Breastfeeding: What's the big deal?

I had decided long before my daughter was born that I was going to breastfeed. I’m not sure when I made that decision, but I know why. It was because that was the way babies were fed, as far as I knew. My only real exposure to babies was through my childhood horse-riding instructor. I spent a lot of time with her and her breastfed baby boy. It never seemed like a big deal for her to nurse him. She would nurse him whenever he was hungry, wherever we happened to be. She was so matter of fact about it that it never once crossed my mind that it was something unusual, disgusting, or inappropriate. Or that it was something to be hidden, to be done in private. It was natural. It was the way nature intended for a baby to be fed. It was “normal” and it was definitely no big deal.

Luckily, I was fortunate enough to have had such a role model in my life. If more people were exposed to breastfeeding in such an open and positive way, then perhaps it would not be such a big deal. Breastfeeding would become the new “normal” way to feed infants and more people would realize that there is absolutely nothing disgusting or inappropriate about feeding one’s child the way nature intended.

Susan, your influence on me and my family IS a big deal! Thank you for making breastfeeding my "normal".