work outside the home or those that would appreciate the freedom to complete necessary parts of the day without disturbing the baby's routine. It also allows the father and others to enjoy feeding in a way they would not have been able to with exclusive breast feeding. And we always have to keep in mind the real possibilty of an emergency or illness that may take the mother away from the baby for some time....frozen breast milk is the best.

Alright, so enough about the joys of pumping. The bottom line is that mothers and fathers have to do the research and judge for themselves what is the best for their family. Set reasonable goals for yourself and don't listen to all those people that get bothered by the fact that you have committed to a natural way of feeding your baby. I read once that 90% of new mothers leave the hospital or birthing center committed to breastfeeding, but find that it was too difficult; only 30% stay committed.

It's not easy. There's nothing about parenting that is easy, but if you can, do the research and consider breastfeeding. And let's not be offended when some of us choose a different path. Maybe, just maybe, it's a deeper issue than just breastfeeding.