Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Food for thought for stay-at-home moms


"Today women's liberation is a popular discussion topic, and one of the big pushes within the movement is to encourage women to seek fulfillment outside the home. In fact, many articles claim motherhood is a myth or that a woman 'should' or 'must' seek fulfillment outside the home if she is to be happy, if she is to maintain a happy marriage, and so on. [...]
If we look at nature, we find that breastfeeding clearly defines who is responsible for the child. This is not to suggest that husbands shouldn't share in diaper changing, washing dishes while mother is nursing the baby, rocking or walking te baby to sleep when he doesn't want to nurse, and so on. It appears, however, that nature intends the mother to have the primary responsibility of baby care during the early years. [...]
What truly liberates the woman is natural or ecological breastfeeding. What she needs to be liberated fom today is the cultural pressure to use bottles, pacifiers, and baby food and to leave baby at home. She needs to be liberated from the hospital that 'owns' the baby, from the doctor who says, 'You do as I say or else,' from the relatives who fear she will starve the baby, and from a society that promotes working mothers and child-care centers, thus pressuring women to work even when it is not a financial necessity. She needs to be liberated from any pressure that contradicts her natural mother role. What she truly needs is support from the hospital, doctor, relatives and society."

- from Breastfeeding and Natural Child Spacing by Sheila Kippley, p. 72-73

PS I met a stay-at-home dad this year and it is AMAZING what he does. So this is not to say a man can't be a stay-at-home dad. It's just more natural for it to be the woman, of course.

PSS Thanks, Joana, I am enjoying the book!

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