In Praise of the Breastpump

I wasn't going to do this, but I can't resist a good rant. I posted the following link on Orange Monster / Pink Baby about breast pumps:

http://warner.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/why-i-dumped-the-pump/

This article drives me insane.

Our society so clearly favors formula over breastmilk. I am reminded of this every time I choose to feed my daughter in public, and I have to cover her sweet little head with a heavy blanket (lest someone accuse me of being indecent). I am reminded of this every time I leave Laila at the gym's nursery, and I see the bewildered look on the worker's face when I tell her it's breastmilk in the bottle. I am reminded of this every time I open the mailbox and find yet another coupon, advertisement, or sample from the formula companies.

Breastfeeding women are made to feel that breastfeeding is gross, indecent, and something that is only acceptable in the privacy of our own homes. We're also made to feel that by choosing to breastfeed in public, we are somehow trying to make a point. No, I'm just trying to feed my baby. If she's sitting in poop, I change her diaper. If she's hungry, I feed her. It's as simple as that.

This article is just another attempt to denigrate breastfeeding women. As if it's not enough to make us feel ashamed for breastfeeding in public, now we are made to feel as if it is repulsive to use a breast pump. The author goes as far as to say that she hopes someday breast pumps will cease to exist. She writes, "In fact, I hope that some day, not too long in the future, books on women’s history will feature photos of breast pumps to illustrate what it was like back in the day when mothers were consistently given the shaft." Really?

The author of this article clearly has little to no knowledge on lactation. If she had read just one book, even one article, on the subject, she would know that in order to continue breastfeeding, you have to breastfeed. If you cannot breastfeed for long periods of time, then you must pump. Otherwise you will stop producing milk. It's that simple.

So breast pumps are essential for women who wish to return to work and continue breastfeeding. If anything, breast pumps offer women more choices. Without them, working women would be forced to choose between giving up their careers or breastfeeding. For many women, that would be a difficult decision.

Even for a stay-at-home mom, a breast pump is an essential tool. It's great for expressing breastmilk for date nights. It's necessary for out-of-town trips without baby. (As any breastfeeding mom knows, if the milk doesn't get expressed, the breast becomes heavy, hard, and painful. This can lead to a breast infection or mastitis, which, believe me, sucks.) It's also great for those nights when you perhaps have a little too much to drink: it allows you to express milk without getting baby drunk.

Considering our society's preference for formula and it's disdain for breastfeeding, I shouldn't be surprised by this article. But I am still disgusted by it. What bothers me is that in a society that already favors formula, some women feel the urge to continue to disparage women who breastfeed. I am not offended by mothers who choose formula. But I am offended by a society that continues to suggest that breastfeeding is somehow indecent, primitive, or gross, and that continues to judge women who choose to breastfeed.