Normally I don't get all political on this blog. It's about being a parent, raising children, and trying to be a little bit more sustainable in the process. Politics really has no place here, but when it comes to a mother's rights, maybe this is the perfect forum.
Just the other day a friend of mine posted this article. The article is about the popular educational show for children, Sesame Street. I'm sure most of my readers remember watching the show when they were little, if not watching it with their own children more recently. Sesame Street has covered a good deal of topics, not just in the standard educational format, such as letters and words, but also in aspects of life. I remember being in high school when everyone started talking about Sesame Street covering the concept of death. In the '70s and '80s they also apparently covered breastfeeding as a topic. While I don't remember these clips as a child, I don't doubt that I saw them with how much Sesame Street I watched. I guess it should say something that I don't remember it because that means it didn't stand out as abnormal, strange, or uncomfortable in any way. It must have seemed normal to me when I was a very small child.
Some time in the 1990's, Sesame Street stopped showing clips of mothers nursing. They removed them from the show in it's entirety. Given that the clips of women nursing showed off less skin than your average teenager, it's hard to imagine what the problem is. It shouldn't be surprising that twenty years later mothers everywhere are calling for a return of nursing on Sesame Street.
Unfortunately, this movement has come under some opposition. While the rights of mothers nursing in public are legally protected, it seems that nursing mothers are not protected in the media. Facebook removed countless pictures of mothers nursing their children, as noted in this article. Television still refuses to show images. A picture of a baby nursing on a breastfeeding edition of of Babytalk Magazine was condemned for being inappropriate for a magazine cover, as seen here.
One would imagine that breastfeeding images would become more popular, after all, images of celebrities nursing their own babies are now featured on magazines. Redbook Magazine had an image of a breastfeeding mother on the cover of one of their articles as far back as 1997. The breastfeeding cover only appeared on newsstands while subscribers got a different image, but it still proves that the media doesn't see anything wrong with publishing images of breastfeeding women. Angelina Jolie was captured by her own husband nursing their child for the cover of W Magazine. The image is so discreet you might not even know she was nursing if you didn't look for it, or know beforehand. This article also shows numerous pictures of nude or near nude pregnant mothers as well as nursing mothers appearing in the media. If these covers are appearing on newsstands, then why do we have a problem with children having these images explained to them on television? After all, they're going to see these images in newsstands. It's not like these magazines will be wrapped in plastic and hidden away like pornographic materials.
If you think about it, there's this huge surge to encourage women to breastfeed. WIC encourages women to breastfeed and offers a good deal of support and assistance. Breastfeeding is all over the WIC office. The American Academy of Pediatrics shares it's stance on breastfeeding here. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention also lists statistics for infants that are breastfed in the United States on this page. Their current report card shows an increase in breastfeeding. This report lists that currently 81.9% of babies in the United States are breastfed for some duration. By six months of age, that rate drops to 60.6%. In other words, over half of all babies in the US are breastfed for the first six months of their lives. Breastfeeding is everywhere, and on the rise. This is the direct result of medical encouragement and breastfeeding being brought into the public eye.
If we want this trend to continue, for moms to do what's best for their babies, wouldn't it be best to start exposing our children to this natural, normal, and healthy behavior when they're young? Shouldn't we be exposing children to the act of breastfeeding before they get some sexual concept of what breasts are for from television shows and movies?
More importantly, shouldn't we help our children understand that they shouldn't feel ashamed for being exposed to nursing mothers? With rates of breastfed babies rising so significantly, it's becoming more and more likely that a child visiting with a friend may be exposed to a nursing mother. A child at the mall or the park may be exposed to a nursing mother, especially if there is any significant gap in the ages of the mother's children. The reality is children are going to be exposed to breastfeeding at some point in their life, and someone needs to teach them how to handle it.
For many of the children and teens I've talked to, they don't seem to have much of an opinion of images of a mother nursing her child. Some of them think it's a beautiful bonding moment for mom and baby, but most of them just shrug and find it no different than feeding from a bottle. At most the response I've gotten is it's "a little weird" because they haven't been exposed to it before. If this is how children feel, then why should we be so concerned about how they're going to feel about the act?
More importantly, how are they going to feel if they are exposed to people who condemn images of women nursing, or nursing in public. How are these children going to feel when they've got their own baby in their arms and are considering the choice of breastfed or bottle fed. If breastfeeding is something to be embarrassed about, something that can't be talked about, which one do you think they're going to choose?
This isn't the Victorian era anymore, where people simply don't talk about those kinds of things. Women are now encouraged to speak openly and share their experiences in pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding. Women are encouraged to take their infants out of the house because fresh air and sunlight are good for them. Gone are the days when new moms are cloistered away in their homes. Life goes on, especially with women with older children. Baby is dragged along to play dates, school events, and grocery trips. Women are encouraged to go to support groups, and to speak to new mothers to encourage them to become educated on all options before making a decision on how they'll raise their children.
Let's face it, it's time that we see breastfeeding as an educational segment back on Sesame Street and other children's shows. It's time we put the information out there for everyone, young and old, especially as it's the most highly recommended way to feed your baby according to medical experts. It's time to change the public opinion and help others become comfortable with the idea of breastfeeding mothers.
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