Mom Talk: Breast-Feeding

This week's Mom Talk is brought to you by Upper Moreland-Willow Grove Patch Moms' Council members and Patch contributors Heather Greenleaf and Ruth Z. Deming.

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In 2007, the Pennsylvania state legislature passed a law that would allow women to breastfeed their babies in public without penalty.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures website, 44 states have similar laws, with a slew of specific laws guiding certain breastfeeding scenarios (i.e. at the workplace or being exempt from jury duty).

Apparently, if such legislation needs to be passed in this state and others, public opinion may be at odds with nursing mothers and their babies.

However, Deming said no other motherly act could be simpler.

"It's really important to talk about breastfeeding," Deming said, addressing new mothers. "I think they should learn not to be uncomfortable."

Deming said that she practically raised her children, now adults with children of their own, by herself. Mostly consulting a book called, "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding," she didn't really confer with other mothers at the time, but said that she just knew she wanted to breastfeed her children.

"It's totally natural," Deming said.

Greenleaf nursed her son for a year, and is currently nursing her daughter. She said that she agrees being a nursing mother is a perfectly natural act, but also recognizes why some new mothers may be hesitant.

"That's a personal choice. People feel strongly about it one way or another," she said. "You can't say you should or shouldn't."

Greenleaf's pediatrician recommended that she nurse her babies, as the act not only nurtures the relationship between mother and child, but is comparatively healthier than starting out with straight formula.

She adds that there are some mothers who are unable to breastfeed due to medical reasons, or simply by choice, but they should not be made to feel bad about it.