thanks for the mammaries
i was just reading an article on the msnbc website. this particular subject comes up quite often, and i am surprised by the responses i read and hear on the topic.
apparently "babytalk" magazine has recently published an issue wherein the cover has a picture of a beautiful baby nursing on the discreetly positioned breast of his mother. apparently , up to a quarter of the respondents replied in less-than-positive ways. from the article: "I was SHOCKED to see a giant breast on the cover of your magazine," one person wrote. "I immediately turned the magazine face down," wrote another. "Gross," said a third.
as one who has never nursed anything (and never will), my opinion may be quite ignorant and without real value. nonetheless:
at one time, i had a similar squeamishness concerning the public use of breasts as anything other than advertisement. that may read as being quite crude, i am just trying to be forthright. i recall several occasions when i was in close proximity to a nursing mother and my anxiety level was skyrocketing by the second. in retrospect, my apprehension was undue. none of these ladies ever asked for my assistance or assessment. each mother took the time and effort to "retain her privacy." i guess my nervousness emanated from the fact that when a woman exposes herself i tend to get a bit uncertain. can i just pretend i don't know what she's doing? should i avert my eyes in a 180* manner? is it o.k. for me to glance, in an effort to act cavalier. at what point will she think i'm trying to be voyeuristic should i not be obvious in my attempt to provide the privacy she deserves? all of these are contradictory questions that fly through my mind like so many farm animals and beds and schoolmarms in dorothy's cyclone.
that was then. when my wife got pregnant, i immediately began to research everything i could that related to my pregnant wife and my unborn son. the breast feeding debate was one of these subjects. it goes without saying that breasts were devised with this biological purpose in mind. it is only through advanced science that the "lift and separate" function evolved. i couldn't possibly recite any of the statistics i read concerning the brain development of breast-fed versus formula only children; but, it was greatly in favor of the "nature boy." i understand that the bond which develops between the mother and child in this scenario is unchallenged in its depth. these factors all pointed to the obvious conclusion that our child should be breast fed if my wife was willing. as she read much of the same materials as i, she was equally convinced.
nursing is not always as easy as its biological and evolutionary design would have us believe. as such, charlotte signed up for a how-to class at a local maternity shop, and i decided to go with her. it sounds odd; but, this is my kid we're talking about. i had been to every one of her obstetrician appointments, so i didn't see any reason to not be involved here also. things went along quite smoothly until a pretty attractive woman in the class voiced her concerns to the class about the shape and size of her nipples. fortunately for me, the instructor told her that she would examine said nipples privately, and after class. i was already beginning to feel like a sex offender at that point.
after six months of watching my wife nurse, being in the company of friends nursing, and discussing every conceivable nursing topic with a few of my la leche league "lactivist" clients; i came to be quite comfortable with the whole situation. on the rare occasion that a lactating lady exposes her bosom to feed her child in my presence; i act as if nothing could be more natural...because, this is exactly the case. if she is at all worried about my presence or curiosity or maleness, she should consider that before unclasping her bra.
some say that they abhor public nursing because they don't want their children to see mammaries, or have to explain to their children what is happening. i don't understand being so afraid of one's children as to not even be able to discuss the most elementary of bodily functions with them. if you can't explain breastfeeding to a twelve year old, how on earth are you going to deal with nocturnal emissions or menstruation. broaching these subjects seems much more daunting. no wonder so many people these days are so disfunctional...their parents have taught them to avoid the realities of life by pretending they don't exist, or should be hidden in the back room like a dirty secret. what a shame.
as it stands, only the brazenly enhanced and displayed bustline causes me noticeable consternation.
apparently "babytalk" magazine has recently published an issue wherein the cover has a picture of a beautiful baby nursing on the discreetly positioned breast of his mother. apparently , up to a quarter of the respondents replied in less-than-positive ways. from the article: "I was SHOCKED to see a giant breast on the cover of your magazine," one person wrote. "I immediately turned the magazine face down," wrote another. "Gross," said a third.
as one who has never nursed anything (and never will), my opinion may be quite ignorant and without real value. nonetheless:
at one time, i had a similar squeamishness concerning the public use of breasts as anything other than advertisement. that may read as being quite crude, i am just trying to be forthright. i recall several occasions when i was in close proximity to a nursing mother and my anxiety level was skyrocketing by the second. in retrospect, my apprehension was undue. none of these ladies ever asked for my assistance or assessment. each mother took the time and effort to "retain her privacy." i guess my nervousness emanated from the fact that when a woman exposes herself i tend to get a bit uncertain. can i just pretend i don't know what she's doing? should i avert my eyes in a 180* manner? is it o.k. for me to glance, in an effort to act cavalier. at what point will she think i'm trying to be voyeuristic should i not be obvious in my attempt to provide the privacy she deserves? all of these are contradictory questions that fly through my mind like so many farm animals and beds and schoolmarms in dorothy's cyclone.
that was then. when my wife got pregnant, i immediately began to research everything i could that related to my pregnant wife and my unborn son. the breast feeding debate was one of these subjects. it goes without saying that breasts were devised with this biological purpose in mind. it is only through advanced science that the "lift and separate" function evolved. i couldn't possibly recite any of the statistics i read concerning the brain development of breast-fed versus formula only children; but, it was greatly in favor of the "nature boy." i understand that the bond which develops between the mother and child in this scenario is unchallenged in its depth. these factors all pointed to the obvious conclusion that our child should be breast fed if my wife was willing. as she read much of the same materials as i, she was equally convinced.
nursing is not always as easy as its biological and evolutionary design would have us believe. as such, charlotte signed up for a how-to class at a local maternity shop, and i decided to go with her. it sounds odd; but, this is my kid we're talking about. i had been to every one of her obstetrician appointments, so i didn't see any reason to not be involved here also. things went along quite smoothly until a pretty attractive woman in the class voiced her concerns to the class about the shape and size of her nipples. fortunately for me, the instructor told her that she would examine said nipples privately, and after class. i was already beginning to feel like a sex offender at that point.
after six months of watching my wife nurse, being in the company of friends nursing, and discussing every conceivable nursing topic with a few of my la leche league "lactivist" clients; i came to be quite comfortable with the whole situation. on the rare occasion that a lactating lady exposes her bosom to feed her child in my presence; i act as if nothing could be more natural...because, this is exactly the case. if she is at all worried about my presence or curiosity or maleness, she should consider that before unclasping her bra.
some say that they abhor public nursing because they don't want their children to see mammaries, or have to explain to their children what is happening. i don't understand being so afraid of one's children as to not even be able to discuss the most elementary of bodily functions with them. if you can't explain breastfeeding to a twelve year old, how on earth are you going to deal with nocturnal emissions or menstruation. broaching these subjects seems much more daunting. no wonder so many people these days are so disfunctional...their parents have taught them to avoid the realities of life by pretending they don't exist, or should be hidden in the back room like a dirty secret. what a shame.
as it stands, only the brazenly enhanced and displayed bustline causes me noticeable consternation.
posted by cm at 7/27/2006
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