December 3rd, 2009

An Open Letter to Target Regarding Breastfeeding Discrimination

December 3, 2009

Gregg Steinhafel
Chairman, President and CEO
Target Corporation
1000 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN 55403

Dear Mr. Steinhafel,

Earlier this week Michigan mother, Mary Martinez, made headlines when Target security personnel harassed her for breastfeeding her child in your Harper Woods Target store.  Security personnel incorrectly told this mother that what she was doing was “illegal” and they called the police on her.  Police confirmed that the mother was in the right, but the humiliation she was subjected to during this incident is inexcusable.

Mothers around the world have heard this story, even starting a Facebook group called “We Support Mary”.  This incident has not gone unnoticed, and we are greatly disappointed that a company that prides itself on community involvement would discriminate against a local mother doing the best for her child.

While Michigan law may not have specific language protecting a mother’s right to nurse in your store, many other states do have such language.  In my home state of Illinois, “the law provides that a mother may breastfeed her baby in any location, public or private”, and includes an enforcement provision which allows a mother to seek legal recourse against any establishment which would try to deny her that right.  Section 15 of the “Right to Breastfeed Act” even states that “if the woman prevails in her suit, she shall be awarded reasonable attorney’s fees and reasonable expenses of litigation.”

I think it is important for the Target corporation to understand that what this security guard did was not only terrible customer service, but a violation of this mother and child’s basic human right to feed.  While you may contend that this was an isolated incident, it does not reflect well on the training your employees receive.  On behalf of mothers everywhere, I ask that you train every Target employee on the rights of nursing mothers, and adopt a formal breastfeeding policy to support these valued customers.  I would also encourage you to post the international breasfeeding symbol in your stores so nursing mothers know they are welcome.  If even Walmart has a formal policy, surely Target can too.

Regards,

Gina Crosley-Corcoran
Nursing Mother and Activist

November 29th, 2009

Full-time Worker, Full-time Student, Full-time Breastfeeder too

Throughout the entire first year of my second son’s life, I worked 40+ hours per week outside the home. I also continued earning my pre-law undergraduate degree full-time at night. While just those two tasks alone are a lot for one person to handle, I also ran a part-time cake decorating business out of my home when ever I could get orders. I even maintained my volunteer advocacy efforts and wrote for my blog in the (very little) free time I had.

And throughout all of that, I also breastfed my son. Exclusively. My baby made it all the way through that year without a single drop of formula.

Of course, there are people like Hannah Rosin who would say this is impossible. Those like Rosin say that breastfeeding “is a serious time commitment that pretty much guarantees that you will not work in any meaningful way.” I’m sorry, Ms. Rosin, but I beg to differ.

My first son was formula fed. After an unexpected cesarean, and not enough support, breastfeeding proved to be a challenge I just wasn’t up for at the time. I made it four weeks before throwing in the towel. Everyone told me my life would be easier and I would be happier if I quit breastfeeding, and I wanted them to be right.

But they weren’t right. As soon as I stopped breastfeeding, I wished I hadn’t. The more I saw breastfeeding mothers, the more I wanted to be one of them. Formula was messy and expensive. It took time to prepare bottles and clean them after. One time we accidentally left the house without a nipple and I had to listen to my son scream in hunger for a half hour while we located a store to buy another nipple. That wouldn’t have happened if I’d had my baby’s lunch sitting right there on my chest.

So I made a pact with myself; if I had another baby, that baby would never have formula. And I meant it, too.

I had to return to work at 12 weeks postpartum. I had a supportive employer who gave me plenty of time to express my milk at work (which is actually required by law in my state.) At school, I told my professors on the first day of class that I was nursing an infant, and I would need more than the normal break time to pump for him. None of them had a problem with that, especially because I was (am) a committed 4.0 GPA student.

I would be lying if I said any of this was easy. A week after I returned to work, my supply dropped, and I panicked. Over the course of that year, I spent many hours of my life tracking down and trying every lactation aid on the market, along with acupuncture and other stimulation techniques. Sometimes I felt like all I ever did was pump and transport breastmilk. Often times I even had to wake up in the middle of the night to pump if my stash was running low or if my supply needed a boost. And on the hardest days, I thought it would never, ever end.

