You too can be negated in cartoons!
Have you ever heard of Hathor the Cowgoddess? (I'm sorry, I'm not including a link. Google it if you'd like to visit her site.) Gosh I really used to love her, in fact I actually bought two of her prints and calenders as gifts for my midwives. But like many of the people on a popular NFL website, Hathor has become more bitch than birth goddess, more interested in slamming other moms than she is advancing the goals of natural birth and breastfeeding.
For example...
First, we have this comic, which slams not only doctors who don't support homebirth, but also slams homebirth midwives.
So, y'know, midwives are completely unnecessary. Especially if they are Certified Nurse Midwives!
This attitude is why so many women who should not be, are attempting to have unassisted pregnancies and births. There is this insidious idea that if you just trust your body enough, you will be able to have an uncomplicated birth with no assistance at all. Unfortunately this idea is not only false, but actually dangerous. The natural birth movement is not about creating martyrs, and it's not a contest. There is no "you are not natural enough" committee, even though some people (like Hathor) try to act like it. The natural birth movement should be about empowering women to make informed and educated decisions which will lead to happy, healthy, moms and babies.
Next up for your degradation as a mother, we have this lovely image.
Man, you could almost miss it, it is so subtle. But see that? See that there? Bottlefeeding moms don't get to experience *the love* of breastfeeding. There is not as much love if you bottlefeed your child, it's a chemical fact according to Hathor!
As a mom who does both, I have to tell you that I do understand some of the criticism of bottles, without question. Let's face it, it can create distance between mama and baby. I've seen enough tiny babies with bottles propped, lying alone in their strollers, to be able to attest to that. But bottlefeeding can also be done with love between mother and child, and oxytocin is connected to more than just nipple stimulation. I wonder if Hathor considered the many moms out there who, like me, desperately wanted to breastfeed exclusively but were unable to do so. I guess the dig was more important than considering the feelings of other mothers.
I am a lover of all things birth, a total lactivist, a proponent of attachment parenting. I'm against letting babies cry it out or leaving them alone in their strollers or not picking them up when they cry. But I don't believe in slamming other moms to make my point. That mom who had her baby with the bottle propped probably doesn't know why she shouldn't do that. I could've been that mom a few years ago! If I'd had a baby when I was 20 instead of 33, I guarantee you that I *would* have been that mom, because for me personally I would've given it a lot less thought. I just would've done what everyone else did, and lots of moms prop bottles! So even though I now think that it is wrong to do (moms of multiples get a pass on this one), I won't judge. (There are many reasons a mom might prop a bottle. Like I said, I can't judge.)
There are ways to promote the AP/NFL lifestyle *without* climbing up on a high horse. Hopefully Hathor will eventually see that.