My Mistake
I made a mistake. I know! It happens! I was doing a little mindless scrolling through the Facebook when I came across this story about Brittni Medina, who attracted negative attention because she fed her son in one of those endless lines at Disneyland.
Despite my better judgement, I took a trip down to the comment section. WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF?!?! I don’t know what I expected to find. An empowering display of women uniting to show support for a young mother? There was some of that, but it was drowned out by an angry mob screaming its age-old rhetoric, “Classless! Immodest! Whore!” Break out the pitchforks! Where do we send her to get fitted for her scarlet letter?
Before we get into her son’s lunch, lets clear up some things about her tank top. Let me tell you something about us proud owners of a lot of real estate in the chest region. When we wear…pretty much anything, more of our skin shows, because we have more skin. Doesn’t matter what we wear really. It is a fact of life that we have come to accept, and the rest of the world needs to get over it. It is HOT in California. This girl shouldn’t have to walk around in a sweater because her skin showing bothers some of you more than a woman with less skin would. Brittni is wearing a nursing tank top, so when it is time to nurse her son she can unfasten it from the top, rather than lifting up her shirt, exposing even more skin. She did not walk out of the house thinking, “I wonder how many dudes with no self control I can steal from their insecure wives today in this!” This mother was thinking, “this shirt will make it really easy to stay cool while feeding and hydrating my son on a hot day at the amusement park.
Fast Facts
In case you are unaware about how breastfeeding works, here are some things you should know:
- It is a major commitment. Every 2.5-3 hours, no matter where the mother is or what she’s doing, she has to drop everything and attach herself to another human being, or a device of torture called a breast pump. It can be a rewarding experience, but there isn’t much about it I would call enjoyable. You know how people call child birth a miracle, but leave out the gore and suffering part? It’s kind of like that, but slightly less messy (unless you have a sloppy eater on your hands).
- Breastfeeding works on a supply and demand basis. When milk is removed from the breast, it tells the mother’s body to keep making that amount of milk the following day. When less milk is removed from the breast, it tells the woman’s body not to make that much anymore. So when you ask your breastfeeding friend something like, “can’t you just skip it this once…” the answer is no. She can’t because her child might not have enough to eat the next day. In fact, if you are about to ask a new mommy friend anything that starts with the phrase, “can’t you just…” just don’t. New mothers can’t “just” do anything.
- Milk continues to flow into the breasts like a river, as it is being emptied more is coming in, and the mom has to stay ahead of it. You can’t turn it on or off like a faucet. If a woman continues to skip feedings or pumping sessions, not only will she start to leak everywhere, but she can become painfully engorged. Engorgement leads to clogged ducts, and those clogs can lead to a nasty infection called mastitis, which requires medical treatment. So the next time you wonder why the woman in the airplane seat next to you can’t put those things away and wait until she gets home, this is why: IT IS MEDICALLY NECESSARY FOR HER TO REMOVE THE MILK FROM HER BODY!
Questions and Comments
Lets get back to what set me off on this tirade. The comments section. The place where the dregs of humanity hang out to spew trash at their fellow man, without bothering to educate themselves about the issue at hand. Allow me to share some of the things I read:
- This whore should cover herself! She’s doing this for attention!
Do you crawl under the table when you eat? I’m going to walk up to a patio at a restaurant on a warm day and start throwing blankets over the heads of all the diners to see how they like it. As for looking for attention, you want to know what really gets heads turning? Screaming children! Which is what they tend to do when they are hungry.
- Why “can’t she just” go somewhere private?
You know what my favorite thing to do is when my daughter is screaming her head off waiting to be fed? Wonder around and look for somewhere to feed her. Aren’t children known for their patience? Better yet, I’ll leave my shopping cart full of groceries behind to go to my car (which has windows. Still offended? My bad!) IF that won’t work for you, perhaps there’s a bathroom close by. Which brings me to the king of all idiocy…
- Defecating is natural. Can I do that in public, too?
DO YOU EAT WHERE YOU POOP!? Do you take your lunch breaks in the bathroom? I should not have to explain the difference between pooping and eating to an adult person!
Share the World
You know those signs you see about sharing the road with bicyclist?
Here’s the thing, women don’t make babies and retire from society, then conveniently die so their husbands can start the cycle over with younger versions. I know some of you can’t stand this reality. Much like we all have to share the road with folks on two wheels (backing up traffic, peddling along without a care in the world), breastfeeding mothers aren’t going anywhere. I know it is SO irritating for you! If it bothers you, go around, and keep your comments to yourself.
