Breastfeeding in Mongolia
Photo source: Smee
Growing up in this society, I rarely encountered real-life breastfeeding before I attempted it for myself when Little Man was born. I have some vague memories of my mother breastfeeding my younger siblings. But other than that, I only remember being in the presence of a breastfeeding woman once – and I was so unused to the sight that I was unsure how to react. Should I look away so as not to make the breastfeeding woman uncomfortable? Should I continue to interact with her as normal as though she didn’t have a baby attached to her boob? I had no idea. But I’ve often wondered what it would be like to grow up in a society where breastfeeding was the norm, and where witnessing a woman breastfeeding once wouldn’t be so unusual that I would remember it clearly over ten years later.
And that’s part of the reason why this article appeals to me so much. It’s a unique insight into another world, one where breastfeeding is just normal, natural, everyday. Check it out: Breastfeeding in the Land of Genghis Khan
That’s a great article. I wish breastfeeding was more “normal” here. Although I have to say I like the freedom I have now that I’ve finished 🙂
god that’s amazing. I would love a society that respected & adored the working boob in that manner!
Carol – I really wish that too. I hate all the advertising for “breast is best” – sets people up to feel like they are letting their baby down if they wanted to breastfeed but couldn’t – and sets breastfeeding and formula feeding mothers up in two camps, as though we aren’t all just mothers, trying to do what’s right for our families.
Jill – I can’t even imagine how different the breastfeeding experience in Ireland would be if our society viewed the boob as a tool for feeding babies!
Thanks for sharing the link Lisa. What an amazing story for us to read here! It’s mad how different we are all over the world! It’s such a pity we can’t all just be mothers isn’t it? We seem to have to have all sorts of labels. How much of that is created by the media I wonder?
Some of it is definitely created by the media Aine, but I think we are guilty of creating some of the labels ourselves too – perhaps because if we have a label then we can associate ourselves with the group of others who share that label. The endless search for a village… 🙂
Yes, good point Lisa! We are guilty of attaching labels to ourselves too…helping us to fit in…now there’s definitely a blog post in that : )