But I made a promise to myself, and I planned on keeping it. I know the benefits of breastfeeding to both me and my baby, and I knew how elated I would be if I actually made it that whole first year.

And I did make it. My baby’s first birthday came and went, and six months later it almost feels like that year was only a few months long. My son is even still nursing a few times a day.

Of course, I would never advocate anyone taking on as much as I did in that first year unless they absolutely had to (which I did). But many women do have to, or want to work or go to school, and I want mothers to know that with the right support, breastfeeding doesn’t have to stop you from doing anything you want to do. Breastfeeding is a precious gift to give yourself and your baby, and it most certainly will not prevent you from doing anything meaningful. On the contrary, a mother providing breastmilk for her baby is doing something incredibly meaningful. It is a worthwhile cause.

So if anyone ever tries to tell you that you cannot successfully breastfeed your baby after returning to work or school, tell them you know someone who did do it, and lived to tell about it. Let no one determine what you are capable of except you, and trust me, you are probably more capable than you may think.

November 16th, 2009

This Sure is My Week for Getting the Shaft

I just got this email… Sound familiar?

Hi Gina,

Elita from Blacktating featured my story on her web site yesterday (woo hoo!), which is great, but I wanted to give you a heads-up. I did credit you for your help, but it was apparently edited out at the last minute. I don’t know why she would’ve removed that part, or the link to your blog, but it’s gone (in retrospect, maybe it was because I used the word ‘badass’?). I know you go out of your way to help other women, & that you don’t always get the credit you deserve, so I’m having a WTF moment for you-I’m so sorry. I do appreciate all your support and advice over the summer. That was a truly crappy situation, and you were my one and only cheerleader there for a while. So, since you don’t hear it enough, THANK YOU! You are an amazing, inspiring person who works very hard, not only for her own family, but to educate, empower, and advocate for others.

Excellent news for that mother.  But some people are so classless…  Oh well.  At least I’m helping women.

October 11th, 2009

No, Formula is Not “Fine”

As the #NestleFamily scandal unfolded, you saw twitterers from all over the country weighing in on the debate. Some made it very clear that the problem we have with Nestle is their unethical business practices, just one being their blatant violation of the World Health Organization’s marketing codes for infant formula. In case you’re wondering why that’s a big deal, understand that an estimated 1.3 million children die each year from not being breastfed, especially in developing worlds (but not only in developing worlds — many right here in this country.) A few years back, it was discovered that a Unicef effort to encourage formula feeding in Botswana (as a misguided and fatally flawed attempt to limit the transmission of HIV from mother to baby) resulted in children dying in 20 times the usual numbers.  Horrifying results. But even though most of the NestleFamily twitter debaters tried hard to keep this issue from turning into a breast vs. formula debate, others Twitter Debaters insisted that Nestle’s WHO Code violation was a non-issue because “my kid was formula fed and he/she is fine.”

I have a huge problem with this sort of statement.  To say any formula fed child is “fine” is to argue that formula is “fine”, ergo “the same as breastmilk” — and that is an outright falsehood. People making these statements think that because their formula fed child isn’t limping around the schoolyard, slurring their ABC’s, then this is evidence that formula is a perfect substitute for breastmilk. You’ll find people like BackPacking Dad on Twitter making jokes like “Formula causes scurvy, leukemia, and libertarianism. Breast-feeding gives babies x-ray vision.” Very thoughtful and helpful, dude. That was funny how he used sarcasm to undermine the real science and evidence we have on the effects of formula feeding. Wow, what a totally smart argument. (See, I can be sarcastic too.)

First off, breastmilk protects children against unseen enemies like childhood leukemia and type 1 and 2 diabetes. It also protects against asthma, dermatitis, and obesity, just to name a few things. The next intensely important benefit of breastfeeding is that it helps protect mothers against breast cancer, ovarian cancer, Type 2 diabetes, and Post-Partum Depression. No formula in the world can even attempt to offer those kinds of benefits to mothers.

If formula feeding puts women and children at greater risk for short term or long term health issues, then how in the world is that “fine”?  It’s not.  Stop kidding yourself.

