I never understood breastfeeding persecutors — until now

I’m interested in anything and everything to do with breastfeeding. I even contemplated becoming a breastfeeding peer counselor for WIC before I got my current job.

I’ve been breastfeeding for about 2 years, only taking a break for about 4 months. My daughter is 2.5 and my son is 7 months. He was exclusively breastfed until 6 months, and my daughter was still getting 4-8 ounces of pumped breast milk a day until a few weeks ago (my production just wouldn’t keep up for both of them).

Everyone, with a few exceptions, looks at me like I grew a second and third head when I would tell them about my mothering practices regarding breast milk.

So I was excited when I got a chance to check out the new book Unlatched: The Evolution of Breastfeeding and the Making of a Controversy by Jennifer Grayson (full disclosure: I was sent a free copy, but this is not a sponsored post and all opinions are mine), because I hoped it would delve more deeply into breastfeeding than the typical “controversy” conversation.

Grayson breastfed her eldest daughter, Izzy, for four years, and during two of those years simultaneously breastfed her second daughter Mika, now 3 and still breastfeeding. Comparing her decision to tandem nurse to the decision her parents  made to bottle feed her and her brother, lit her curiosity to further research the background of breastfeeding.

Mrs. Grayson traces breastfeeding dating back to Biblical times, something that has never crossed my mind. Have you ever thought about whether Jesus was breast- or formula-fed? Most likely you haven’t. But it is not a fascinating question to research?

By the way, he totally was breastfed. If that doesn’t tell you breast is best, I don’t know what will.

What I loved about Unlatched is that it did not just throw a bunch of facts at you saying “Here are the reasons why you should breastfeed, now go do it!” Instead, Grayson explores the lifestyle changes that have brought us to the point where a natural occurrence becomes fodder for heated social media debate.

How did we get here? How did we get from nursing being the only thing that stood between the life and death of a child to just under 19% of babies being exclusively breastfed the recommended 6 months?

I recently had a conversation about breastfeeding my kids and was promptly told by three different mothers that both my children were too old for that.

My son wasn’t even 7 months and barely on baby food. How in the world is he too old to still be breastfed?! The response was amazing and really showed the cultural perception regarding nursing.

Grayson points out that there is a modern need for our children to be self-sufficient at a young age, with breastfed babies weaned as soon as possible, hence the comments about my 6-month-old baby being too old to nurse. Working parents need their babies to be able to comfort themselves, hold their own bottles, and sleep by themselves the whole night. You can’t accomplish that in a timely fashion if they’re still sucking on mom’s boob at 8 months.

The other side of that coin is that once the child is older, we want to reel them back and become what some may view as overprotective. Go be self-sufficient but in a couple of years, let me supervise all your decisions. I’ve heard professors talk about parents e-mailing, calling, and even coming to campus wanting to discuss their over-18 child. Apparently that’s totally normal, but breastfeeding past the age of 2 is absurd.

Unlatched is a great read, whether you breastfeed or formula feed. It’s a nice balance between personal stories and facts. The release date is July 5, 2016. Pre-orders from Harper Collins Publishers are currently available here. Add it to your summer reading list!

Happy reading!