Jamie Oliver’s
pro-breastfeeding campaign was never going to go well. Pretty much anyone
commenting on breastfeeding in any circumstances is asking for a backlash in
its strongest terms. But when that person is a man, making bold statements
about women’s choices… Cue media meltdown.
I’ve been
reading the back-and-forth debates over the last few days and decided to give
my tuppence-worth on the debacle.
In my
opinion, his mistake comes down to one little word.
 |
| Credit: Jamie Oliver / Instagram |
'It's easy,
it's more convenient, it's more nutritious, it's better, it's free,' he said.
Yes, it’s more convenient (unless you’re being heckled on a busy train full of commuters).
Yes, it’s more nutritious (unless
the mum is living off a diet of chocolate digestives, surely?).
Yes, it’s free.
But EASY? Not sure about that,
Jamie.
What is Jamie’s basis for calling
breastfeeding ‘easy’? I don’t say this because he’s a man. His ability to
lactate and feed a child has nothing to do with his ability to form an opinion.
I have been breastfeeding for six months now, but still I feel that I am only a
tiny bit more qualified to have an opinion on breastfeeding than Mr Oliver.
But I would say this: NOTHING about
parenting is ‘easy’. And that includes feeding your child, however you choose to
do it. I know dozens of mums who would describe breastfeeding as the polar
opposite of ‘easy’. Who tried desperately to succeed only to find it so NOT ‘easy’
that they had to find other options.
I consider myself extremely lucky
that Jack has always been a good feeder. But, breastfeeding still doesn’t feel
particularly ‘easy’.
I say again, is it easy when you’re
being heckled on a busy train full of commuters?
Is it easy when you’re feeding
every hour on the hour through the night, on no sleep?
Is it easy when you feed your child
for 35 minutes only to see them throw the whole lot up and have to start again?
But the problem is not Jamie’s
pro-breastfeeding comments. He has good intentions. As a nation, we should be
breastfeeding more. But the emphasis should not be on telling mums how easy
and convenient breastfeeding is. Nearly all the mums I know would have LIKED to
breastfeed, but many felt it wasn’t an option for them. We should be investing in
more support services for new mums, not telling them why they’ve failed by not
breastfeeding.
I had an incredibly positive
experience with Royal Berks Hospital post-birth with the midwives and
breastfeeding councillors who helped establish feeding straight away, and signed me up to a text message support service, which I called on
many times (thanks Nancy). It’s services like THIS we should be drawing
attention to, rather than over and over telling mothers why they’re failures if
they reach for the bottle.
Breastfeeding is NOT easy. Bottle
feeding is NOT easy. Birthing and raising a child is NOT BLOODY EASY.
And being judged for how you decide
to perform any element of the process makes it whole lot LESS ‘easy’ again.
However you're feeding your child, you're doing a good job. Keep it going.
However you're feeding your child, you're doing a good job. Keep it going.
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