18 October 2008

Christian News Fails To Advocate Breastfeeding

Photo in Christian News Shows Man Pushing Bottle Down Baby's Throat

A photo on Page 21 of the October 20, 2008 issue of Christian News denies the primacy of breastfeeding as taught in Scripture (Genesis 21:8, I Sam. 1:22-23, Isaiah 49:15 [AAT]) and as is evident to all people through Natural Law.

The blogger discovered the photo when opening the (continued below)

Best for Baby

A mother's milk has just the right amount of fat, sugar, water, and protein that is needed for a baby's growth and development. Most babies find it easier to digest breast milk than they do formula. Breast milk has agents in it to help protect infants from bacteria and viruses and to help them fight off infection and disease. Human milk straight from the breast is always sterile.

Best for Mom

Breastfeeding saves times and money. You do not have to purchase, measure, and mix formula, and there are no bottles to warm in the middle of the night. Breastfeeding also helps a mother bond with her baby. Physical contact is important to newborns and can help them feel more secure, warm and

comforted. Nursing uses up extra calories, making it easier to lose the pounds gained from pregnancy. It also helps the uterus to get back to its original size more quickly and lessens any bleeding a woman may have after giving birth. Breastfeeding also may lower the risk of breast and ovarian cancers.

The U.S. Surgeon General Recommends Breastfeeding

The U.S. Surgeon General recommends that babies be fed with breast milk only — no formula — for the first 6 months of life. It is better to breastfeed for 6 months and best to breastfeed for 12 months, or for as long as you and your baby wish. Solid foods can be introduced when the baby is 6 months old, while you continue to breastfeed.
(continued from paragraph 2) paper to use as a winter groundcover on her watermelon patch.

This is not the actual photo from Page 21
of the October 20, 2008 issue of
Christian News
because the blogger's scanner is broken.
However, the baby is clearly being fed
from a bottle by a man. The editor of
Christian News
has not yet responded to a survey about
whether he approves of bottlefeeding mothers
being on the LCMS deaconess roster
which the blogger is thinking about
writing up and sending to him.


It cannot be determined from the photo whether the bottle contains formula or breastmilk. The blogger acknowledges that there may be times when using a bottle to feed a baby breastmilk or even formula is necessary, such as when a newborn has mercilessly demolished some poor woman's breasts. However, CSPP disagrees strongly with the use of images and language which marginalize breastfeeding and normalize bottlefeeding. It is also unclear as to whether the bottle in the picture has an orthodontic nipple to ensure the infant's proper oral development. Dental health is another area of interest to CSPP.

CSPP retains staff lactation and dental experts whom they are pretty sure would back them up on these points.

The blogger will still use CN as a groundcover, but will make sure this misleading photo of weak nutritional and maternal confession is facedown so as not to confuse poorly catechized mothers who might see it covering the watermelon patch and think that it didn't matter if they used a bottle to feed their baby. The blogger typed this post with one hand while feeding her eight-month-old breastmilk without using a bottle.

8 comments:

Dawn said...

Why are you so hilarious? I just can't figure it out. :D

MooreMama said...

We (I) thought that it would be appropiate to begin introducing the occaisional bottle to the MooreBaby last week, what with my impending Return To Work. We (I) was not prepared for my heart to break while watching my Fabulous Husband feeding our baby, something that up until that point, was MY special thing. She was still getting breastmilk, manufactered by me, but still, does anyone else even give it a thought?

And, this comment was typed with one hand, attached to an arm that is supporting the MooreBaby, who is eating her lunch without the benefit of a bottle, either. I like it that way. ;)

Untamed Shrew said...

I have felt your pain, Mooremama. I had such a hard time with my first that I pumped a lot, and seeing anyone give her a bottle of my milk made me sick. If God intended for men (and grandmas and other caregivers) to bond with infants through food, they'd be lactating too. It's all part of the order of creation that children know where their bread is buttered.

Genuine Lustre said...

Amen. Breastfeeding is normal. My breasts have 12 years of lacational experience, but we don't hear much about that benefit during breast cancer prevention month.

I am particularly sensitive to bottles as symbols on everything baby related -- baby shower games, invitations, cakes, whatever -- when they should be for emergency use only.

Using a bottle as a universal baby symbol is like using a catheter as a universal toilet symbol.

Reb. Mary said...

Mossback Meadow: good point :O

Reb. Mary said...

Gauntlets: I think I've figured it out. Rebekah is hilarious because, as you recently pointed out, we are lunatics. And also because we are sleep deprived. And, of course, because she is very, very clever :)

Dawn said...

Reb. Mary: You're right, of course. You always are. :)

Mossback Meadow: I threw myself a party when I reached the "immunity point" of three years. It was a really fun party, too. :D

Rebekah said...

The cleverness around here is really getting out of control. I'm actually starting to think we might be the First Girls Ever To Be Clever.