They're Acting Like a Couple of Boobs

So . . . the breastfeeding propagandists are at it again (by the way, I love coming up with unexpected opening sentences. I defy anyone to have predicted that I would started a post this way). For the uninitiated, when you have a child you quickly learn that there is a large, well-organized, vociferous group of advocates for breastfeeding (of children). These medical professionals, mothers, and other interested parties are very eager to inform you of the vast superiority of breastfeeding vs. formula feeding (common examples of the positive benefits of breastfeeding: smarter children, happier children, healthier mothers, better bonding between mother and child, children who can fly, fewer incidences of gout. Okay, I made the last two up).

I am not entering the boob juice debate here (I was formula fed, and I turned out just . . . . well, I'll let you draw your own conclusions), just commenting on the latest lunacy by a group of people with too much time on their hands. In case you missed the earth-shattering news, Old Navy had to apologize to a group of breastmilk zealots yesterday because they sold a onesie with an apparently offensive message printed on it. The lactators and their supporters (the human kind, not the lycra-spandex kind) have organized a boycott of Old Navy as a result of their outrage.

Let's get back to reality, people. First of all, are there no worthier causes for which these people could be expending their effort? I'm not saying that breastfeeding isn't important, but it certainly isn't essential (in the sense that there is a safe substitute - of course, those with extreme enough views will dispute that as well). It's a shirt. That no one is forcing you to buy.

Apparently those blogging in favour of the boycott (you know those blogging types) claim that the onesie is a tool of the formula industry. That's it - you've cracked the code and found out all of Old Navy's secrets. It's all a plot to advance the interests of the formula makers. They are going to take over the world one onesie at a time. I mean, do people actually believe the crap they write? (don't worry, I do)

The extremism involved in breastfeeding advocacy is also troubling. It is often promoted as the only way to feed your baby. The reality is that there are, in fact, formula-fed babies, and what's wrong with a onesie for them? There are plenty of mothers out there who cannot or will not breastfeed, and they are made to feel inferior. I'd like to advance a few reasons as to why the debate is so heated:

1. Mothers who have decided to breastfeed are trying to combat cognitive dissonance (the thinking of two conflicting ideas simultaneously). If formula is acceptable, breastfeeding is inferior, because it is more time-consuming, tethers the mother to the baby almost all the time, prevents a return to work, etc. Therefore, if I choose to breastfeed, it must be superior (and studies have shown it to be better, on average, than formula). The more I promote breastfeeding, the more I justify my own decision. This is the same type of behaviour as new converts to a religion vigorously promote that religion, or people starting a diet talk about how others should also get healthier.

2. The health-care field supports it because it is in their interest to do so. Lactation consultants, breastfeeding doctors (those doctors who study and help with breastfeeding, not the doctors who breastfeed), maternity nurses, and so on all receive attention and respect from the need by new mothers to breastfeed. They are placed in a position of authority and given another field in which they can act as experts. I'm not saying that doctors seek out areas to be experts but rather that people in general do that. Nor would I suggest that doctors would promote something unsafe for the enhancement of their ego. But giving up authority is a hard thing to do, and as I wrote about a few weeks ago, the medical establishment can be slow to change.

There will be extremists in any group, but as the saying goes, sometimes one side of a debate is right, sometimes the other side is right, but the extremists are never right. And if you are so pro-mommy-milk that you can't accept a cute shirt for kids (some of whom might be, gasp! formula-fed), then you've got bigger problems than this.

And hey, maybe some of those people boycotting Old Navy will instead shop at The Gap or Banana Republic.