Why celebrate National Breastfeeding Month?
In honor of National Breastfeeding Month (which falls in August each year), we're thrilled to honor moms and their breastfeeding journeys. In 2019 we tapped CityMom Lauren Lewis - organizer of our local Big Latch On event, photographer, childcare expert, and mama (girl, is there anything you don't do?!) - for her loving perspective on breastfeeding. And even if you didn't have the opportunity to nurse your own children, National Breastfeeding Month is still in honor of you.
It’s been 3 years since my son latched on for the last time, and yet every time I see a mom nursing in public, I still feel a pull in my chest towards her. A phantom letdown from 3.5 collective years of breastfeeding? Could be. Or perhaps my feeling is a little more grounded – a pull of solidarity when I see other moms in the same boat? I secretly want to go to her, to tell her I think she’s amazing. That she is the embodiment of magic, love, and strong will. That she shouldn’t feel like she needs to hide to nourish her child.
But out of fear of being that weirdo in the park, I steal side glances, send positive vibes, and hope she doesn’t think I’m judging her.
Society has come a long way in its acceptance and support of breastfeeding moms.
Moms everywhere still tend to find themselves under fire no matter what their parenting choices are. It’s hard to be a Mom right now. We feel the existential pressure to do it all, be it all, and make all the right choices. How are we expected to maintain a job, our homes, our children’s social-emotional needs, OUR social-emotional needs, our {now non-existent) social life - well, you get the point. I don't know; maybe it was always hard; we just feel it more acutely and talk about it more openly this year.
We need to allow ourselves grace with, well, everything.
With that grace, it’s vital that we find a way to support each other. Mothers didn’t always have access to breastfeeding support at their fingertips. Many still don’t feel the support or have access to it - which is why we celebrate BOTH National Breastfeeding Month and, separately, World Breastfeeding Week.
Let's break them both down: World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is an annual celebration held every year on the first week of August since 1991. Organized by WHO, WABA, and UNICEF, its goal is to reestablish a global breastfeeding culture and provide support for breastfeeding everywhere - and couldn’t we all use a little support?
Frequently, the mention of World Breastfeeding Week can stir up a lot of bad feelings.
Let me be clear: The goal of World Breastfeeding Week isn’t to shame mothers who couldn’t produce. Its goal is not to make families feel guilty for using formula over breast milk when we emphasize the biological, emotional, and medicinal benefits of breast milk.
The goal is, through support, legislation, and education, that no mother will say, “I wanted to breastfeed, but…” Its goal is for every mother who WANTS to breastfeed to be able to say, “I wanted to breastfeed, and I did.” Then in 2011, the United States Breastfeeding Council took things a step further to declare August National Breastfeeding Month. Where one week could build on the initial pillars of WBW, an entire month could tackle and expand them even more.
It’s an absolute travesty that the benefits of breastfeeding are so heavily touted, but we fail to provide adequate help and support for mothers striving to meet their breastfeeding goals.
According to the CDC studies released in 2018 based on infants born in 2015 -2016 in baby-friendly facilities in Indiana, 78.8% of mothers start off breastfeeding (vs. 83.8% nationally). However, this number drops dramatically: 53.5% are still providing their babies with breastmilk at 6 months, and down to 33% by 12 months.
What I understand from this is that women start out with the best hopes and dreams - wanting to breastfeed. Yet somewhere along the line, we are failing these mothers. We need to do a better job at ensuring that when a mother chooses not to breastfeed, it is an educated choice. No one should feel like they “failed” at breastfeeding because they lacked the support, resources, and information necessary to be successful.
National Breastfeeding Month - theCityMoms
Ladies: Our bodies are AMAZING!
We are magical freaking human beings who give life, birth, hope, raise and love and nourish the next generation of amazing, magical freaking human beings.
How cool are we? Doesn’t every mother deserve to feel this way? So for National Breastfeeding Month (really, always), let’s ask ourselves: How can we celebrate our bodies? How can we support other nursing moms? How do we work together to change society’s (and our own) disparagement of the female body so we may honor it for the work of art that it truly is?
1. STOP judging other women for their choices, their bodies, and their parenting techniques.
Just stop. You don’t know their story; you haven’t been in their shoes. Use that energy for something more constructive...like taking a nap.
2. Reach out.
Tell your mom friends what you admire about them. Be specific. Reach out and make sure they’re okay especially the strong ones. Don’t offer vague help. Just do what needs to be done and don’t give them an option. (Think: How would I have responded to this offer of help?)
3. Join the community.
Attend breastfeeding meetings. Local hospitals and Breastfeeding USA have terrific chapters and free meetings that are full of support.
4. Pay attention to our local government.
Vote for those who support paid maternal leave. Champion businesses that take care of their pregnant and nursing employees. Write letters to Congress, both locally and federally, to change laws.
5. Learn to embrace our own bodies.
This one hits home after two kids and 6 years of running in-home childcare. It’s so easy to care for yourself last until you look at yourself in the mirror one day and you don’t like what you see.
Rewire your brain to LIKE what you see. Embrace the extra fluff- it means extra softness for when you snuggle your kids. Positive affirmations, breastfeeding affirmations… MOTHERHOOD affirmations. Say them like a prayer. Say them until you mean it. Your body is powerful. You enjoy breastfeeding. Your breasts are abundant beings. Your children know they are cherished. You. are. a. good. mom.
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So as we observe National Breastfeeding Month with all the breastfeeding boobs and babies that it entails, remember this: Individually, we are one drop. But together we are the ocean… so let that milk and oxytocin flow!
