Get a grip, America

This article was on Yahoo a couple of weeks ago--I meant to blog about it at the time, and got busy and forgot. But I happened to come across it again today, so here I go.

First off, I want to say that I wholeheartedly support breastfeeding. I believe all the data that says that breast milk is healthier for babies than formula. I breastfed my girls for just over a year, and it worked out just fine for all of us. I will absolutely offer support and encouragement to any woman who wants to breastfeed her babies. However, I am not one of those militant types who insist that breastfeeding is the only way to go. I do not believe that formula is a bad thing. (I even supplemented with formula at times while I was nursing my twins.) I understand that some people can't or don't want to breastfeed their kids. Okay by me--it's none of my business, and I will not judge you or think of you as a bad mother if you don't breastfeed.

BUT. I read some of the comments that readers sent in about this Babytalk magazine cover, and I mentally rolled my eyes and thought, "Oh, PLEASE." Some people are a little uptight. I loved the comment from the reader in Kansas who said that her husband was "very uncomfortable when [she] left the magazine on the coffee table." I bet hubby would be totally cool with an issue of Maxim or Playboy, or heck, even the Victoria's Secret catalog.

I agree with the Babytalk editor who pointed out that we see celebrity boobs all the time, and no one seems to mind that. Why is it okay for TV or magazines to show nearly or completely naked breasts in a sexual context, but when we see a baby attached to a naked breast, we have to cover our eyes in shame and embarrassment?

I'm glad the editors aren't going to let the negative feedback on the cover photo stop them from running a picture like this again. I think it's important to remove the taboo from breastfeeding for the sake of those women who decide that nursing is the right choice for them.