We already said that under "parenting practices" we were going to encompass very diverse activities, and we have seen such different concepts as cheek and pigtail. Now it's time to way we feed the baby, something that, unlike the previous subjects, is necessary for its subsistence. But raising is also feeding, helping to live and grow.
Breastfeeding is the best food for the babyThere is no doubt about that and this is indicated by our biology, health organizations around the world and scientific studies that only talk about the benefits of breastfeeding. So why the controversy?
When all this is affirmed, mothers who have not breastfed for whatever reason are questioned in their decisions, which could be more or less justified, more or less informed.
I imagine that, deep down, we all want the best for our children. And, with no intention of being condescending, many women who could not breastfeed know it and would have liked to give it to them, the more informed they are, the greater the frustration they might develop, perhaps fueled by inconvenient judgments of those who have not gone through a similar situation.
The way in which breastfeeding is defended can also have its share of "guilt" in some controversies: it is not the same to highlight the obvious advantages of breastfeeding to assume more “metaphysical”, emotional or long-term benefits that are not proven or are difficult to verify.
Nor do you look down on women who do not breastfeed, something that I am sure is a minority, is among the most suitable ways for the powder store not to explode.
In the same way that it explodes when a woman who breastfeeds is questioned, something that is often done from ignorance, when not from rudeness, and to what obviously must be "defended."
The worst, in my opinion, is when the value of breastfeeding is undervalued, something that is done from ignorance, and attempts are made to defend without valid arguments that "it is the same as the bottle".
In no case, wherever I come from, I share (although I do not like the term, but to understand each other) the "Talibanism" or extreme defense, infuriated, of an idea without considering the situation of the other party, because when it is missing Respect or empathy is no longer right. Which does not imply being condescending or false in what is postulated.
There's also people who don't know about tit or formula, who do not go through this blog or any similar, and obviously do not consider that they have done better or worse or care what others do or feel offended with the subject.
From my point of view, what we can do from forums like this is to continue defending the importance of breastfeeding for the baby. Well, I think so, there is still a need for a "defense" in an environment where, for decades, it has been undervalued. And we are confident that the latest data on improving breastfeeding rates will continue.
And we do this continuously, highlighting what the World Health Organization or the Pediatric Associations recommend based on scientific evidence: exclusive breastfeeding up to six months and with complementary feeding up to two years of age or older.
In any case, the most popular controversies in the blog have been due to the issue of breastfeeding and artificial feeding. And I am sure that this will continue to be the case, because it is very close to us in the first months of the baby's life and the way we face those first steps of parenting.
In Babies and more | 10 steps towards happy breastfeeding, The failure of the Breast Milk Substitute Code, The best milk in the world: UNICEF's breastfeeding spot on the breastfeeding community, The Community of Madrid joins UNICEF to promote breastfeeding, 10 facts about breastfeeding published by WHO today
