Why is breastfeeding frowned upon?

[bfdd]

because i hate seeing some spoiled brat suck on titties i can only dream of

 

[vi edit]

Besides the studies that medical professionals publish, preform your own study.

My step-daughter is 23 years old, and has several friends that have kids. When I meet her friends, we talk about the labor, whether they had an epidural, c-section, breastfeeding,,,,,.

Its amazing how many women these days get an epidural, have to have an emergency c-section, and can not breastfeed. Its the same reasons over and over- baby would not latch on, or the mom was not producing milk.

Up until recently getting an epidural was rare, and so were c-sections and problems breastfeeding. Its like there is an epidemic of c-sections these days, and there has to be a reason for that.

If we took these same rates of c-sections and breastfeeding problems back 10,000 years ago, mankind would have died out thousands of years ago.

You are looking at things a little backwards. A lot of this stuff is because fertility clinics and modern healthcare have allowed women that never would have been able to conceive and/or carry full term to now have children and actually deliver them and have them survive. We are allowing births in women who's bodies were not otherwise capable of doing it. You think that has any effect in those stats?

 

[Nik]

I'm in favor of c-sections. Join me in the Save The Vag campaign!

 

[Texashiker]

A lot of this stuff is because fertility clinics and modern healthcare have allowed women that never would have been able to conceive and/or carry full term to now have children and actually deliver them and have them survive. We are allowing births in women who's bodies were not otherwise capable of doing it. You think that has any effect in those stats?

I do not know anyone that has gone through a fertility clinic.

Comparing the 1980s and 1990s - when my kids were born - and today, I see 2 major things that have changed, the weight of the woman, and epidurals.

There have been several studies I read that say the fatter the woman, the more likely they are to have a c-section. Mainly due to the birth canal being too small.

Then there is the epidural question, most health care providers say its safe, but I do not believe it. Anything that interferes with natural childbirth has to have some kind of side effect.

 

[ShawnD1]

I'm in favor of c-sections. Join me in the Save The Vag campaign!

you will never know how nice it is to snuggle with someone who doesn't have a huge scar on their belly

 

[Nik]

For epidurals and any other drug you pump into the mother, you can reach in, scratch the baby's scalp, examine the scalp tissue, and find the drugs you've injected into the mother. Drugs are bad for childbirth, mkay?

 

[vi edit]

I'm in favor of c-sections. Join me in the Save The Vag campaign!

Booo. Then you've got a nasty scar and a permanent trauma to your woman's abdominal muscles.

Unless you are giving birth to a 10 pound butterball with the head the size of Barry Bonds I think the "hotdog down a hallway" comment is an exaggeration. If anything...my wife got an extra stitch or two that left things a little more snug than before.

 

[Nik]

you will never know how nice it is to snuggle with someone who doesn't have a huge scar on their belly

Why would I care? It's just a scar and I'm not that shallow.

 

[Codewiz]

I do not know anyone that has gone through a fertility clinic.

Comparing the 1980s and 1990s - when my kids were born - and today, I see 2 major things that have changed, the weight of the woman, and epidurals.

There have been several studies I read that say the fatter the woman, the more likely they are to have a c-section. Mainly due to the birth canal being too small.

Then there is the epidural question, most health care providers say its safe, but I do not believe it. Anything that interferes with natural childbirth has to have some kind of side effect.

When my wife went into labor she weighed around 140lbs. She gained ~30lbs while pregnant.

So my wife is thin and the epidural had nothing to due with getting a c-section in my wife's case.

Why are there more c-sections? I would argue primarily due to safety. We have better monitoring, better understanding of the risks.

I would also argue there is some insane movement to romanticize delivery. That dealing with the pain is a rite of passage and other such BS. It all boils down to risk management. And people typically suck at risk management. There is no reason to put a baby at risk for that rite of passage BS. You should do what reduces the overall risk for the mother and child.

Now, I do think it is insanely vain to schedule a c-section to make your delivery "perfect".

