In the beginning, I was very reluctant to post on any of these topics. Firstly, I could care less about FE crashing. I lurk over there, and aside from an occasional discussion, the whole forum and its members just touch me the wrong way.
Then this thread moved into breastfeeding in public and modesty.
Then someone suggested that trad children are sickly, in their opinion, because they believe that there is some link between bottle feeding, vaccines, modern eating and health or maybe breastfeeding, non-vaccines, health food and poor health.
As I said, I don't care about FE crashing
I think the breastfeeding in public issue, especially in Mass, is an important one.
And I the comment about sickly trads is just, well, is just false and based on poor information and personal experience. That sort of thing really irks me--people basing opinions on false information or incomplete information---very modern way of looking at the world.
We can not live in the "shoulds". It is not realistic and denies the existence of sin and human nature. Yes, women "should" be able to breastfeed any where without any one making a comment or taking a look. Yes, men "should" be able to control their eyes and appetites. But thanks to Adam and Eve, that is not possible. Therefore, we are all responsible for keeping our own sinful nature in check and also helping our neighbors keep theirs in check.
I have not always been a "trad." In fact, I was VERY modern. I nursed my first son where ever I felt like it and was radical about it. I didn't care one iota what others thought. I concluded it was "their" problem and they should get over it. They needed to be "educated."
By the time my 3rd son came along, I was in my 30s and a "modern" Catholic. I generally had the same feeling about public breastfeeding but I wasn't so radical. I looked at it from a more personal position. I didn't want to "upset" the people who found it problematic. Depending on who I was with or where I was determined if I "whipped it out" or not. I reasoned that there were LOTS of really sensitive people in Mass, so nursing in the nave was clearly not an option. I learned very quickly though that my babies normally nurse every 2 or 2 1/2 hours--that was plenty of time for me to nurse in the car before Mass and have a sleeping baby the whole time. I might also add, I just held my babies. I have NEVER carried a baby into a church in a carseat.
Now, that I have moved further along this path into traditional Catholicism, I don't breastfeed in public. I have no desire to reveal my body in front of any strange person, most especially men. I recognize that most men are quite visually aroused and it takes a really strong man NOT to be visually aroused by a woman's hugely swollen milk breasts. Personally, I don't want to be responsible for that.
When I have guests at my home, I always inform them that I am about to nurse the baby. Most of my women friends don't seem to be bothered and I try diligently to be discreet, even in my own home. When men are around, I go into another room or hide myself very cleverly. I absolutely won't nurse in the bathroom. It's repulsive to me, sorry. And I am really offended, still, when people suggest that is where women should go to feed their children. In short, it is not about balance. It's about knowledge and understanding of human nature.
I blame all this "modern" Mass breastfeeding on Christopher West anyway---just saying.
Now, as to the comment about healthy babies vs. sick babies, that is utter nonsense. It can be completely reasoned by a normal person that loading one's body up with chemicals and junk is in no way "healthy". They facts, as well, reasonably conclude this to be so.
Personally, I have done hours of research on all of these issues. Most people, unfortunately, just aren't interested in the history of most things. They are mostly interested in what is convenient for them or what their Drs/parents/friends think is best.
Breastfeeding was the only way to feed one's child, ever. Prior to about 1940, orphanages hired wet nurses to feed the infants they kept there. Mother's didn't work outside the home and babies were fed this way until they were about 3 or so. However, in the 1930s there was what is commonly referred to as the "First Wave of Feminism." Many women were influenced by it. Much of the literature at the time was influenced by it, as was the culture. In Hollywood, Katherine Hepburn became one of the early "feminist" idols. Breastfeeding became synonymous with "poor, uneducated, housewife never being able to live up to her dreams." This became especially true during the depression.
As the men went off to war and women were forced to work for the war cause, many young women began embracing the whole idea. Wet nurses became harder to find so Drs. began suggesting women make their own formula for their babies. They use a recipe that had been employed by midwives for decades if a mother died in childbirth. The recipe began showing up in women's cookbooks in the 1940s. My mother-in-law, who had her first child in 1949 used this recipe. It involved evaporated milk, sugar, and water.
During this time period, creating "formula" became really important. Manufacturing companies hired the best advertisers to help them market it. Early ads depicted very upper class mothers and fathers bottle feeding their children. Thus, formula became a symbol of upward mobility. No self respecting mother would "nurse" her child. Formula began to be marketed to hospital nurseries as well. It became quite necessary really by the 50s because during that time women were give "twilight" drugs for labor. They would be sedated as labor began and not wake until several hours after the baby was born. Babies HAD to be formula and women were given a medication to dry up their milk. This was common practice up until the mid to late 60s. This was the situation with my brother and husband.
My point--the invention of formula had ZERO to do with health. It had everything to do with easing women's burdens and making it possible for them to work outside the home. Formula and feminism are very closely linked. To think otherwise is lack of information and education.
Vaccines were basically unheard of on the level that Americans are obsessed with them. I was born in the late 60s. I had only two--polio and small pox. That's it. I was NEVER a sickly child and I'm not sure any one I knew was sickly. If having more vaccines is linked to healthy children, then we should have the healthiest generation ever. But we don't. In fact, it's quite the opposite. And it springs entirely from a lack of understanding of basic biology. Our bodies were created by God to fight off disease and be strong. The SINGLE most important factor for people living healthy long lives is CLEAN WATER. Period. Most diseases and pestilence are related to filthy water. That's why the Jєωs survived the plague and pestilence--they were clean.
But I digress. When the body is exposed to a bacteria or virus, it goes into overtime. With bacteria, it seeks to fight it off in a myriad of ways. If left alone for 3-5 days, a human body most of the time will rid itself of whatever bacteria it has. After 5 days, if it hasn't antibiotics may be necessary to help fight it off. In the case of viruses, contracting the virus builds up antibodies and creates LIFE-LONG immunity, in the long run creating healthier individuals. Mother's who breast feed pass this same immunity onto their children, who in turn will be immune for 6 months to 1 year. Vaccines DO NOT offer this protection and adults who have never had chicken pox but the vaccine will have to receive another one. Chicken pox in a child is almost never fatal. In an adult, it is debilitating.
There is current evidence to support the idea that the chemicals used to create most childhood vaccines actually do more harm than good. They have become necessary because most children today spend their time in confined spaces, i.e. daycare and public school. Diseases are KNOWN to breed in closed, moist, environments. Another factor involved is the obsession with cleanliness---antibacterial wipes, bleaching everything etc. Children's bodies are no longer exposed to normal bacteria and there fore it has become impossible for them to fight even the simplest thing.
The food issue should be a no brainer. There is more junk food today than ever before and corn syrup in everything. Parents feed their kids every 2 hours to keep them "occupied". I can't tell you how many times in the NO I've seen 3 year olds sitting in the pew eating cookies and milk so they won't be "bored." The chicken is pumped up with hormones, and so is the beef. Americans eat far too much and who needs to mention the fast-food places. To suggest that people are healthier today is just a blatant lie. Period. Yes, people live longer but that's mainly due to pharmaceuticals for high-blood pressure and diabetes.
I know that I am ranting now. I'll stop. Lack of education and basing presumptions on that lack of education REALLY bothers me.
Topic: Fisheaters Crashed - Public Breastfeeding - Unhealthy Trads (Read 24227 times)