Breastfeeding

Mike Bloomberg—the mayor of New York-- has in his administration taken on several health initiatives. Among them is the reporting of calories in food, eliminating smoking from public spaces--–just to name a few.

But he has a new initiative—and this one resurrected some pent up emotion in me—it’s called the “Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative.” Mayor Bloomberg wants all mothers to breastfeed. It stems from research that postulates that bottle fed babies are at greater risk for obesity. Hospitals will receive increased funding based on an increased number of mothers who breast feed at city hospitals.

I knew from the moment the blue line came up on the EPT stick that I was not going to breastfeed my children. It had nothing to do with a lack of education. I completely understood that breastfeeding was the better (not necessarily best) nutritional and immunological alternative for my baby. And if I could have purchased breast milk in a can from CVS—even if it was more expensive than formula, I would have gone that route. But back then and still today, canned breast milk is not an option. And breast milk from those breast milk banks is not regulated. So feeding my children natural nutrition meant an infant stuck to my boob.

I was simply not interested. I supplied a feeding tube to my child for nine months in utero. That was enough. I wanted my body back.

And although I clearly expressed my desire to bottle feed to my obstetrician and pediatrician—both of whom were totally okay with my decision--it didn’t prevent the out and out bullying from the hospital maternity staff. I was being accused of endangering the welfare of my newborn—practically infanticide. The manner in which the breast milk police treated me was nothing short of abusive. New York City detectives interrogate criminals with more respect and less intimidation. Alleged criminals have more rights—called Miranda laws. They have lawyers. I had no one to advocate for me but myself.

Standing my ground was a tearful experience.

Because I believe that every woman has the right to choose. Every woman has the right to determine what is best for their body and their family’s quality of life. For me, breastfeeding was not bonding, it was incarceration. I knew unequivocally that for me to nourish and bond with my child, a bottle was necessary. My mental health depended on it. I needed to enjoy motherhood—not resent it.

The best choice for my child and me was Enfamil.

And just like I respect a woman’s right to breastfeed or to work outside the home or to remain childless or to live a life the best way they see fit, I deserve the same respect for my decisions. Mayor Bloomberg has no right to “legislate” breast feeding by dangling funding in the face of ailing hospitals. Breast feeding is much more complicated than posting the calorie count at Panera or reducing the sodium content in school lunches. Not all women are capable physically or mentally for the task. No woman deserves judgment. No one is entitled to inflict shame.

Bottle feeding is not child abuse. And breast feeding is a vocation that not everyone is called to.

And I question the research that postulates that bottle feeding leads to an increased risk of obesity in adults. I doubt obesity is a function of bottle feeding alone. If that were the case statistically at least one of my 3 children and a few of my nieces and nephews would be obese---none of them are. I suspect obesity has more to do with socioeconomics, cultural influences and lifestyle---not to mention psychological and genetic factors. I suspect that the research the mayor references has too many variables to justify an absolute universal mandate.

I love Mayor Mike---but this initiative is udder-ly flawed. Sometimes you need to analyze both the baby and the bathwater.