BTW, I was born via c-section in the 70s due to the fact that I had the cord wrapped around my neck. My son just decided to copy me.

 

[MiniDoom]

you will never know how nice it is to snuggle with someone who doesn't have a huge scar on their belly

lol.. you had me until the snuggle part.

 

[ShawnD1]

BTW, I was born via c-section in the 70s due to the fact that I had the cord wrapped around my neck. My son just decided to copy me.

Dude that sucks. My friend had it wrap around his leg and he's had problems with that leg his whole life.

 

[ShawnD1]

Why would I care? It's just a scar and I'm not that shallow.

It's just a blown out vagina with no tightness. I'm not shallow ^_^

When my wife went into labor she weighed around 140lbs. She gained ~30lbs while pregnant.

Pics? I want to see this skinny female

 

[Redfraggle]

Sexually repressed people? Why do men in this country constantly have their wiener's cut at birth? I'll give you a clue.

Women.

Women in the US like the cut look now which is why we are one of the few countries that does "routine" circumcisions as well. Women do not like looking at women's nipples or breasts either. Especially inflated "big" ones that are natural because women like to compare all the time. Yes there are some men as well who are of the same opinion, but the vast majority of the reason behind this is because of women. I am talking outside of the religious zealots, because they are a huge factor as well and encompass both men and women who think this way. I'm referring to other influences, and a larger body of it, beyond the religious zealots who are sexually ashamed of their bodies.

If you want to change attitudes, that is where you are going to have to start. Seeing as how much fatter, uglier, and more sexually ashamed women are becoming of their bodies lately, I don't see this changing any time soon.

Hey there, you might want to make sure that soap box can hold your weight before you stomp on up there. You can thank a MAN (Dr. Kellogg...yep, just like the cereal, same guy even) for circumcision popularity in the US. It was meant to be a deterrent for masturbating. Women didn't start it. So, before you choke to death on your foot, I suggest you keep quiet.


As for breastfeeding -- I have a one year old. I breastfed as long as I could. I think it's the right thing to do. A lot of moms get shit from (strangely) mostly other women for breastfeeding. Men, particularly those who are fathers or older than college aged, don't have huge issue with it. Women, however, seem to feel entitled, even compelled, to say the rudest and most ridiculous things to other women. I know plenty of moms who have had incredibly rude things said to them while breastfeeding their child.

I breastfed in public. I wore the kid in a wrap, and you really had to be rudely intrusive to notice. Even if you could see what was going on, I didn't care. He needed to eat, and I needed not to be trapped in my house just because he needed to eat every hour or so.

Breastfeeding is actually quite difficult, and it takes a lot of support and determination to do it successfully. Even doctors sometimes discourage it (particularly after 6 months).

Formula is not equal, not even close. Anyone that says so is just misinformed or willfully ignorant.


Edit: I just read a lot of this thread and holy fuck you people are misinformed and full of very bizarre ideas about childbirth. FYI, a well done c-section does not leave a big nasty scar. You can't see mine at all. I ended up having an emergency c-section. Not one of those that doctors "created" the emergency via too much intervention, but "these two are going to die soon if we don't do something now!"

C-section rates rising unreasonably are for many reasons, most of them for reasons that shouldn't have happened in the first place.

 

[Codewiz]

It's just a blown out vagina with no tightness. I'm not shallow ^_^



Pics? I want to see this skinny female

Prior to pregnancy

Pregnant

Yo Gabba Gabba

Cruise excursion

 

[nanette1985]

We are fortunate that we live in times when formula feeding and breastfeeding are both healthy ways to feed a baby. I wasn't breast fed - I'm over 50, and back then it was the medical profession that INSISTED that breastfeeding was inferior and that the stuff that the docs recommended was better.

There was also the economic snobbery issue - only people who were too poor to afford formula were breastfeeding.

Comparing the overall health of our 2 bottle fed kids and our 2 breastfed kids, the breastfed are healthier, and have less social issues in their teenage years.

I also have 4 kids and I breastfed 3 of them - the bottlefed one is the smartest and most socially adept, in case anyone cares.

