This post is a bit of a rant, so please bear with me...
Why are so many mothers so defensive all the time? Why do people feel the need to justify their actions all the time and belittle others for choosing differently?
Here is an article I read a while ago
Breastfeeding and Alcohol - the facts (http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/practical-parenting/article/-/7412792/breastfeeding-alcohol-the-facts/)
If you can't be bothered reading the article, it is basically a one page guide to consuming alcohol responsibly while breastfeeding, e.g. facts on how long alcohol stays in your body, how much of it gets into your breastmilk, suggestions on when to drink, when to eat, etc. I think it's a well written article. So what is wrong, then? Well, the response in the form of comments down the bottom... I have no idea why so many people assume that if you are going to drink alcohol at all then not only are you going to do it excessively, but you are also going to smoke cigarettes and bongs (and probably watch porn and clean your gun collection in front of your baby too...) Um, hang on. What is happening here? In no place does the article imply that you should down a whole bottle of vodka and then get into a car and drive with your baby on your lap. It is simply giving you the facts of what you should do if you happen to want to have a glass of wine during dinner like a normal person.
It seems that as a mother, you just can't win - you either need to be purer than the Virgin Mary, or otherwise be branded a bogan slut. There seems to be no in-between. Why can't mothers be normal people like everybody else?
The other comment I seem to hear a lot when discussing alcohol and breastfeeding is the attitude of "well, I gave up drinking completely so I don't see why why others can't do this"... Um, maybe because they don't want to... Good for you if abstaining completely is your choice, but don't push on to others.
Why do so many people seem to think that everyone else should be just like them? I wish people would just shut up about how 'holier than thou' they think they are and not belittle others for making different choices. Alcohol has been part of our society for a long time. It is not about to go away. As long as mothers (and all parents) are sensible in their consumption of it, they should not be thought badly of.
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Some of those comments are pretty awful, but pretty typical.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen New Scientist's Bumpology series?
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18994-bumpology-pregnant-at-the-cheese-and-wine-party.html
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19103-bumpology-fed-up-of-the-booze-and-cigs-police.html
A lot of health professionals will say "zero" alcohol because its easier to measure than "some".
This resource that you've shared from ABA gives us information to make our choices sensibly.
Yay!