The View has never been known for accuracy, but a recent show which perpetuated lies about breastfeeding reached a new level of harm and irresponsibility. Let us be clear; Breastfeeding: It is A Big Whoopi.
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Have you seen it?
Here are a few of the unkind and inaccurate statements that I see, line by line:
Let’s start with Whoopi’s request to “Back off, because it’s hard enough…just back off”.
It seems to me that she is saying this to the breastfeeding community at large, and so many new moms who wanted to nurse and could not resoundingly say that they wish they had had resources and support. If we back off, how will they get those?
“There are lots of organizations who tromp through those hospitals and demand that you breastafeed”.
Well, first of all, if we have lots of organizations tromping through the hospitals, the hospitals are not doing their job and we would be rich from suing them for HIPPA violations. But we all know this fact is not true. In fact in most hospitals, a new mom may not even see a breastfeeding support person- no matter how badly she wants to.
“If 90% of women could breastfeed, probably they would”.
Well Whoopi, 90% of women CAN breastfeed (more than that!) and they are not, because of you and others like you spreading these ignorant opinions as though they are fact.
“I did not want to breastfeed because Michael was born with a tooth… that tells you everything.”
What does that tell me? Teeth do not affect nursing! They have completely separate and unrelated functions. A baby gets milk by using her latch not her teeth! I have two children each with a full set of teeth, they both still nurse and their teeth are irrelevant to the process!
“But the idea of people making an initiative and saying, ya’ know, this is something we need to put on the books, I think most women kind of know this I don’t think you need any more pressure to be able to do it” and then watch her body language.
First of all what is she even saying here? Really, these are just a bunch of words.
But no more pressure? Seriously? That is exactly what you have added to new moms and moms to be, Whoopi.
Every mom with whom I have spoken except for two have wanted to breastfeed. Maybe she was a first generation breastfeeding mom with no support, or maybe there was nobody in the hospital who could help the baby with her latch or explain that as long as her baby was gaining wait he was getting enough milk.
These moms who wanted to breastfeed but could not, they hold themselves and their bodies responsible. For a very long time.
And as they share their struggles of why it was unsuccessful their eyes fill with tears because they wanted to nurse so badly. By encouraging breastfeeding support people and those who provide these resources to “back off” Whoopi is creating more sad mothers.
Elizabeth adds “and don’t take away my formula”.
This message is clear and powerful and not supportive of breastfeeding.
Elizabeth also describes her child as a “pirana when he first came out“- as though this is abnormal or bad. She had a baby who was ready to latch! This is a good thing!
And this is why yesterday’s episode of “The View” is a big deal. Because yesterday there were four women- all mothers- sitting on a stage not supporting breastfeeding. At best, they sat back and let the 3 others pass their judgement and present non-facts. At worst they convinced a new mom that she was right not to try or to give up.
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Please add in the comments below all of the things that YOU found inaccurate, undermining or offensive about Whoopi’s statement
Ok, I understand why you take what Woopi said offensively. But, I understand completely why she said it. I feel that way to some point. When my oldest was born in March 2007, we were living in CA. A state in my mind that is very much on top of breastfeeding.
I had a long and terrible labor with him that ended in a c-section. My goal at the time was to breastfeed, he latched on immediately. Then he ended up going to special care unit for the whole night. He had low body temperature. They had to give him formula to help his temp go up. I okayed that because I knew it was the best for him at the time. I was recovering from my c-section and was very much out of it. The nurses tried to help me with breastfeeding, then I developed tiger tracks on my nipples. It was extremely painful. I had to pump. I was there a total of 4 days, the LC came to me the day before I left. She said the reason was they were laying her off.
So I was in pain and I went home with a great pump waiting for me. The day I arrived home my milk came in. I was able to pump out 4 oz per breast per pump session. I was ecstatic! Things were going great for exactly 2 weeks and then I went from 4 oz to 1 oz. I had no choice to go with formula. I kept going for a week after that until I got nothing.
Fast forward to July 2010, my youngest son was born. In MA this time. I was hoping this time I was going going to have an easier time and more milk. In the end it was the same. I had a scheduled c-section so I was not out of it like I was with my oldest. I was in and out of recovery fast, he latched on just as quickly as my oldest. The nurses were more pushy about breastfeeding and I developed bleeding nipples this time in a matter of 3 days. He was great the first day then he didn’t like it after that. I pumped and he had maybe 2 feedings of formula due to the fact he was jaundice and they needed him to poop before he left. I went home and the next day my milk came in. Again I was pumping and getting 4 oz per breast each time. All was going great and then at exactly 2 weeks I went from 4 to 1. I was dumbfounded, I was thinking how freaky is that the same thing happening all over again. This time he had more bm than my oldest.
So basically what I am trying to say is that, I can understand what Woopi was trying to convey. I went from having basically no support to being pushed to a point that I felt major pressure. Both of my boys received all the colostrum that I had, and they had at least 2 weeks worth. They are both very intelligent thriving 2 & 5 year olds. I don’t regret how in the end that they had formula. In my mind they needed a whole lot more than what I could give. My oldest has always been in the 95-100% for height. My youngest is average but is an eating machine. I completely understand that bm is the best, but sometimes in the end it isn’t. At least for my guys it wasn’t.
Jamie,
I understand where you are coming from- and none of that felt good
The thing is though, that everything that Whoopi said was factually wrong. There is no way around that. She has led people to believe that the lies they are being told are accurate. That directly impacts the success rates of breastfeeding.