I don't see why women can't pump breast milk to feed their children when they're in public. I don't understand why there can't be some sort of compromise made for public decency sake.

When men start putting something over their heads to cover themselves while they eat/drink, then maybe I'll take your comment seriously

 

[Vette73]

We are fortunate that we live in times when formula feeding and breastfeeding are both healthy ways to feed a baby. I wasn't breast fed - I'm over 50, and back then it was the medical profession that INSISTED that breastfeeding was inferior and that the stuff that the docs recommended was better.

There was also the economic snobbery issue - only people who were too poor to afford formula were breastfeeding.

I also have 4 kids and I breastfed 3 of them - the bottlefed one is the smartest and most socially adept, in case anyone cares.

When men start putting something over their heads to cover themselves while they eat/drink, then maybe I'll take your comment seriously

:thumbsup::awe:

 

[Nik]

When men start putting something over their heads to cover themselves while they eat/drink, then maybe I'll take your comment seriously

It's like watching someone chew with their mouth open. It's rude, can be avoided, and it has public alternatives to achieve the same result.

 

[ShawnD1]

C-section rates rising unreasonably are for many reasons, most of them for reasons that shouldn't have happened in the first place.

I've heard cost was a factor. Natural delivery takes many many many hours. During that time, the person occupies a bed, a room, nurses, and a doctor. C-section is just a flew slashes with a sword, here's your baby, and that's it.


Codewiz, nice :thumbsup:

 

[JimW1949]

People can say what they want, but when a woman leaves her desk to pump her breasts several times per day, and other people have to "take up the slack" while she is away, it does not make for a happy workplace.

I am not against breastfeeding, I think basically it is a good idea. But when you work for someone you should be working for them, not running off to pump your breasts. In the case I am talking about, the woman was spending, give or take a little, roughly 8 hours per week away from her desk. That means the boss was paying her a whole days pay each week where he was not getting any work out of her. If you were an employer, would you want to do that?

Obviously my boss doesn't want anything bad to happen to the woman's child, but at the same time, he should have the right to get a fair days work from the woman for a fair days pay. I don't care how you slice it, working mothers and breast pumping has the potential to cause problems in the workplace.

 

[HumblePie]

Hey there, you might want to make sure that soap box can hold your weight before you stomp on up there. You can thank a MAN (Dr. Kellogg...yep, just like the cereal, same guy even) for circumcision popularity in the US. It was meant to be a deterrent for masturbating. Women didn't start it. So, before you choke to death on your foot, I suggest you keep quiet.

I didn't state the origination, which is actually from the Jews and the compact with Abraham if you really want to talk about it. But what started the trend was as you say, misleading doctor info with their own agenda. What I was referring to was what CONTINUED the trend despite knowledge to the contrary. Some is still for religious reasons. The vast majority is because the mother asks for it. Because woman in America prefer to look at a cut penis opposed to a non cut one. Actually before this reason it was proposed in the 1950's that men that are cut are less likely to cause cervical cancer for women they were with, which is why more mothers asked for it than fathers and started the popularity due to misinformation. Lucky the trend for it is declining at least.

Still I was using that a reference as to why breastfeeding is also frowned upon by the the American society unlike other societies. There are several factors, but one I pointed out was that women do not like to see it more often than not then men do not like to see it.

 

[Redfraggle]

I don't see why women can't pump breast milk to feed their children when they're in public. I don't understand why there can't be some sort of compromise made for public decency sake.

Just as soon as all the fat disgusting men stop going topless in their yards, at the beach, at the pool, or anywhere they want. It's for public decency after all...


Don't be ridiculous. If a man can show his nipples and not be indecent, so can a woman. And if she can't, it is exactly because society has a psychologically constructed reason for it. Boobs are not for sex. Boobs are for feeding babies.

 

[nanette1985]

Formula is not equal, not even close. Anyone that says so is just misinformed or willfully ignorant.

