Editor,
I want to commend the Daily Lobo on the great information it added to the story about breast-feeding and discrimination.
It was nice to see the positive and supportive words. The story was indicative of the struggles women face in our society. The woman in the story was simply trying to feed her child.
The World Health Organization recommends nursing for up to one year for maximum health benefits. This is a great recommendation. It would be wonderful if people in our society are up to speed with the fact that we are called mammals because of our mammary glands. The glands ensure our ability to feed our young.
When a society, security guard, or even a well-meaning friend sexualizes the mother-child bond and alludes to nursing as a sexual or indecent act, it may be a clue to how out of touch we really are. I refer to the general “we” in this statement because every time a woman nurses in public, she is educating others on breast-feeding’s age-old normalcy. I applaud the nursing mother. It is hard enough to be a parent without dealing with discriminating behaviors of those who are so out of touch with what it means to be human.
Juniper Decker
Breast-feeding support coordinator, UNM Women’s Resource Center
