Closing your office door to pump for half an hour tow or three times a day is a lot different than walking away from your cash register or your call station to pump. The former is likely to be a non-issue because your overall productivity isn’t going to be affected. Not so for the later.
I also think that it’s odd to treat exclusive breast feeding at six months to be the gold standard: there’s a lot of experts who recommend introducing solids around six months.
Chiming in to add another possible factor to the others astutely mentioned above: I think in the US, the shame many young women feel about being overweight plays into it. Not that they should feel such shame, of course, but they do seem to. First, there’s a strong thread of thought here that the only people who deserve to inflict the sight of their underclothed bodies are those with perfect bodies (read the comments on any online celebrity photo gallery, especially photos taken by paparrazzi of celebs on “private” trips to the beach, to get a feel for this). Second, I think a fair fraction of overweight young women deal with their feelings about it by trying to forget they even have a physical body, as much as that’s possible.
When my husband and I took the class our hospital (in New England) offered about preparing for birth or whatever, most of the other couples were like us – 30s to early 40s and pretty verbal, pretty assured. We went around the room introducing ourselves etc. like you do at these things, and talking about our “birth plans”. One very shy mom-to-be was in her early 20s and overweight, I’d say nearing but not quite obese. She was the only one who said she didn’t plan to even try breastfeeding; she said it was because she had body issues, and left it at that. She was willing to try pumping, though.
Personally, I’d say that economics plays a huge role, followed by (lack of) education and social norms. Sure, beeastfeeding is the cheapest and most convenient method of feeding a newborn for most new moms, but what if you have to return ASAP to a job that doesn’t allow for pumping? WIC will pay for formula, so maybe it just seems more logical to start with a bottle/formula than to spend a week or two learning to nurse and establishing a milk supply, nursing for a week or two, and then switching to a bottle. And will WIC pay for a pump - I sincerely don’t know? For many families, that expense falls far behind daily bills, especially if there’s another alternative (formula available for free.)
Going to secondary and tertiary causes, if your friends and family bottle feed, anything else seems odd. If your social group views breasts as purely sexual appendages, exposing them or using them to nourish your infant seems perverse. And despite all of the readily-available information on breastfeeding and its advantages, there really are loads of people too ignorant, incurious, and/or stupid to know or care.
This is the first I have ever heard of a Christian bias towards formula. What is that all about? Is it a social conformity thing, or is there supposed to be an actual Biblical argument against it?
Social conformity, 100%. The Christian bias leans as far away from nudity as possible, and the idea of a bared breast in this climate tends to equal sexuality instead of baby food.
And do the rich womens’ breasts have stars upon thars? 
Most of my neighbors and many of my clients are the working poor. For them bottle feeding is the norm because it means there is one less thing the mother has be soley responsible for in a life that is filled with work. With formula, usually from W.I.C. which means it costs the family nothing, anybody can feed the baby: the husband, older kids, grandmother, etc. Breast feeding takes up time that many of these women would just rather use to sit down and rest and considering the schedules many of them have with one or two jobs, plus household work resting is a better use of their time. One of the more common problems I encounter is new mothers who come to me because they believe their baby is evil, cursed, demonic, etc. My first question is always, “Are you breast feeding?” If they are (and they always are), I urge them to stop, go to W.I.C. and get some formula, and have somebody else feed the baby while they take a nap. Amazingly within about a week’s time, they no longer have such fears about their baby.
NM. I do not want to hear the reason anyone would encourage superstition over proven science and medicine. Please disregard my request for clarification.
Wow, that’s a great post.
^ This, at least sometimes.
I have in-laws who blocked the window to their bathroom and remove the lightbulbs from the fixtures. All bodily functions and washing are done in the dark so they won’t see themselves naked.
That, and the points about social conditioning, custom, and work situations that don’t allow for convenient/easy/possible breast pumping.
On top of that - at least with my in-laws who are Appalachian - anything store bought is automatically better than home-made. I think it goes back to a time when store bought things were very rare, and a sign you had some money. So formula bought at a store had to be better than breastmilk, and certainly indicated you had at least some money.
