Cover controversy

From the navel gazing midwife's blog: Baby Talk Magazine Controversy
For goodness' sake.The cover of this month's Baby Talk (link has a photo of the cover) shows a baby breastfeeding and is causing such an uproar that a survey of over 4,000 people showed 1/4 were offended (?!?) or disgusted by the photo. The magazine has been receiving comments such as:"I was SHOCKED to see a giant breast on the cover of your magazine," one person wrote. "I immediately turned the magazine face down," wrote another. "Gross," said a third. This short article bespeaks of the strange dichotomy in our society. One one side is the you-gotta-breastfeed-because-it's-the-only-right-thing-to-do-for-your-baby; on the other, nurse-that-baby-in-the-bathroom-I-find-it-repulsive. How can any woman win?

Once again, reminding me why I try never to judge another's parenting. It really seems like there's no way to win. No matter what choice you make-there's a whole group of people out there telling you it's the wrong choice. Breast is best, but it's gross, do it in private. And do it as short a period as possible! Formula isn't gross, it's normal, but you never know-some woman, insecure with her own choices, might yell at your for not breastfeeding. Then there's the women who do some combination of the two(feeling guilty at both) or who really wanted to breastfeed but couldn't(for whatever reason). This applies not just to breastfeeding but to all aspects of parenting. And it's hard to escape. People are really vested in their own parenting choices and feel the need to comment or critisize often.

(That said, geez, if it was a woman's-or man's- hand covering that breast, instead of a baby's mouth/face-it wouldn't be such a big deal. That sort of thing appears on magazine covers all the time.)