Comments on: High School Cancels Breastfeeding Demo

By: Ahmie

Ahmie — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 22:26:11 +0000

I’m very pro-breastfeeding – wherever and whenever. I think that it might have been better to do a “mixed media” demonstration, though. Video of what is involved in breastfeeding, with Q&A with an actual mother who is experienced with breastfeeding (preferably well beyond a few months old – one of the big questions I get from people is “what about when they get teeth” especially with the WHO guidelines saying 2 years – I nursed my 1st to 2.5yrs and my 25mo is still nursing so I’m very comfortable discussing baby-has-teeth issues). You also can’t be sure that baby is going to be hungry/interested in nursing on cue when it’s demo time, so a video would have solved that issue as well as giving some of the emotional distance necessary with teenagers (my husband is a high school teacher, I’m a former teacher). I applaud the teacher for even bringing the issue up for discussion, but there may have been other ways to do so that would have provided more information as well as being received more efficiently. Let the kids get the “ew/wow boobs” stuff out of their system while watching a video, then discuss and question, etc.

By: Satsuki

Satsuki — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:25:56 +0000

I may be in the minority here but I actually agree with the school on this one. I’ve made this argument before and I doubt I’ll stop saying it- breasts are sexual objects AS WELL AS food sources. I’m betting most readers on this blog are women so we can’t say we know what it’s like to be a teenage boy. From my experience with them though, well, I doubt they’d be interested in the baby. Do I really want my teenage son oogling the breasts of a stranger at school? Probably not. Would I want him to see breastfeeding as part of a natural process? Certainly! That’s why it’s important that the parents talk about this with their children at home. Heck, as a high school girl I would have felt very uncomfortable in that situation. It’s not that breastfeeding is wrong. It’s just that a public school isn’t the place to have women opening their shirts to show how to do it.

By: Chandra

Chandra — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:31:44 +0000

I certainly think that this situation could have been handled much better and ended up sending the wrong message. However, I applaude the Teacher for bringing breastfeeding up for discussion and for attempting this demonstration.

By: Crimson Wife

Crimson Wife — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:04:41 +0000

I’m pretty darn conservative when it comes to issues of sexual morality, but this is absolutely ridiculous. A brief glimpse of the nipple as it’s going into the baby’s mouth is not obscene. As a mom, I’m a million times more concerned about the skimpy attire worn by many teen girls than of my child watching somebody breastfeed an infant.