Sir, – Further to Jacky Jones's piece "Breast is best but not for Irish babies" (Health + Family, August 25th), blaming men and "the patriarchy" for Ireland's dismal breastfeeding rate is both disingenuous and unsupported by evidence.
The same OECD figures show that the next best country for breastfeeding after the Nordic countries is Turkey, which has a patriarchal society far more ingrained than Ireland’s.
She also makes the sweeping statement that obstetricians are biased towards formula feeds. All maternity units in Ireland aspire to abide by the World Health Organisation’s initiative to promote breastfeeding exclusively. Even if a woman has an assisted delivery or Caesarean section, the baby is generally on her breast within minutes.
Alarmist and sexist statements will not improve breastfeeding rates. – Yours, etc,
Dr BRENDAN
McDONNELL,
Specialist Registrar
in Obstetrics
and Gynaecology,
New Docks,
Galway.
Sir, – When – eight months ago – the time to breastfeed my baby came, I was on medication that would have been toxic for my baby. To come off the medication would have been detrimental to my baby’s wellbeing and there was the small matter of its potentially fatal consequences for me. In this instance breast was most certainly not best.
Prior to the birth I had talked myself through this; I was fine with it. Except that I wasn’t. It broke my heart not to be able to breastfeed my little baby. The situation was not helped, I might add, by the echo of a midwife who all but claimed that the babies of us lazy, feckless non-breastfeeding mothers would be both fat and stupid.
On top of that hurt, at every mother and baby group I felt a little judged, and I looked for ways to work my “excuse” into the conversation.
I know other mothers who’ve struggled through months of unhappy babies, underweight babies, bleeding, cracked nipples, mastitis or just being told by the public health nurses that cluster-feeding for four hours every night was normal and to keep going, when they couldn’t do just that.
Being a middle-class mother who doesn’t breastfeed is like being in a shameful club; other women sidle up to you and whisper “I couldn’t breastfeed either, I know how you feel”.
Jacky Jones makes frequent references to misogyny. Misogyny is not listening to women and not trusting them to make their own decisions. – Yours, etc,
CATHERINE STOCKER,
Dublin 9.