Formula makers have ads EVERYWHERE and it is constantly pushed in the faces of families. It is ironic to me when people (not you) say that breastfeeding is pushed in our faces.
If we supported breastfeeding, SO MANY issues that stop mothers from breastfeeding would go away.
It is important to note that what is pumped is not representative of actual supply, for example. The only indicator is weight gain. You were told that pumping was an accurate measure- that may have effected you. That message had nothing to do with you. You were told this by trusted “professionals”! Of course you should have believed them!
Tiger tracks are indeed painful and there are solutions to them, but you were not given those solutions.
The point here is that like so many things surrounding birth, mothers are not aware of this and they think something is wrong, when it either is not, or can be fixed. We should all be ANGRY that we are not being given support. And the only way that will happen is if we challenge the ignorant comments like those shared by Whoopi.
Did you have a chance to read each point that I debunked? While each deserved an entire post, it at least touches on illustrating why they are so dangerous to our society.
Anyway, Mama, I am so sorry that your experience was so difficult. Mine was too (very similar to yours in fact) and I was disheartened that nobody told me it would be hard. I thought it was “natural” and would come easily.
Sending you hugs for your difficult experience <3
This was completely ridiculous! I hope they review the show and realize how ignorant they sounded!
So after taking a big deep breath and considering whether to comment or not, I decided that if more of us did comment when things were so horribly wrong, maybe we would get out of this pickle! I am so sad for you Jamie because reading through your story, it is clear to me that you were hijacked from the start – and that is not your fault. One of the reasons so many of us ‘bang on’ about birth is that this is where your breastfeeding relationship starts (actually, arguably is starts way before that). There are so many elements to both of your experiences Jamie, that have negatively impacted on your breastefeeding relationship with your babies and it is very clear to me that you (and so many other mum’s) didn’t get effective and educated support from the get go. So jamie, I say this with love and grace and hope that maybe some of this info can help some other mum in the future.
Although this doesn’t apply exclusively to babies born via c/s (there are many vaginally born babies who are similarly compromised), mum’s who have a c/s whether planned or emergency, need to pay special attention to how things proceed IMMEDIATELY post birth. The first hour following birth is vital for the establishment of breastfeeding (among other things) and bonding between mother and baby. So many women mistakenly think that dad following baby off to the special care nursery is good enough – WRONG. Babies need only their mothers post birth and apart from a very few exceptions lying on or right next to their mum’s bare skin is the best way to raise a babies temperature. I personally don’t think it’s necessary to force the baby to latch on immediately, as is the practice in many hospitals, but holding your baby to your chest, maintaining eye contact, keeping noise and movement to a minimum, refraining from cleaing/checing/weighing/cord claming until much later and allowing your baby to choose their own moment to suckle is the absolute optimum start to breastfeeding. It pains me how uneducated about the physiology of breastfeeding our health professionals are and it almost seems like doctors and midwives think up almost any reason to get our babies on formula – I am in Australia and we don’t have the same issue with formula in hospital that exists in the US athough our breastfeeding rates could certainly be better. The majority of reaons I have heard for introducing formula in hospital are just plain wrong and without any scientific basis eg baby too small, needs to gain weight; baby too big and the mum couldn’t possibly produce enough milk; low blood sugar; high blood sugar; needs to poo; needs to wee; jaundice (which unless pathological is actually a physiological process and breastmilk is the best thing for it). I could go on but you get the point. Every time I hear one of these stories my heart cries for the mum and baby whose chance of breastfeeding has been undermined from the start and will mean that the mum will have to try just that little bit (or a lot) harder than if they had just been left alone. I truly believe that we need to offer breastfeeding support but it has to be the right kind of support and right now, in the western world we are so far away from that it’s scary.
We absolutely have to keep talking about this but it’s seems so big right now and almost impossible to tackle. If those of us who are passionate about feeding out babies human milk keep talking, we are criticised for trying to make non-breastfeeding mothers feel guilty. If we don’t talk, we are missing golden opportunities to educate and inspire other mums – and if we don’t talk louder than the formula companies and misinformed health care providers we have lost before we’ve even started.
Sarah,
I know how difficult it is to share the information that you did. It is so hard because you are right, sometimes just by sharing it people feel sad about their own situations. I can relate to that. I know how that feels. I don’t know what the answer is, but I do agree that we have to keep sharing the truth and continue to be compassionate toward those moms who wish things had been differently.
Thank you so much for taking the time to share such a thoughtful comment. It is appreciated.
I’m so sick of seeing the view women make comments on breastfeeding. These women have no idea what they are talking about. Some woman out there watched that episode and decided not to breastfeed because of it. Isn’t that show suposed to help women be more informed and confident and bring us together? All it does is cause conflict and doubt! I hate that show!! And that spacific episode I believe someone showed Whoppi a head line and she formed her own story in her head because clearly she has no idea what the baby friendly hospital initiative is! Hey Whoopi, BACK OFF!!!!
Yes! Hey Whoopi! BACK OFF! You said it Katie. I cannot even watch that show. Seeing those women who are influential of so many spout of personal opinion as though it is fact makes me feel sick.
Thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughts, Katie.
Breastfeeding requires community and support. Unbelievable amounts of support. Breastfeeding requires so much support, we might as all get together and breastfeed our babies and share our stories. Unfortunately, this sort of mainstream media presentation of breastfeeding is the antithesis of the amount and kind of support breastfeeding pairs need, and it’s bad for parents, it’s bad for babies, and it’s bad for public health.