Who's Offended More?

[here] pulls this cover off shelves - replaces with clipart cover



OK, now it's my turn to get this off my chest, no pun intended :oP As a 32 yr old mother of 3 with 48 months and counting of breastfeeding under her shirt, I'm deeply offended and saddened that this cover was pulled.

The actual article- Breast Assured was really well written (thank you Brent MacDonald). It brought to light that New Brunswick Mothers are just not breastfeeding at the same levels as other Canadian Mothers.

Only 64 per cent of NB mothers who had a baby between 1998 and 2003 breastfed, says a council report titled Reproductive Health, published in May 2005. The national average between 1998 and 2003 was 85 per cent.

Further in the article it's also stated...

The Reproductive Health report by the council says that only 26 per cent of breastfeeding mothers in NB breastfed for at least four months. Past six months, only 17 per cent of mothers' breastfed. These numbers are in stark contrast to national numbers, detailing that 48 per cent of mothers' breastfeed for at least four months, and 39 per cent of mothers for at least six months.

I think a big part of that is that mother's are not feeling comfortable breastfeeding in public. I will quote another portion of the article...

"In Vancouver, people breastfeeding in malls and the public is common," she says. "In NB, it's not." C. Taylor, a 31 year old mother of two who is currently nursing a five and a half month old, says she has a friend who found some trouble in an NB mall.

"She was in a food court in a mall," she says.

"She had a lady tell her she should feed her baby in the bathroom. She was feeding her baby in a place where everybody else was feeding."

This was me!!! I was at McAllister Place Food Court, when this cranky lady with her plate of greasy Deluxe fish and chips came over to my table where I was eating my lunch and simultaneously nursing my 3 month old daughter. Now you can ask any of my friends I don't drape a blanket over me or wear a nursing shawl or canopy, but I'm discreet, I don't make a big production out of it. Well this woman had the audacity to say to me, "You should be doing that in the washroom!!" At first I was in shock but quickly asked her, "OK, why don't you bring your fish and chips and join me?" She just huffed a huge sigh and walked off.

Last Week Dr Phil had 2 women debating Public Breastfeeding. The woman that was against nursing in public, kept saying that she didn't think that a woman taking her shirt off in public appropriate and that breastfeeding in general "was just not attractive or natural"! My 9 year was watching this, and was getting upset with this woman's ignorance, she said to me, "Come on mom the baby completely covers your boobs, you can't even tell that your shirt is lifted a little!" She then went on to say something that I hadn't thought of. "Mom everyone on earth is breastfed!" I didn't see where she was going with this so I let her go on... " I mean that, little kittens & puppies drink their moms milk until their big and strong enough, baby cows drink cows milk, were all mammals so it's only natural that babies should drink their mothers milk as well!" This from a 9 yr old! Why is it that the most intelligent mammal on earth started to give their babies artificial milk? Don't get me wrong I'm not anti-formula, but why waste your money on it when your body was designed to feed and nourish your child, it's just that simple a 9 yr old can see it that way.



Breastfeeding is a lifestyle choice but also must be made as a health choice.Breastfeeding takes commitment, support, patience, oh and did I say support? In order for New Brunswick to get their percentages of breastfeeding mothers up it needs to support them. Formula companies can throw so-called "baby-showers" for expectant moms, showing powerpoint slide shows on the benefits of their brand being the "closest ever to breastmilk". Why can't the Province do the same thing monthly and throw in a $300 "deluxe travel system car seat combo stroller" as an incentive to get expectant moms to attend, and show the benefits of breastfeeding. Wouldn't this be a small cost upfront to the potentional savings of thousands on the healthcare system?

I attended one of these baby showers thrown by Enfalac back in 1996 when I was expecting Mackenzie. They really had me convinced that they had the best formula, and I wanted the best for my child, yes their "formula" was a little costlier, but my child was worth it, right? I hadn't really ever considered breastfeeding, I wasn't breastfed, my best friend who just had a baby a few months before hadn't even attempted. Still I was curious, so I attended a La Leche League meeting 3 weeks before my due date. I can honestly say this was the best decision I have ever made. For the past 9 yrs (off and on) I have been a member of this "Mothers, Supporting Mothers" non-profit support group. Thank you La Leche League! I also want to say thank you to Carolyn Goodaire from AHSC-Reg 2 SJRH. I was young and single when I had Mackenzie which I'm sure normally is a disastrous combination to a breastfeeding relationship. She encouraged me, answered my questions when I had difficulties, and saw me through nursing my daughter into toddlerhood. I know a lot of people saw her passion for mothers to succeed as arrogance, I for one saw it as a challenge, and I want to personally thank her, and hope to do so soon face to face, but if you've managed to find this Carolyn.."Thank you for your support!"

Back to the original reason for this entry today, [here] has been completely hippocritical pulling this cover. I realize it's not censorship as it's their publication and they can do what they please with it, but this came down to dollars and cents. Supposedly advertisers and storefront distributors of the paper threatened to pull advertising and not distribute the paper if the "offensive cover" was not changed. I'd love to know which advertisers and distributors threatened to pull [here], but we'll never find out who "they" were so maybe I'll just boycott [here] in the meantime? I don't get it? They're publishing an article on how more support is needed to elevate NB's numbers, but a baby can't be shown breastfeeding on the cover? How are we to normalize and encourage breastfeeding in this province, when [here] is sending this mixed message?