Some people just need to go away

[naturush]

Maybe I'm missing something. For a long time now people have been talking about breastfeeding. Should moms do it in public? Should it be legal in public? Blah blah blah. Today on the news I hear three hospitals in New York are trying make the rules such that new moms must breast-feed during their stay after birth. Please, someone, tell me I was half asleep an heard wrong!! I mean the idea of regulating that in a hospital is absurd. Yup, I'll say it again, some people just need to go away.

[Nu]

Perhaps, the idea is to allow hospitals to determine, for the health of the mother and child; if the mother is capable of breastfeeding,or if a pump,or an immediate switch to baby formula is desirable?

[Bobx23456]

Originally posted by naturush:
I'll say it again, some people just need to go away.

Yep, maybe the formula pushers should go away. It would be much better for the kids.

Blessings
Bob

[Stu2630]

I can't believe any nudist would support forcing a mother to breast-feed against her will. That's outrageous! The hospital is free to offer advice, but in the final analysis it must be a decision for the mother - and her alone.

Actually, I read that hospitals in New York were not banning formula, but simply promoting breast feeding:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07312007/news/regionalnews/...ws_chuck_bennett.htm (http://www.nypost.com/seven/07312007/news/regionalnews/city_really_is_a_nanny_regionalnews_chuck_bennett. htm)

BTW - we have had three extremely healthy and intelligent kids - all bottle fed with formula milk.

Stu

[Bobx23456]

Originally posted by Stu2630:
I can't believe any nudist would support forcing a mother to breast-feed against her will. That's outrageous! The hospital is free to offer advice, but in the final analysis it must be a decision for the mother - and her alone.Stu

Did anyone force her to chose that hospital? For centuries most babies were born at home. And they must have a hundred other hospitals in New York. Nobody is forcing anyone.

Blessings
Bob

[Stu2630]

Did anyone force her to chose that hospital? For centuries most babies were born at home. And they must have a hundred other hospitals in New York. Nobody is forcing anyone.

From what I have read, the original posting on this was misinformed. The hospitals in question are encouraging rather than trying to compel women to breastfeed, and formula milk was to be provided if requested. So the issue is now academic.

Stu

[jon71]

Good. Encouraging and educating is great. Forcing is wrong. That's true of a lot of things actually.

[justnude]

Clearly the comments praising the hospital for this move must come from guys who have not had to do this (or perhaps get to escape the 2 am bottle feeding!), I personally feel the choice is the woman's-period and enough said!

[Bobx23456]

Originally posted by justnude:
Clearly the comments praising the hospital for this move must come from guys who have not had to do this (or perhaps get to escape the 2 am bottle feeding!), I personally feel the choice is the woman's-period and enough said!

We will disagree then. I personally feel that raising a child is supposed to be a two parent task and the father has important share in makeing all the important decisions about how to raise his child.

There are many studies which show that children who are fed human milk do better, on average, than children who are fed cow's milk or adulterated sugar water. Your insult about guys avoiding 2 am feedings is another sexist insult.

Blessings
Bob

[justnude]

amother 'sexist insult"? Did I miss the first? I remain a strong believer that it is the woman's body and her choice. BTW-I have raised my sons as a single father for nearly 15 years now and fullu understand all that is required of a parent to raise children

[MJ_KC]

Originally posted by justnude:
Clearly the comments praising the hospital for this move must come from guys who have not had to do this (or perhaps get to escape the 2 am bottle feeding!), I personally feel the choice is the woman's-period and enough said!
There are normally 2 people involved in creating a baby, so both parents have a say in all matters related to care of their children.

[alfredr]

Stu: Thanks for the link to the story.

As far as it being the woman's choice, I have heard that studies show that one of the biggest factors in a woman continuing to breast feed is the support of the husband.

The article says "Mothers who request formula will still receive it." Seems to me that this is the place to shout, "What about the children?!"

I support breast feeding.

[naturush]

Well Stu either the network I listen to was misinformed or you were. Because I understood the reporter to say they were trying to make it policy.

[Stu2630]

alfredr

I have heard that studies show that one of the biggest factors in a woman continuing to breast feed is the support of the husband.

Yes, that may very well be the case. I supported my wife in doing what she chose to do, which was to feed our kids formula.

Naturush

Well Stu either the network I listen to was misinformed or you were. Because I understood the reporter to say they were trying to make it policy.

I'm not disputing what you heard, but radio stations often do exaggerate or distort stories to make them more sensational. There are several recent press reports concerning this and they have made it clear that breastfeeding will be encouraged, but not something they will try to compel mothers to do.

Hospitals are there to provide a service to the people who pay for them - the patients. They aren't there to force patients to do what they happen to think is best. If they were so foolish as to try to use coercion, just imagine the trouble they would have the first time a mother point blank refuses to breastfeed her infant. What are they going to do? Starve the child? I'm all in favour of women being given the best advice, but they shouldn't be bullied or browbeaten and if there were attempts to do that, the breastfeeding lobby would suddenly find itself coming under a great deal of fire. In the end it has to be a mother's own decision how best to feed her own child.

Stu

[tomkojohn]

Two things:

1.) I totally agree it must be a free choice
2.) Breastfeeding within the first hour of life has been shown to have enormously positive health effects on the baby. Also, continuing to breast feed for a year (or more) has additional positive health effects for the baby.