There are lots of "formulas" and you can't make a blanket statement about any one of them. No two breast milks are the same, and no two formulas are the same. The goal is the best nutrition for the particular baby. I have an autistic kid and have had to become an expert on the strangest things (like breast milk and prescription formula) because of him. Thank your lucky stars that you haven't had the need to desperately research this stuff.

Edit: I just read a lot of this thread and holy fuck you people are misinformed and full of very bizarre ideas about childbirth. FYI, a well done c-section does not leave a big nasty scar. You can't see mine at all. I ended up having an emergency c-section. Not one of those that doctors "created" the emergency via too much intervention, but "these two are going to die soon if we don't do something now!"

C-section rates rising unreasonably are for many reasons, most of them for reasons that shouldn't have happened in the first place.

:thumbsup: Totally agree. This thread is a hoot.

 

[Codewiz]

People can say what they want, but when a woman leaves her desk to pump her breasts several times per day, and other people have to "take up the slack" while she is away, it does not make for a happy workplace.

I am not against breastfeeding, I think basically it is a good idea. But when you work for someone you should be working for them, not running off to pump your breasts. In the case I am talking about, the woman was spending, give or take a little, roughly 8 hours per week away from her desk. That means the boss was paying her a whole days pay each week where he was not getting any work out of her. If you were an employer, would you want to do that?

Obviously my boss doesn't want anything bad to happen to the woman's child, but at the same time, he should have the right to get a fair days work from the woman for a fair days pay. I don't care how you slice it, working mothers and breast pumping has the potential to cause problems in the workplace.

Yep, we need to also stop people from taking a sh*t at work and it is about time we stop those smokers.

You have no argument here.

Breast pumping does not take 8 hours a week. My wife spent 30 minutes a DAY away from her desk at work. And considering your guaranteed two 15 minute breaks in an 8 hours shift. You have no argument.

 

[vi edit]

Edit: I just read a lot of this thread and holy fuck you people are misinformed and full of very bizarre ideas about childbirth. FYI, a well done c-section does not leave a big nasty scar. You can't see mine at all. I ended up having an emergency c-section. Not one of those that doctors "created" the emergency via too much intervention, but "these two are going to die soon if we don't do something now!"

Not all surgeons are created equal. I've seen some very bad c-section scars.

 

[Jeff7]

Boobs will destroy society!!!!

We're a fun species, you know?
Man nipples - not a problem. Show them in public if you like, even if they're on some big ol' floppy man-titties that should probably be outfitted with at least a C-cup bra.
Woman nipples - Oh no, we're all going to die and go to hell!

Why is breastfeeding frowned upon?

because people are stupid? if you are one against it then nothing is going to change a persons mind. breastfeeding is not dirty, perverted, sexy or anything besides a baby eating.

Yeah, pretty much this.


And of course there's likely the belief that infant formula is actually better for an infant that breast milk. I'm quite sure that there will come a day when we're capable of making an infant formula that truly is an improvement over what evolution's managed to cobble together, but that day's not nearly here.

But there's not much money to be made in breast milk. A constant supply of infant formula is where the money's at, so it gets far more advertising revenue.

People can say what they want, but when a woman leaves her desk to pump her breasts several times per day, and other people have to "take up the slack" while she is away, it does not make for a happy workplace.

I am not against breastfeeding, I think basically it is a good idea. But when you work for someone you should be working for them, not running off to pump your breasts. In the case I am talking about, the woman was spending, give or take a little, roughly 8 hours per week away from her desk. That means the boss was paying her a whole days pay each week where he was not getting any work out of her. If you were an employer, would you want to do that?

Obviously my boss doesn't want anything bad to happen to the woman's child, but at the same time, he should have the right to get a fair days work from the woman for a fair days pay. I don't care how you slice it, working mothers and breast pumping has the potential to cause problems in the workplace.

Ok fine, we have policies for things like maternity leave. Allocate the time away from from work with something like that sort of time.
And, well, at least they're coming to work, instead of going on an outright maternity leave - there'd probably be a fair bit more slack then.