Up until yesterday, mothers in Massachusetts could have been banned from parks and restaurants or even prosecuted for indecent exposure for taking care of their babies in the most natural and healthful way possible: breast feeding.
Deval Patrick signed the law that officially frees the ta-tas of mothers everywhere, proving that - surprise! - Massachusetts is not, in fact, run by a cabal of 12-year old boys who think breasts are gross.
Of course, there are some who have expressed valid criticisms of the law, such as "OMG2009" who posted the following in response a Boston Globe blurb (insert your own [sic]s):
This is Discusting and if they are trying to save money on baby formula the should not be in Stores, Restaurants, etc spening money. What health benefit would that be..since the ratio is higher for sick babies that breast fed than those that are formula fed- Discusted Mother of 4-
Obviously this person is an idiot and we fear for her purported children, but perhaps we can use this as an opportunity to clear up some misinformation. Skepchick has covered this issue before when a New York Times article was published showing that a disturbingly high percentage of women don't understand the benefits of breast milk. So, let's take a look at the facts for those Bostonians who may encounter breast-feeding mothers in (gasp!) parks or other public spaces.
First up: saving money. Baby formula is a bit like bottled water: useful if you don't have access to clean tap water, but otherwise a perfectly stupid waste of money. Some women aren't able to breastfeed their babies due to a variety of reasons, such as HIV or low milk-production. For most mothers, though, breast milk is easily available for a hungry infant without the need to lug around bottles and formula. Imagine that you had a nozzle installed in your hand that dispensed Guinness at will. Why would you carry around a case of Bud Light?
The beer analogy also works for OMG2009's other misconception: that formula (Bud Light) is somehow better than breast milk (Guinness). There is no evidence to suggest that breastfed babies are sicker than formula-fed, and in fact, the opposite is true. The FDA, the U.S. Surgeon General, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and all other legitimate health organizations support breastfeeding as the way to go.
Breast milk has disease-fighting antibodies that formula lacks, and breastfed babies are less likely to develop ear infections, stomach viruses, diarrhea, respiratory infections, asthma, obesity, diabetes, leukemia, SIDS, and other health problems. Dr. Ruth Lawrence of the American Academy of Pediatrics points out that "the death rates in Third World countries are lower among breast-fed babies. Breast-fed babies are healthier and have fewer infections than formula-fed babies."
Oh, and let's not forget the benefits to breast-feeding mothers: decreased instance of Type 2 diabetes, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and postpartum depression, plus increased opportunity for pissing off ignorant morons who don't understand that there are few things as beautiful, healthful, and natural as a mother nursing a child.
And we don't even really like babies.
Photo of all-natural breast-feeding goodness courtesy of Chico Manobela on Flickr.
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