Given #2 above, it is in everyone's best interests to encourage as many women to breast feed as possible (and encourage their husbands to be supportive). It will result in a healthier population. Just one of the positive effects is a much reduced risk for obesity, which is a growing problem for all of us. Also, a healthier population will help keep health care costs under control for all of us as well.

Everyone has the right to choose, but everyone should realize that their choices affect more than just themselves. Please choose wisely.

[Bob S.]

All mothers who are able should breastfeed, but it should not be mandated as a part of being in the hospital. Lactation nurses should encourage and explain (show or whatever they do) how to breastfeed a baby, explaining all of the benefits.

Bob S.

[DenitaLC]

Two kids and 34 months of nursing. Our son for 13 months and our daughter for 21 months. Both kids have been extremely healthy children with perfect school attendance for the past four years. (Previous to that, days were missed for vacations but hardly ever for illness.)
I believe that the antibodies from mother's milk is a huge benefit health-wise for growing infants.
Breastfeeding is cheap (just eat healthy), convenient (just lift the shirt), and the best bonding experience you can provide your infant.

For me, it was the only choice out there.
http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/happy.gif
Dee

[Tampanude]

I don't know about the rest of you gentlemen but I believe the definitive resolution on this topic has been very eloquently stated above.

If you disagree??
Go ask mom.

http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/applause.gif

[Stu2630]

It is now confirmed that the original stories put about that some NY hospitals were denying women formula milk were wrong. This is from the International Breastfeeding Symbol Organisation:

Well, what you get is the public believing that New York City has banned formula and baby bottles from NYC hospitals altogether.

If I were to hear that, I would be completely outraged, too! I would protest! I would demand justice! How dare Michael Bloomberg take away our womanly freedom of feeding choices! That man, he’s just a man, and what does he know about what women want or need anyway? And the government! What right does the government have to infringe upon women’s freedoms like this?! This is completely absurd! It is absurd, because all of that is a big fat LIE. Nobody is taking formula out of hospitals. Nobody is taking bottles out of hospitals. If a woman gives birth in a New York City hospital, she can ask for a bottle full of formula and it will be given to her.

http://www.breastfeedingsymbol.org/2007/08/04/the-new-y...-formula-media-lies/ (http://www.breastfeedingsymbol.org/2007/08/04/the-new-york-city-formula-media-lies/)

Stu

[RichNH]

Sounds like they are making up for encouraging the use of formula in the 20th century. My mother wanted to breastfeed and the nurses were always telling her to use formula instead, they finally got her to comply with their wishes. That was in 1951. Perhaps this is the breastfeeding equivalent of busing to achieve racial integration?

Rich

[Rabid_Clam]

I have seen women breast feed in public places both here and abroad. I personally find nothing sexual about it and nothing wrong about it. The breast was made for that so use it for such as you need or the child needs. Is part of life. Is a most natural part of life so how can we make a law about it?

Is not like having to relieve your self where that will leave something behind no one wants. Breast feeding leaves nothing behind. Nothing.

So lets make nothing of it all.

[nudebushwalker]

Breastfeeding?

nothing more natural - should be encouraged...

DenitaLC wrote:
"I believe that the antibodies from mother's milk is a huge benefit health-wise for growing infants."

The technical word, if anybody needs to google it for their own reference, is colostrum, and this is the main reason that breastfeeding should be used in the first hours after the baby's birth, ahead of the bonding, cost and convenience benefits..

If anyone should actually "go away.." here, I think it is people like 'naturush' who seem to be well inclined towards going off half-cocked, to spread his fascist ideologies (disguised as a concern over personal freedoms.) ahead of public health issues.

http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/tongue.gif

Anybody who has issues with breasts, breastfeeding, or public exposure of either babies or breasts - all of which I support and would encourage - should have a good look at the actual reasons behind their dislike of the female breast - closet mysogynistic/homosexual leanings maybe?

[Stu2630]

Anybody who has issues with breasts, breastfeeding, or public exposure of either babies or breasts - all of which I support and would encourage - should have a good look at the actual reasons behind their dislike of the female breast - closet mysogynistic/homosexual leanings maybe?

A very sweeping statement and not one that can be substantiated.

I love to see the curvaceous woman with nicely proportioned breasts, preferably in a smart dress or blouse or bikini top. I don't think bare breasts - or bare men's chests come to that - are an especially attractive feature of the human anatomy. I'm all for breastfeeding, but I believe that tolerance of it in public should be rewarded by consideration for those who don't like seeing it - i.e. by being as brisk and as discrete as possible. Then everyone is happy. http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/happy.gif

Stu

[nudebushwalker]

We may be coming from two different directions here, Stu' - and will have to agree to disagree on the details - but I believe that we do agree on one central tenet here.
That is that we both (along with the great majority of people who have written on here..) support the woman's right to breastfeed when her baby has to be fed - and because it is healthy for the baby, it should be encouraged and supported.

[SpiderThug]

For those people who are againt the use of milk formula instead of using breast milk...

Ofcourse breast milk is best. There is much document evidence of this however, not all women can lactate and some just run dry.

My first two kids were both formula fed because, the 1st refused to take to the breast and, the 2nd had no choice due her mother's breasts drying due to stress caused by Post Natal Depression.

Children 3 and 4 were lucky enough to get the breast.