Breastfeeding Quotes

We do science because we want to understand the truth. It is a constant, ongoing pursuit to understand our own biology so that we can make smart choices at an individual and policy level. If the science of breastfeeding is used first and foremost as a tool for breastfeeding promotion, we compromise public trust in science. Biased information about breastfeeding also sets up infant feeding as a debate, which sometimes escalates to mommy war status, and it doesn't need to be either of these. ~ Alice Callahan

For me, breastfeeding was even more painful than giving birth. And despite a lactation consultant, I felt incompetent. I forged on, barely sleeping, always either breastfeeding or pumping and never getting the hang of it. ~ Bryce Dallas Howard

It seems as if every month brings another study showing that breast milk is what Ponce de León should have been searching for. ~ Nicholas Day

MAMMALIA, n.pl. A family of vertebrate animals whose females in a state of nature suckle their young, but when civilized and enlightened put them out to nurse, or use the bottle. ~ Ambrose Bierce

When you hold a child to your breast to nurse, the curve of the little head echoes exactly the curve of the breast it suckles, as though this new person truly mirrors the flesh from which it sprang. ~ Diana Gabaldon

It costs a lot of money to go into cafes to breastfeed when out in public. Not everyone has the money to do that. Yet, at the same time, it is often people with the least money and accompanying health inequalities that are most likely to benefit from breastfeeding ~ Jill Johnston

Women should know the truth. They can take it; they are adults, not children. If a mother opts for formula rather than breastfeeding, there is good evidence that her baby will score lower on IQ tests and will have a higher risk of many illnesses including some cancers, diabetes, respiratory illnesses, diarrhea and ear infections. She should know that her own risk of breast, ovarian and uterine cancer will be higher, as well as her daughter's risk of breast cancer. The mother increases her own risk of diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and becoming overweight by "choosing" formula feeding. There is accumulating evidence that the risk of mental illness (alcoholism, ADHD, schizophrenia) is increased by not breastfeeding. A recent study suggested that even behaviour problems in adolescents are more likely if the child was formula fed. The longer the child is breastfed, the lower the risk both for the child and the mother. ~ Jack Newman

The natural power of breastfeeding is one of the greatest wonders of the world. It is about real love. It is about caring and celebrating the wondrous joy of nurturing a new life. It is about enjoying being a woman. ~ Anwar Fazal

The American Academy of Pediatrics officially supports breastfeeding, but receives about half a million dollars from Ross, manufacturers of Similac infant formula. ~ Ben Goldacre

I wanted to be ready.
I had thought I was ready.
I really believed I was ready.
That is, until the milk came. ~ Kathryn Michaels

Every luxury was lavished on you - atheism, breastfeeding, circumcision. ~ Joe Orton

Readers acquainted with the recent literature on human sexuality will be familiar with what we call the standard narrative of human sexual evolution, hereafter shortened to the standard narrative. It goes something like this:

1. Boy Meets girl,

2. Boy and girl assess one and others mate value, from perspectives based upon their differing reproductive agendas/capacities. He looks for signs of youth, fertility, health, absence of previous sexual experience and likelihood of future sexual fidelity. In other words, his assessment is skewed toward finding a fertile, healthy young mate with many childbearing years ahead and no current children to drain his resources.

She looks for signs of wealth (or at least prospects of future wealth), social status, physical health and likelihood that he will stick around to protect and provide for their children. Her guy must be willing and able to provide materially for her (especially during pregnancy and breastfeeding) and their children, known as "male parental investment".

3. Boy gets girl. Assuming they meet one and others criteria, they mate, forming a long term pair bond, "the fundamental condition of the human species" as famed author Desmond Morris put it. Once the pair bond is formed, she will be sensitive to indications that he is considering leaving, vigilant towards signs of infidelity involving intimacy with other women that would threaten her access to his resources and protection w ~ Cacilda Jetha

The whole human world is born from the womb of mothers, and if we can't make the motherly act of breastfeeding free from stigma in such a world, then it's an insult to our very existence as a species. ~ Abhijit Naskar

The benefits to the mother of immediate breastfeeding are innumerable, not the least of which after the weariness of labor and birth is the emotional gratification, the feeling of strength, the composure, and the sense of fulfillment that comes with the handling and suckling of the baby. ~ Ashley Montagu

