Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Has Been Pregnant Before

It is a question that most doctors ask mothers to be. It is a question that most mothers to be answer without hesitation. It is only when they give birth and their bundle or bundles of joy comes home that their answer sometimes change from the sure yes to the I do not think I can do this.

Breastfeeding. A word that when asked, the answer seems like a no brainier, until mothers have to deal with crying, screaming and every other headache of taken care of a newborn. My doctor asked me if I was going to breastfeed around my second trimester, like most, I did not hesitate. "Of course, Dr. R!" I exclaimed as if his question was ridiculous.

Then, my twins were born. The hospital made sure that a nurse came into the room and explained from breastfeeding, how to use the pump, the pros of giving your children breast milk to at least 6 months, etc. In my situation, I had an advantage. My girls had to stay in the NICU, which gave me plenty of time to pump milk and bring it to them. Every two hours of uninterrupted pumping I was able to do. In the NICU, I also did Kangaroo care as well as latch on, which didn't work out so well.

It wasn't until the girls came home my uninterrupted flow of producing breast milk came to a halt. It was hard to pump milk when one twin would start crying because they were hungry. I couldn't catch up to produce enough milk so that I would have some in the freezer ready and waiting.

When the girls turned four months, my milk supply went completely dry. I tried most of the tricks, looking at pictures of my girls to become emotional, drank tea and ginger. Nothing worked. After the four months, I turned to Similac formula and have not turned back. Now, my girls are 12 months and healthy.

This goes into my headline for the blog; Mayor Bloomberg of New York City who wants to crack down on mothers using formula for their babies and force them to breastfeed. Mayor Bloomberg has even gone as far as to have several hospitals in the city hide the formula from site in order to advocate for breastfeeding.

Yes, this is the same Mayor that wants to tell us fat New Yorkers that we are drinking too much soda and to get rid of the large size cups. I am all for breastfeeding; it is better for your little one when a mother is able to. Mayor Bloomberg speaks as if he knows what is like to be pregnant, as if he knows what it takes to breastfeed. It is more work than most think. Some mothers cannot produce enough milk for their children and therefore have to rely on formula.

What Mayor Bloomberg does not realize is that WE AS MOTHERS who carried our children for how ever many months can decide what we are going to give to our baby. Mayor Bloomberg, you are not the father of any of these children nor do you put food in their mouths. Mayor Bloomberg, you do not have the right nor the credentials to tell mothers what they can feed their babies.

Here is the catch. If mothers BEG for formula, the hospital is allowed to give it to them, but not without their last two cents on how breast milk is best. If mothers can breastfeed their children for a year, go for it. If you can't, that does not make you a bad mother. This is what formula is here for as a substitute with the nutritional substance that your children need. Specifically, my twins were born premature and if I could not supply them with milk while they were in the NICU, I knew they would drink Similiac Neosure. Why? They had chooses. Mayor Bloomberg, WE have choices!

I am not against breastfeeding, I have done it. I am against a MAN who has not carried any baby telling mothers what to do. Here is an article about the LatchOnNYC initiative .

What are you thoughts?

1 comments:

  1. I fully intended to breastfeed but I had so many obstacles. Twins, born early, bad latches, not enough milk, and on and on and on. I put myself through hell to breastfeed for four grueling months at which point my girls had stopped gaining weight and I made the heartbreaking decision to use formula. I wonder what Bloomberg would think of that?!!?

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