breastfeeding (Photo credit: sdminor81)
I just saw a post on Babycenter by a woman who is concerned about breastfeeding around her ten year old son. Some women had some great comments, such as one woman who said:
“I think it’s so important to nurse our babies in front of our other kids, especially boys. It normalizes breastfeeding, and teaches them a healthy attitude about what breasts are for. I was 17, and my little brother was 11, when my parents had our little brother. My Mom didn’t think twice about breastfeeding in front of us. My brother was never uncomfortable about it, and to this day doesn’t bat an eye about women breastfeeding their babies. He is 24 now, and so respectful of women who BF, and I really think that it is because of the experience of watching my Mom BF our brother that he has such a healthy attitude towards it.I think if you try to be discreet, or hide it all together, that it really sends the wrong message. Any discomfort he or you may feel in the beginning will be very short lived. It will become just a normal part of everyday life. I would just be as nonchalant about it as possible. The more comfortable you are, the more comfortable he will be.”
Another woman said that if you normalize breastfeeding for older children, it becomes a normal and natural thing instead of a weird gross thing, which unfortunately is the majority of our society’s view on breastfeeding.
I remember one time a guy I was dating asked me why he loved breasts so much, and I said it was probably because breasts are what he needed to feed his future babies, and he agreed because, well, it’s the truth! The reasons men and women are attracted to each other are all linked to fertility. Not feeding our babies the best nourishment in the world because we only view breasts as sexual objects is a major crime! Especially because the reason you are attracted to them in the first place is because they are a sign of fertility and will feed your babies!
I intend to add more research to this, but I really believe that if we make breastfeeding a normal and natural thing for older kids that our children will have more respect for themselves and for each other. Men would have more respect for women when they can view breasts as something more than sexual objects, and woman will also stop degrading themselves and feeling so uncomfortable about their bodies.
Caring Doula 