I never stopped being a mother, and I never stopped being an artist. Which is probably why my kids are so creative. When I'm with my kids I'm creating but I'm still a mom. I don't wear two different hats. My kids have always been on the set with me. I was breastfeeding on set. None of my kids would take a bottle so they could not leave my side for a very long time. ~ Jada Pinkett Smith

If they [the mothers] use different vocabularies, they may share a postmodern feminist "body politics" - in this instance an awareness that maternal breastfeeding carries no inherent, "natural" meaning, that it is always located where historically specific, culturally articulated interests and power relations collide with the recalcitrance of the body. ~ Linda Blum

In case you haven't heard, let me tell you now, babies do not come out knowing how to breastfeed. ~ Cassi Clark

In the Netherlands, the government health plan provides for a specially trained nurse/lactation expert to help each new baby's parents in their home for a full ten days following each birth (with a small co-payment). Hired for three, five, or eight hours according to individual families' needs, this maternity nurse serves the new parents breakfast in bed, feeds any older children their breakfast, walks the dog, helps the new mother with breastfeeding if necessary, cleans the house, and notifies the midwife if the mother or baby should need medical attention for any reason. The Dutch consider the care provided each family by the maternity nurse to be an investment in good health, which benefits the entire society because it so effectively reduces the number of illnesses mothers and babies experience during the first year of the baby's life and thus saves money ~ Ina May Gaskin

New mothers are often told that once they've fed, burped, and changed their baby they should leave their baby alone to self-soothe if they cry because all of their needs have been met. One day I hope all new mothers will smile confidently and say, "I gave birth to a baby, not just a digestive system. My baby as a brain that needs to learn trust and a heart that needs love. I will meet all of my baby's needs, emotional, mental, and physical, and I'll respond to every cry because crying is communication, not manipulation. ~ L.R. Knost

An innocent little human being was solely dependent on me! I took all the CPR and breastfeeding classes and learned quite a bit. ~ Tichina Arnold

No one argues with the many benefits of breastfeeding for those women who choose it. ~ Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

$13 to $20 billion a year could be saved in health care costs by demedicalizing childbirth, developing midwifery, and encouraging breastfeeding. ~ Frank A. Oski

I lost most of my weight from breastfeeding and I encourage women to do it; It's just so good for the baby and good for yourself. ~ Beyonce Knowles

Breastfeeding is the best diet. I want to eat healthy for her, so it's easy to say no to pizza. ~ Nancy O'Dell

I've been breastfeeding for two years. I could light the gas ring with my nipples. ~ Jo Brand

There must be reasons why we men are so hipped on breasts as if we'd all been weaned too soon. ~ Gunter Grass

It is true that breasts can induce sexual tension in men, but truer than that is the fact, that breasts are the primary and healthiest source of nutrition for the infant, so, if men can't use their higher mental faculty of self-restraint at the sight of breastfeeding at public places, then it's not the women who need to change their breastfeeding place, it's the men who need to work on their character. ~ Abhijit Naskar

Breast milk and amniotic fluid carry the flavors of the mother's foods, and studies consistently show that babies grow up to be more accepting of flavors they've sampled while in the womb and while breastfeeding. ~ Mary Roach

Imagine that the world had created a new 'dream product' to feed and immunize everyone born on earth. Imagine also that it was available everywhere, required no storage or delivery, and helped mothers plan their families and reduce the risk of cancer. Then imagine that the world refused to use it. ~ Frank A. Oski

What is important is any amount of breast milk that can be given to the baby is better than none, and breastfeeding is one of the many challenges along the way of being a great mother. ~ Simko Pharm. D., Lauren

They do say breastfeeding is nature's lipo. ~ Ana Ortiz

Esquire's all about mommy issues now. Breastfeeding, vaccinations, playdate etiquette. ~ Vera Farmiga

What a singular fact for an angel visitant to this earth to carry back in his note-book, that men were forbidden to expose their bodies under the severest penalties! ~ Henry David Thoreau

I would definitely make eggs for the rest of my life if I could. ~ John Hodgman

My opinion is that anybody offended by breastfeeding is staring too hard ~ David Allen

If breastfeeding is causing you terrible anxiety, ruining your performance at work, hurting your relationship with your kids or your spouse - all of these are valid factors. You are more than the milk you make, and you are in charge of your body. ~ Jessica Shortall