Science and medicine easily support the idea any benefit that the baby might receive from breastfeeding is negated if breastfeeding leads to the mother resenting, fearing, or outright hating her baby. There is nothing superstitutious involved.
I’ve seen evidence of this conditioning, too, Broomstick. It makes me sad to think that critical thinking is tossed out in favor of going with the flow, but I’ve no experience growing up dirt poor (just regular poor), and no experience listening to previous generations lament hard times and laud conspicuous consumption. And so long as WIC and similar programs provide free food, it is a difficult task to convince anyone that either method of feeding is superior. Breastfeeding can be difficult for numerous reasons, but bottles require gravity alone, which is in plentiful supply.
What those women need is a lactation consultant.
Didn’t say education was the easy path to common sense, did I? Of course it is much simpler to offer a panacea that offsets the voodoo, but both baby and mother would be better served by a dose of critical thinking.
No, they need a full night’s sleep and a few less bills. Formula is the best solution, if for no other reason than it means the mother doesn’t have to deal with the baby either feeding it or pumping her breasts. She can even take a weekend visit friends and family and refesh herself mentally and physically. It lets her be a person, not a milk machine.
The mother is being better served by a dose of critical thinking when she is advised switch to formula if she doesn’t like breastfeeding. Some women hate breastfeeding, suggesting they continue when it’s obvious they hate it and are growing to hate the baby as a result, is really bad advice.
No one would disagree with that. However, indulging in Dark Ages voodoo fantasies is a backwards step and a disservice to mother and baby.
Where I live (Alberta) has free public health nurses that are trained in lactation consulting. A day or two after every new mom comes home from the hospital they get a visit from a nurse. In addition to a general check up for mom and baby, she then helps if there are any feeding issues. On top of that there is a free 24 hour number to call if there are any health concerns with the new baby. At any time a new mom can call that number and talk to a registered nurse. With my second child I was having problems at first. My breasts were hugely engorged, my nipples were bleeding, and the baby couldn’t latch properly. I called the number, they gave me some tips over the phone, and gave me a number to call if the problems persisted. All of this is at no cost.
There are options besides just give it up.
Now there is a middle ground here. If a mother really needs a night off and can’t pump, than a night of formula wont hurt. There is no rule saying that one you stop there is no going back. She can take that weekend, gather her thoughts, and then start back. No harm no foul. Again, she needs suport and help.
Please stop writing about this subject. Or least educate yourself about it. Formula is at best second best. At worst it can leave babies vulnerable to infection because breast milk transmits a mother’s immunities while formula does not.
Breast feeding and pumping have many benefits. Breast milk contains calories which allows women to lose weight gained with the baby more easily. I lost 40 lbs in four months just by pumping milk. Producing milk also reduces a woman’s risk of certain kinds of cancers including ovarian and breast cancer. Directly nursing is a pleasureable experience that promotes bonding with a baby and the release of chemicals that help her sleep more easily.
A woman can also pump excess milk thus allowing others to feed the baby as well. Many lactation consultants recommend pumping after the baby has finished eating for a few minutes to help keep up supply. This has been pointed out to you in prior threads on this subject.
You have never breastfed. You have no idea what you’re talking about.
Another thought is that they may not get support from their significant others, who don’t want to share “Daddy’s playthings” with baby.
LavenderBlue, I actually think that in this case, ZPG Zealot has it right. If you are working your six hour shift at WalMart (only six so they don’t need to pay you benefits) six days a week, and then picking up a few more hours at Krogers so you can make ends meet, breastfeeding is NOT the best option. Without a pump (expensive and time consuming) you have to be near baby. I got plenty of time to pump when I was working my corporate salaried job, but I’m willing to bet taking a pumping break is likely to see your hours cut if you work hourly. “Best” is not limited to baby’s health, or Mom’s weight - but also includes taking into account the precarious economic position of the working poor. If I’m going to loose my $7 an hour job because I’m breastfeeding, which is all that is keeping my family afloat, it isn’t “best” for baby if I breastfeed. I need to find an arrangement that lets my mom feed baby - and WIC is covering formula.