One of the biggest concerns of breastfeeding mothers is whether or not they are producing enough breast milk for their babies. It’s a valid concern. Having a low milk supply can become an overwhelming frustration for mothers. Some turn to formula and others like Hope turn to pumping.
When Hope didn’t think she was producing enough breast milk she decided to pump instead so she could see exactly how much breast milk she was feeding her son. Now, she has no doubt she’s giving him everything he needs.
In the beginning, I was pumping every two to three hours. But I soon got sick of that and decided to only pump three times a day. Now, I’m down to twice a day.
Long ago in Internet years (about seven years ago) I was a staunch breastfeeding advocate and researcher (still am!). Back then I wanted to get to the bottom of why nursing in public was such a big issue in the United States. So, I started digging in the photo archives of the Library of Congress for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours and discovered through black and white, historic photos that breastfeeding in public hasn’t always been a problem in the United States.
Last week I was reminded about all of my research when during the #EveryNewborn Twitter chat Kenyan Social Good Moms correspondent Maryanne Waweru Wanyama mentioned that Kenyans do not have a problem with public nursing. It’s true. The many, many times I have been to Africa I have never witnessed a problem with women breastfeeding in public; no disgusted glares or reprimands. And yet, here in the United States public breastfeeding always draws controversy.
Thankfully, many African communities have no qualms about nursing moms breastfeeding in public. It's NOT considered indecent #EveryNewborn
For World Breastfeeding Week I wanted to revisit the historic photos I found years ago in the Library of Congress archives that show nursing in public hasn’t always been an issue like it is today. When public perception about breastfeeding changed in the United States, I still don’t know. It’s definitely an issue worth pursuing.
Part of Social Hour audience at Shafter Camp (handwritten on reverse) b) Todd’s favorite picture of an “Okie Family” in Shafter F.S.A. Camp. Nursing babies was the usual thing at camp “Socials.” (typed and attached to reverse)
Drought refugees from Oklahoma camping by the roadside. They hope to work in the cotton fields. There are seven in family. Blythe, California. LC-USF34- 009666-E. Lange, Dorothea, photographerColored mother and child, Little Rock, Arkansas. Note: I am keeping captions as they appear in the Library of Congress archives. LC-USF3301-006023-M5; Shahn, Ben, 1898-1969, photographerColored sharecropper family living in Little Rock, Arkansas (same woman as above)This is a mother who is traveling from Louisville, Kentucky to Memphis, Tennessee on a Greyhound bus. Here, she is waiting in the Chattanooga bus terminal and breastfeeding in public in September 1943. Photographer: Esther Bubley, a pioneer in female photojournalism, who chronicled people’s daily lives for the Farm Security Administration – Office of War Information Collection (FSA-OWI).
Coal miner’s wife and child. Pursglove, West Virginia. Wolcott, Marion Post, 1910-1990, photographer; LC-USF34- 050320-E
Scene in New Orleans, Louisiana; Shahn, Ben, 1898-1969, LC-USF33- 006099-M2
Location: Greenville, MS, US Date taken: 1937 Photographer: Alfred Eisenstaedt Time Life Magazine
Migrant mother and child in tent home. Harlingen, Texas; Lee, Russell, 1903-1986, photographer; LC-USF34- 032200-D
This post will be updated from time to time. There are more photos I have found from the archives and I will share them here.
If there is one thing that is certain about breastfeeding it’s this: breastfeeding for every mother is different. Some mothers experience breastfeeding without any issues and others have difficulty getting their babies to properly latch or have problems producing enough milk at first. That’s why we believe it is important to share the stories of fellow breastfeeding mothers. At 1 AM in the morning when a mom is near tears because she feels alone, we hope this series of stories will provide some comfort for moms on their breastfeeding journey.
Jennifer, a mother from Nova Scotia, blogs about breastfeeding her baby, Victoria, who had a cleft lip and whether there was even the possibility of breastfeeding her.
I was determined to breastfeed Victoria if her cleft lip would allow it. Until she was born we were unsure of the severity. As it turned out she only had an incomplete cleft lip and a notch in her gum line, while her palate was completely intact. That being said it was still no easy feat trying to breastfeed her. Nova Scotia is very pushy (and not always in a helpful way) when it comes to breastfeeding, that is until your baby has a cleft anything…
Read Jennifer’s story at Battle for Breastfeeding – Part 1. The second part of Jennifer’s breastfeeding story will be published on August 6.
Even though some mothers want nothing more than to breastfeed their babies, sometimes unforeseen circumstances arise that make nursing difficult. In Bri’s breastfeeding story she discusses the issues she had when breastfeeding her first-born, Roree, and how breastfeeding eventually became easier and easier for her and her daughter.
From the time she was 3 months old, until now, (she is a couple of weeks away from her 2nd birthday) breastfeeding has been a breeze
Better than a breeze, it has been amazing.
I wouldn’t trade a THING, not even the sleepless nights and the epic nursing sessions, for the breastfeeding relationship I’ve had with her.
For World Breastfeeding Week (August 1 – 7) we will share moms’ breastfeeding stories from around the world. If you would also like to share your story, get in touch at info@mombloggersforsocialgood.com.
Very soon we will welcome Winfred Ongom Jaan, a Ugandan nutritionist, as an expert for mothers, children, and newborns right here on SocialGoodMoms.com. She will serve as a correspondent from her home country to report on maternal, newborn, and child health programs, progress, and issues unique to Uganda.
Today, during World Breastfeeding Week, Winfred offered key breastfeeding advice that pertains to lactating mothers no matter where they live.
@socialgoodmoms Lactating mothers need to eat healthy and avoid conditions of stress. These later affect the breast milk let down
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