Breast-feeding, particularly in public places has been a really controversial issue in the last decade. Many Mums who have dared to feed in public have been told to stop. In an open-minded society like ours, surely we should be supporting women who want to give their babies the best (and cheapest) start in life by breast-feeding. Formula milk is expensive, can cause allergic reactions and requires preparation with not water and therefore access to a kettle. Breast milk is always on tap for new Mums and to quote Boris Johnson "is ready to go".
There is however a more pressing issue than upsetting a few narrow-minded individuals in the UK. Formula milk is being aggressively marketed in developing countries to the detriment of both mothers and babies. Nestle are particularly keen to increase sales in countries such as The Phillipines, offering financial incentives to medical practitioners who in turn push new mothers into using these products.
Formula milk may well be beneficial when a mother is under-nourished and unable to feed her baby well but the there are other factors to consider if these products become popular because they are recommended purely to boost the coffers of unscrupulous medics.
Formula milk is expensive and most of the women who are being encouraged to use it are extremely poor. The other major problem is that formula milk has to be made with hot water. In many third world countries, water is contaminated with bacteria and parasites. To be safe, contaminated water must be boiled and this is not possible. Heating water uses fuel and that is also an unnecessary expense for poor women. Breast milk is free and in most cases, far better for babies.
My own experience of breast-feeding was very positive and I recommend that every Mum should at least give it a go. The idea of having to get out of bed in the wee small hours to prepare a bottle is way out of my own comfort zone. I realize that there are problems for daddies who want to share in feeding baby but you can always express milk for a bottle if that helps. The antibodies that pass from Mum to baby during breast-feeding make it worthwhile even if you only manage to feed for the first six weeks.
Getting a breast of things
A slender and small-breasted bird
Would shrug her shoulders when,
those women far more well-endowed
drew attention from the men.
My thirty-two cup double A
Made no impression whatsoever.
So I’d be set up with the ugly bloke
and talk about the weather.
As motherhood approached
I’d sit and think with trepidation,
would the art of feeding baby
be just bottle liquidation?
On the day of his arrival
my gorgeous new born son
suckled with his second breath
and bonding was begun.
My breasts, once insignificant
now flowed with rich ambrosia
a potent mix that kept him growing well
and sleeping cosier.
The promised first six weeks soon passed
with both of us content
and though my days were busy,
my supply was never spent.
The bloom upon his skin
reflected radiance in my heart
I revelled, simply knowing
I was giving the best start.
There’s no downside to breast-feeding
as my body could attest.
I just put him on the nipple
and the sucking did the rest.
Back in shape in no time -
wearing favorite jeans.
But don’t go thinking I was only young
or in my teens.
If you think that you can’t do it,
you won’t know unless you try.
Designer milk, the special gift
that money cannot buy!
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