Breastfeeding Elle Cover Model Speaks Out About Breastfeeding!
/ Kristy KempNicole Trunfio breastfeeding her son Zion on the cover of Elle Australia. (Photo: Elle Australia)
Mom Breastfeeds Her 6 Year Old Gets Terrible backlash...
/ Kristy KempWoman's Day recently put out a piece on a mom from Australia who is breastfeeding her daughter. Normally that wouldn't cause too much of a fuss, but her daughter is 6 years old. Society has a hard time accepting babies breastfeeding , but throw in an older kid to the mix and people literally lose their minds. It's strange people would lose their minds over a mother choosing to use her breasts the way they were biologically designed to be used. I was disgusted at some of the comments that were made about her I have compiled some of them to include in this blog.
Here is a clip from about a year ago when she spoke out on why she chooses full-term weaning. Her daughter was five at the time.
From the looks of the comments she is getting it's clear how much work we have in our fight to normalize breastfeeding. Here are my observations on the comments.
People are against her breastfeeding her six year old because:
* "She will get bullied at school." Funny because I do see bullying going on and it's by the people saying that her daughter will get bullied except they are bullying the mom. They seem so concerned about the child being bullied yet all the while they are doing the bullying themselves. So they are absolutely right the uneducated people of the world may bully her, but since when do our fears about what other people think keep us from living the life we want to live?
* "She can just pump and cup feed." That's usually one of the main arguments people try to make against full term weaning. Which time and time again as been debunked. Breastfeeding is not just about the milk. Think of it as a bottle. A toddler being attached to a bottle, isn't the milk they are attached to it's how they are getting it and with exclusively breastfed kids it's directly from the breast. So pumping the milk would be irrelevant. Some women do not respond well to a pump. It either causes them pain or they don't get much out. It could also have a negative effect on their supply since nothing in the world could duplicate human suckling exactly.
* "She will need therapy because this most certainly has to be traumatizing." What exactly is the traumatizing part about allowing the breastfeeding relationship to continue? Breastfeeding only works if it's mutually desired. Which means both mother and child are choosing it. Unless a mother is force feeding their child breast there is nothing traumatizing about it. It's natural and it's the way nature intended babies and kids to be fed.
* "That just can't be normal or right!" Actually it is normal and it is the right way. We as a society have changed our outlook and views on what is considered to be, "Normal." Biologically speaking the natural weaning age is seven all the way to eight. Over time it changed, but it's actually a very normal way of life. It may not seem normal , but it very much is.
* "There is no benefits breastfeeding a child after age two." That is incorrect and there is a massive amount of information proving that breastmilk will still benefit no matter the age. Even body builders are getting in on breastmilk benefits and paying a pretty penny to get their hands on some. Just because a child can get their nutrients from other food sources it does not mean that they wouldn't still receive the amazing benefits breastmilk has to offer.
It is clear how uneducated or ill informed society is on breastfeeding. I have made it my life mission to bring awareness and inform the public on the truth about breastfeeding. Attacking a mother for using her breasts the way they were designed to be used is the only thing not normal and wrong about breastfeeding.
Guests On The Meredith Vieira Show Say Moms Should Cover While Breastfeeding In Public...
/ Kristy KempIn this clip starting at 4 minutes in to the end they bring up breastfeeding on a plane and say how they think that breastfeeding with a cover or light scarf is necessary so that they "respect" the people around them. When will this madness end? And people wonder why breastfeeding rates in America are so low. So much lack of support and education it's so sad to witness.
This video clip was also posted on The Meredith Vieira Show Facebook page make sure to comment what you think about the negative comments. Click here to get to post.
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Breastfeeding On Elle Causes Breastfeeding Supporters To Turn
/ Kristy KempNicole Trunfio recently posed breastfeeding her baby on the recent cover of Elle. While many saw this as a positive win for the Normalize breastfeeding movement some people are calling it porn, "Lacto-porn" to be exact. This isn't the first time a celebrity mom has received negative backlash after posting a breastfeeding selfie AKA Brelfie.
Alyssa Milano has posted quite a few breastfeeding pictures and has even spoken out publicly defending a woman's right to breastfeed in public however she chooses. It's always nice when celebrities step up support for breastfeeding.
Why are my knickers in a bunch over the negative backlash of Nicole Trunfio? Too often, the same people who are fighting for breastfeeding moms to be able to breastfeed however they choose are also joining in on the shaming of the celebrity moms. I find it hypocritical and feel like it's taking many steps back. We want society to stop viewing breastfeeding to be sexual yet we're so quick to shame and demonize a breastfeeding mom who even remotely looks sexy and happens to be breastfeeding too. Are moms only supposed to breastfeed with stained clothing and messed up hair in a pony? Are celebrity moms just exempt from the unconditional support that we're claiming to give, and what we're begging to get? Trufio wrote this statement about her photo and it seems to me that she is a working mom and she was excited to be able to combine both her job and breastfeeding to help normalize it in the process.
"I disagree that it normalizes breastfeeding. It does exactly what those who promote breastfeeding should be trying to avoid. It sexualizes breastfeeding instead of portraying it as what it is: a mother nourishing her child with no effort to titillate (the use of the word is not coincidental) the others around her."
Some breastfeeding supporters that usually fight alongside with me are some of the people involved in the shaming of Trunfio. I support all breastfeeding moms unconditionally, celebrity, or not. A confident, sexy, working mom breastfeeding her baby should not be demonized simply because of subjective perception.
Jeanna Hoch, breastfeeding mom who received some negative backlash of her own for a brelfie she posted on her twitter and Facebook, made a few comments on Nicole Trufino's behalf. Jeanna Hoch is a huge supporter of women and their rights in general you can find her on Twitter @PoliSciMommy
Breastfeeding On Two and a half Men
/ Kristy KempOn an old episode of Two And A Half Men they show breastfeeding in public as normal. This episode was from years back, but they still play this episode as reruns! Kudos Two And A Half Men for Normalizing Breastfeeding!
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