A couple of websites I've come across credit the 'New York Times' for reporting that 12,000 women a year are arrested for breastfeeding in public. I could not confirm that number with a quick search, but even 1,200 would be too many - or even 12. ~ David Horsey

Breastfeeding has been one of the best experiences of my life. I love it! I can't stop! I think I'm going to breastfeed him until he goes to college! I'm hooked! ~ Shakira

If we wear our nursing covers backwards like capes, then everyone can see we're breastfeeding superheroes. ~ Cassi Clark

Heaven is the feeling of hand warmers on sore nipples. ~ Cassi Clark

I wasn't sure how I'd feel about breastfeeding, but quickly realized its brilliance. ~ Kelis

Even within our culture, there are times when breasts stop being read as bouncy sex balls: when women are breastfeeding, there's pretty wide acceptance of the fact that shouting 'phwoar' is bad form. ~ Emer O'Toole

Nursing does not diminish the beauty of a woman's breasts; it enhances their charm by making them look lived in and happy. ~ Robert A. Heinlein

I think I would scream too if someone violently jammed a big ass breast in my mouth. ~ Cassi Clark

I think breastfeeding is part of what helped me lose my baby weight. I just dump it all into my chubby little son. ~ Mary Elizabeth Ellis

I see my body as an instrument, rather than an ornament. ~ Alanis Morissette

Children don't just get milk from breastfeeding, they get our energy too. ~ Stephen Gaskin

Breast Feeding should not be attempted by fathers with hairy chests, since they can make the baby sneeze and give it wind. ~ Mike Harding

As a breastfeeding mother you are basically just meals on heels. ~ Kathy Lette

I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree. ~ Joyce Kilmer

I'm a big advocate of breastfeeding. ~ Arizona Muse

Breastfeeding is a beautiful thing, one of the most beautiful things that exist in nature. Think about how a woman can literally feed her baby with her body! In my eyes, this is a certain form of beauty, of divinity! To know that my body can not only form and bring another human being into the world, but that I can actually feed babies with my own milk from my own breasts - that puts me in a state of awe each time I think about it. It is an honour to be a woman. ~ C. JoyBell C.

Breasts are a scandal because they shatter the border between motherhood and sexuality. ~ Iris Marion Young

I know that, for me, I need to try to cover myself while breastfeeding so that no one snaps a picture. If this wasn't the case, I probably wouldn't mind as much because my son is my biggest concern. My attitude is, if someone sees a little somethin' somethin', don't look if you don't like it. ~ Kourtney Kardashian

Breastfeeding your baby is fleeting, and while it's important to you, so is continuing to provide for your family and having a fulfilling work life. ~ Jessica Shortall

When you're breastfeeding, you don't get juicy down there. The juice isn't loose. ~ Kourtney Kardashian

I'm used to going into the studio and smoking and drinking until three in the morning. But I can't drink as much because I'm breastfeeding. See this glass of wine? Before, I'd have, like, four of them. Now, one is good. Oh, and I quit smoking ... I've exorcised a lot of my demons, but I'm still working on myself. I think I'll be a work in progress for the rest of my life. ~ Pink

It is high time to declare an end to the breastfeeding dictatorship that is drowning women in guilt and worry just when they most need support: after the birth of a child. ~ Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Breastfeeding is amazing; you can actually feel your stomach shrink with every feed. ~ Melanie Brown

Corbin wanted, quite simply, to die.
He had wished for death many times over his long lifespan, but never as fervently as he did while Beth Adams rattled off breastfeeding statistics, her baby sucking industriously, mouth fully around the entire areola, as Sam was quick to point out, finger outlining the area in question. Corbin was speechless.
-Corbin at Baby Boot Camp ~ Erin McCarthy

Breastfeeding does not have to be hard. Breastfeeding is natural. With rare exceptions, it becomes hard only because of all the interference caused by the medicalization of birth and unsupportive culture. Animals breastfeed instinctively with no need for supplementation, classes, or support. We as humans also have these instincts. We have become so disconnected. Breastfeeding my children has been one of my greatest joys in life, and I am filled with sorrow when I imagine how many mothers and infants haven't been able to experience this because of misinformation. ~ Adrienne Carmack

Joy all creatures drink At nature's bosoms ... ~ Friedrich Schiller

I breastfeed and I'll be breastfeeding until my son is finished and he weans, ~ Alanis Morissette

