If you could only have one or the other, which one would you choose? It seems a ridiculous choice, but for many mothers in Sierra Leone, this is the choice they must make and one that is sometimes made for them. It is widely believed that having sex with a breastfeeding mom is not acceptable. Because of this, many husbands pressure their wives to stop breastfeeding their babies within a few months of birth so that the lovemaking can continue. I guess, on the surface, it may not seem like such a bad trade off until you realize that many children in Sierra Leone are malnourished and die before the age of five. In actuality, it’s the children who suffer most.
Here’s to Salma’s nipple power!
Well, there is one woman who has done a little/big thing to change that–Salma Hayek. When confronted face-to-face with this problem while in Sierra Leone for a campaign to rid the area of maternal tetanus, she decided to make it a face-to-breast encounter by feeding a starving child with her own breast milk (she is still nursing her own child.) It was “little” in the sense that breastfeeding a baby is a common thing, but in this case it was “BIG” because her single effort helped nourish the baby and breakdown myths and taboos concerning breastfeeding. Why are people so uptight about breastfeeding anyway? It’s widely known that it gets your baby off to a better start. We really need to just get over ourselves.
Tough Choices
Although choosing between breastfeeding and sex is not a choice many American mothers have to make, there are still some other tough decisions that have to be made when it comes to feeding their children. Many wonder how long they should breastfeed, how they will nourish their children when they go back to work or what to do if their babies don’t take to breastfeeding. Well, you could follow Salma’s example and get a wet nurse or you could express your milk so that others can feed your child. If you do, you’ll definitely be in the market for one of these mealtime baby gifts. Make the most of the many late night feedings with this fun Nascar baby gift. It features a “Frequent Pitstops” bib and bottle with signature checkered flags.
As baby gets older, this silver plated fork and spoon keepsake baby gift will be perfect while learning to self-feed. Elegant, practical and totally cute with the bears on the handles, it’s almost like being born with a silver spoon in your mouth!
