The above picture was taken in July of 2002 at the Dino museum at Thanksgiving Point (with Rose, Brenna and David in the front, little Sebastian and Elijah in the back.) It's a dark, bad picture...but I am posting it because in this picture, I am nursing sweet litte baby Fiona in the sling. Read on to find out why I needed to post this picture...Dear Dr. Laura,
I LOVE that each and every time you speak with a prospective or new mommy, you talk about breastfeeding. I LOVE that you have the power to influence so many mothers to choose breast over bottle. I LOVE the way you talk about nurturing babies...snuggling, gazing into their eyes, cooing...rather than talking about "managing" babies. As the woman who almost single-handedly saved my marriage (I did have a small part in that...), I am forever in-debted to you. I LOVE listening to your show every day while I clean the kitchen; it helps me to stay on track, so to speak. Today, however, while listening to your commentary from March 25, I was extremely disapointed.
I agree with your opinion that women should not "let it all hang out" while breast feeding. Modesty is an important and needed virtue in our society. I do, however, think that it is very important to support legislature that protects a woman's right to breastfeed in public. As a breast feeding mother of my sixth child, this is an issue close to my heart. The sad truth is that we NEED this right protected. Even women who cover up with a blanket are asked to leave public places. Too many women feel that they need to leave wherever they are to go and feed their baby in their car, or worse...in the restroom! (Gross!) The more that breastfeeding women are made to "hide" what they are doing, the less "normal" breastfeeding is in our culture...and the message that breasts are for men and sex only is reinforced. I sorely hope that you will clarify that a woman does and SHOULD have a right to nurse her baby in public! This shift in our culture would truly make breast feeding the "norm" that it should and ought to be...that every mother and baby deserve it to be!
Thank you for all that you do for children and families...your voice of reason is one that is so needed in our society today and I thank you for being bold and brave enough to share it with us!
My 6 kids' mom and my husbands gal,
Heidi Boyd
I agree with you!
ReplyDeletei know truth when i read it, and you have said it in a gentle and caring way. as long as everyone knows that it's also okay not to breastfeed. after any mother has the knowledge and education needed to make her own choice, i strongly agree that Dr Laura's bold and listened-to voice should be helping to support the need our country has to strenghten the issues in support of breastfeeding in public to offset the obvious push that our USA society has always made to keep women's breasts in the sex arena only. what did God create the whole body for anyway"...reproduce and multiply..." includes breastfeeding, obviously.
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