I’ve posted on this topic before, but since KellyMom.com is a “recommended” source I keep encountering, I feel the need to regularly address the topic. When moms look for advice (online, specifically), other mothers pass KellyMom on as a valid, reputable resource. But the fact is, KellyMom is anything but a trusted source of information. Why? Before you unfairly judge me as a hater, let me explain: KellyMom does not provide “evidence-based information” – it provides biased information and neglects all other research. You might be wondering, what’s the problem with that as long as its helping breastfeeding moms? Well, the problem is that no matter what you believe, the truth is the truth.
KellyMom publishes articles with photos like the one pictured below (here’s the article in it’s entirety – but just take a quick glance):
Aside from the fact that I have no idea what “Image Cresit” is, I am also disturbed by the fact that a woman is “breastfeeding” her baby by allowing the child to suck milk from a tube that’s attached to her boob. Yeah, breastfeeding is natural – having a contraption attached to your tits is not.
Before you call me a heartless bitch (or if you already have, but cannot tear yourself away from the post), let me clear something up: I am not trying to embarrass the women who have done the above pictured feeding method. I am, however, trying to make it stop. Right now. Because, you know what? Raising a baby is so difficult, whether you work, stay at home, breastfeed, or formula feed. It doesn’t matter if you do everything “right”. Taking care of a baby is hard. And we don’t need to make it even more difficult by embarrassing or shaming women into thinking that they absolutely must breastfeed. Or if they can’t, then they need to strap some contraption to their chest to simulate the act. Seriously.
Also, making moms who can’t or choose not to breastfeed feel inadequate is absolute bullshit. When was the last time a doctor or professional asked you if you were formula fed or breastfed? Oh, what was that? You’ve never been asked that by a doctor? Or a job interviewer? On a college application? Hmm. Maybe it’s because IT DOESN’T ACTUALLY MATTER.
There’s so much hype about putting your boobs in an infant’s mouth – to the point that it has become absolutely creepy. And enough is enough. The nursing propaganda needs to end. Women who are obsessed with the breast need to find another hobby and stop attacking women who cannot or choose not to breastfeed. Just stop. Because, honestly, the breastfeeding nazis are the ones who should be ashamed. Really? Hooking a bag and a tube up to a woman’s boob is normal? Natural? Convenient? Less stressful than a bottle? Come on, now. It’s time to actually educate yourselves on what’s best for women – not fearlessly defend confirmation bias and misinformation.
Shelby says
Thank you. I could not have said it better myself!
Mrs. Bottlesoup says
You’re welcome 🙂 It needed to be said.
Whitney says
I love you.
Jennifer says
What’s pictured above is a supplemental nursing system. I used one in the hospital with my premature daughter. I used my pumped breast milk. The goal of an SNS is to not only feed the infant, but to stimulate the mother’s breasts to encourage milk production (sometimes this is done in adoptive nursing). My tiny daughter needed more than I was making, but had I bottle fed her, I wouldn’t have encouraged my body to produce the milk she needed. So, no, the use of SNS don’t need to stop. They exist for a reason (premies, tongue tie, low milk production, etc) and even if used with formula with the goal of getting back to exclusive breast feeding, there is nothing wrong with that. Embarrassing mothers who do what is right for their children needs to stop.
Mrs. Bottlesoup says
Nice try, but strapping a “supplemental nursing system” to your boobs is pseudoscience. Embarrassing mothers into thinking they need to use an SNS for their child’s health needs to stop. Exclusively breastfeeding, while preferable, is not the only option, but KellyMom makes moms feel as though it is. Furthermore, if a mom genuinely can’t breast feed, she’s humiliated into believing she was just “lazy” or there’s something “wrong” with her. This is exactly the problem with SNS’s and KellyMom in general. You clearly believe that when it comes to infant feeding, breastfeeding is “do[ing] what is right […] for children”. Period. That’s incredibly judgmental and inaccurate.
Jennifer says
Choosing to nurse and use an SNS while my daughter was in the hospital to allow her to learn to nurse at the breast instead of a bottle, while getting a little extra milk that she needed and encouraging my milk to come in, isn’t psuedoscience. It’s judgemental to say tools like an SNS don’t have their place. I was never embarrassed into using it and I’m glad it was available to help establish breastfeeding.
UnMommy says
Wow. Kellymom has been invaluable to me and I have always found it nothing but completely supportive and encouraging. I can’t tell you how many times I was doubting myself and Kellymom came to the rescue. To call it nursing propaganda, to say that breastfeeding doesn’t have very real lasting positive impacts on human health and development, is pretty ignorant.
Mrs. Bottlesoup says
I didn’t say that. I’m EBFing my newborn. However, KellyMom is fully of unscientific garbage and it is propaganda. The idea that every mom can and should nurse their babies – with no exceptions – is ignorant. KellyMom publishes information that is untrue and harmful in the wrong hands. An example of such would be their stance on alcohol, prescription drugs, and galactagogues (which are not real). People take the word of KellyMom, and in many, many cases there is zero true science behind the recommendations; KellyMom uses isolated studies that have not been peer reviewed or validated in any way and stands by those ideas.