One of the most important things that you should look upon is your baby’s milk. May that either be breast milk or formula. Of course, the decision of which option would be best to give your child is up to you. However, we live in a time when almost everyone is just about sensitive about the issues. That goes whether or not the issue concerns them. This has its advantages and disadvantages, too. For one, it goes to show that more and more people are open for a healthy discourse and discussion. People are now also more educated, know they rights more, and are now keen on being updated when it comes to social issues. The other is that they give out opinions and abuse their freedom of speech to shame someone else of their standards.
A classic example that includes us moms is what’s popularly now known as “mom-shaming.” Years ago, you wouldn’t hear of this word. I don’t even think that there’s such a term until just recently. A part of mom-shaming is about a woman’s choice, whether she prefers to breastfeed her child or not.
Most of us know that breast milk, indeed, is the best for babies, especially for newborns. But that doesn’t necessarily remove the right of a mom to exercise her informed choice. Whether that involves breastfeeding or not. I am sure that for moms out there, we would want the best for our child. But what if, some mothers have underweight babies and can just minimal amounts of breast milk which are not enough to fully satisfy her child’s daily needs? Or maybe mom has a disease that might be transferable to her child through breast milk – whichever the reason is; we do not have the right to shame moms. Anyone of us! Especially with us mothers. We are the ones who should understand other women because we experience it ourselves, too. If you feel bad about other people telling you how you should raise your child, then it goes the same way too. Choosing whether to breastfeed or bottle feed your child are ways on how you raise them.
The answer to “do you breastfeed your child?” isn’t an automatic yes. It can simply be a no, and no explanations are needed for this either. No mother should feel embarrassed that she chose to exclusively breast feed, formula feed or mix feed pher child. Neither should she feel the need to explain it to everyone who asks why. As human beings, we should always keep in mind that we need to be more understanding of one another’s ordeals. Others’ lives are not patterned to yours, and it doesn’t have to conform with the norm. That includes breastfeeding. If the norm says that breastfeeding should be advocated, mothers will always have a choice to deviate from this.
Indeed, what I learned from being a mother is that a mother always knows the best for her child. She has nothing in mind but good intentions – and that includes the choice of whether she chooses to breastfeed her child or use milk formula instead.
