Breastfeeding: Don't try this at home

Be careful what you wish for.

In my view, this sentence sums up much of what feminism has brought society in the past 30-40 years. Women can now hold jobs next to men and the majority do. But, all these women in the workforce have contributed to an economy that, for many families, demands that they work, along with their husbands, just to keep a middle-class household afloat, unless they can do some very good planning, serious budgeting or things fall into place just so. Yes, now we women can play with the big boys. We can do anything we want. Great. But, equal opportunity does not mean equal expression or equal execution.

The latest "victory" is a stipulation in the health care bill requiring companies with more than 50 employees to provide a space for nursing mothers of children less than a year old to pump their milk. The space has to meet certain requirements: 4x6 feet, electrical outlet, sink, private, etc. One on hand, I like that it will be easier for women to get breast milk to their babies, but on the other hand, I lament that many women are away from their babies during the first year of the babies' lives and I question the repercussions the legislation will have on business and employees.

How did it ever come to this? A woman, her new baby in another room somewhere, being looked after by some other person, sits attached to a machine that pumps milk out of her body. She then stores it in bottles that will later be used to feed the baby. Now she can get back to work. Does this strike anyone else as kind of inhumane and weird?

I never took to pumping. I admire women who do it, to some extent, because I find it so offputting and I know I am very fortunate to have been able to not be separated from my baby in a way that would necessitate pumping. I was offered an extra pump by a friend with the suggestion that it would give me freedom. I could get away for a few hours more than I would without the pump. Something just didn't appeal to me about it. I never looked back. It was going to be just me and my baby. Together. On demand. That was what I was meant to do for this first year or so of her life. I later tried a hand-held manual pump when she transitioned to solid foods, thinking that I could mix some in with food for her and make breastmilk creations...but that didn't take off for us either.

Breastmilk has been shown to have many health benefits for babies, but I have to wonder, is it just the milk? It strikes me as unnatural and strange that we now think it is a great idea to suck the milk out of a woman with a machine and have someone else feed it to her baby from a bottle. We finally have our freedom. We don't have to be tied to our babies, at home. But, it's like the mom doesn't even matter. We just need to get the milk out of her. Well, I like to think that I matter to my baby, now my child, that it's not just a matter of her getting the milk. Call me narcissistic.