But here is where some people argue that mothers face such pressure to breastfeed that we need to lay off the “Breast is Best” mantra and support whatever choice they make.  To that I say “Give Me A Break.” Pressure to breastfeed?  Laughable. According to the CDC, in 2008 only 7.2% of American Infants were breastfed exclusively to age 6 months.  That’s it.  Shocking, isn’t it?  7.2% of infants were fed according to the guidelines set forth by pediatric health experts.   So who in the world are these people supposedly pressuring women to breastfeed? I see 10 ads a day for formula on television. ZERO for breastfeeding.  I see a new article every week about some woman who was harassed or kicked out of an establishment for breastfeeding her child, and yet not a single woman has ever been kicked out of anywhere for formula feeding.  Does Not Happen.  You can’t open any parenting magazine without seeing ads for infant formula splashed on every 3rd page. We live in a Formula-Pushing world.  In 2008, only 62% of babies in this country were EVER breastfed and only 58% are still getting at least some breastmilk by the time they leave the hospital. Only 20% of children in this country are given breastmilk all the way to 12 months of age, which is the minimum suggested by the American Academy of Pediatrics — (the World Health Organization actually suggests until at least 24 months.)  Our breastfeeding rates are dismal, and they speak for themselves.   So nobody is going to convince me that women are facing such pressure to breastfeed.  If you are facing pressure to breastfeed, either count yourself lucky, or turn 5 degrees in another direction and you’ll find swarms of people waiting to give you free formula and a big pat on the back.

When my 10 lb second son was born, I couldn’t throw a nursing pad without hitting someone who tried to convince me I’d never be able to breastfeed this child. He’s 17 months and I’m still nursing him today, no thanks to most of the people around me. That picture to the right is the stack of formula sitting behind the desk at my own pediatrician’s office. If you go into the office with a breastfeeding struggle, you’re given some formula. It’s like going to an AA meeting and being sent home with a 6-pack of beer, “just in case.” Even my pro-breastfeeding husband got frustrated one night and said “Just give him formula!” (and yes, he nearly lost an eye for that.)  If I hadn’t been able to seek out hardcore breastfeeding help on these here internets, or from the few women I know who weren’t afraid to give me that extra push, I’m sure I would have given up on us. And it would have broken my heart. I gave up breastfeeding my first son after 4 weeks because everyone convinced me I’d be so much “happier” if I just started formula feeding. They were WRONG. I was not happier. I was horribly depressed about it, and it certainly was NOT because society made me feel what I did was wrong. Breastfeeding was a huge, painful struggle for Jonas and I, but if I’d had the support to make it through I know I/we would be better off today. The well meaning people around me did nothing but contribute to my failure, and I think it is partly out of ignorance, and partly to make themselves feel better about not breastfeeding their own child.

Why else would parents, knowing all the science and knowing it is a sub-par feeding solution, run around telling everybody else it’s “fine?” I formula fed, yes, I did. But do I sit here pretending that what I did was perfectly the same as breastfeeding? Absolutely not. I would never, ever tell another mother that either. What kind of favor is that?

I’m not saying that formula hasn’t been necessary in some situations, and I’m not saying I would shame another mother for doing what she had to do. I don’t have any problem with a mother who feels like she needs some help from formula, so long as she’s making an informed choice on the matter. But I will not sit idly by and listen to mothers try to drag other mothers and babies down with false information, or even well-meaning misguidance. As Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously said “You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.”

For people who’d try to use their own anecdotes to convince others that their formula-fed kids turned out fine, all I can think is “Okay, we’ll see” OR “Good for you, 1.3 million other kids this year weren’t so lucky.“

Breast IS Best — and no amount of tip-toeing around the subject is going to make that fact go away. So I’m not going to tip-toe. And if you don’t like it, I’ll give you the address for my pediatrician’s office where you get all the free infant formula you can carry. You will have no trouble at all finding formula-feeding support. Look around you. 93% of the babies around you are being formula-fed by their mothers.

_____________________

Updated to add: After some commentors drew my attention to this article, I would like to change my language to say, no, breast is not just “best”.. breast is in fact the standard, and anything else is simply subpar.

September 5th, 2009

“United They Nurse” — Lactivists Make the Front Page

(Front page of the Saturday edition of the Chicago Sun Times)