The physical relief of having fully drained boobs cannot be overstated. ~ Cassi Clark

The influence of bottle-feeding makes many people think that 'nipple sucking' is breastfeeding. It is not. If the baby sucks his mother's nipples as he would a bottle teat, it damn well hurts. ~ Gabrielle Palmer

Breast milk is so beneficial that a more or less well-nourished mother need not do any more than suckle her baby to ensure it is receiving a healthy diet. When it comes to the nutrients it contains, breast milk provides everything that dietary scientists believe children need in order to thrive - it is the best dietary supplement ever. It contains everything, knows everything, and can do everything necessary for a child's well-being. And, as if that weren't enough, it has the added advantage of passing on a bit of Mom's immune system to her offspring. ~ Giulia Enders

Though breastfeeding is supposed to the most natural thing ever, it seems like a rich-people sport for all the stuff we buy to help. ~ Cassi Clark

Breastfeeding should not be taboo - and bottle feeding should not be judged - it's ALL fun for the whole family, ~ Jaime King

Bosoms," she announces, with a hand to her own, "are for bedrooms and breastfeeding. Not for occasions with dignity."
"Well, what do you want her to do, Eleanor? Leave them at home? ~ Kathryn Stockett

They convinced our mothers that if a food item came in a bottle
or a can or a box or a cellophane bag
then it was somehow better for you than when it came to you free of charge via Mother Nature ... An entire generation of us were introduced in our very first week to the concept that phony was better than real, that something manufactured was better than something that was right there in the room. (Later in life, this explained the popularity of the fast food breakfast burrito, neocons, Kardashians, and why we think reading this book on a tiny screen with only three minutes of battery life left is enjoyable. ~ Michael Moore

Breastfeeding reminds us of the universal truth of abundance; the more we give out, the more we are filled up, and that divine nourishment - the source from which we all draw - is, like a mother's breast, ever full and ever flowing. ~ Sarah Buckley

But the overwhelming number of mothers who think they have too little milk have babies who are taking plenty of milk and are gaining weight well. These mothers have based their conclusions on misinformation or a misinterpretation of their babies' behavior. ~ Kathleen Huggins

When we trust the makers of baby formula more than we do our own ability to nourish our babies, we lose a chance to claim an aspect of our power as women. Thinking that baby formula is as good as breast milk is believing that thirty years of technology is superior to three million years of nature's evolution. Countless women have regained trust in their bodies through nursing their children, even if they weren't sure at first that they could do it. It is an act of female power, and I think of it as feminism in its purest form. ~ Christine Northrup

Mother's milk is soul food for babies. The babies of the world need a lot more soul food. ~ Ina May Gaskin

Bread is for us a kind of successor to the motherly breast, and it has been over the centuries responsible for billions of sighs of satisfaction. ~ Margaret Visser

I am big believer in breastfeeding. My oldest was breastfed for 9 months, my second for 6 months and I will try to nurse Kayla for 6 months. At the end of the day, it's a big sacrifice but you have healthier kids. ~ Deborah Cox

Bosoms are for bedrooms and breastfeeding. ~ Kathryn Stockett

Once I finished breastfeeding, my mom's like, 'Don't take that bra off ever!' Mom, thank you. I wore a one-size-too-small bra for like, two years. It helps ... ! They don't fall, you teach them, you teach them to come back! ~ Paula Patton

I dust a whole shelf of books on pregnancy, breastfeeding, the first six months, the first year, the first two years - and I wonder what the child care-deprived Maddy makes of all this. Maybe there's been some secret division of the world's women into breeders and drones, and those at the maid level are no longer supposed to be reproducing at all. Maybe this is why our office manager, Tammy, who was once a maid herself, wears inch-long fake nails and tarty little outfits - to show she's advanced to the breeder caste and can't be sent out to clean anymore. ~ Barbara Ehrenreich

The older Kit gets, the less confident he feels judging other people as spouses or parents. These days, driving past the home of the Naked Hemp Society, he finds himself more curious than contemptuous about their easily ridiculed New Age ways. Why shouldn't they nurse their babies till age four? Why shouldn't they want to keep their children away from factory-farmed meats, from clothing soaked in fire-retardant chemicals, from dull-witted burned-out public school teachers whose tenure is all too easily approved? Why not frolic naked in the sprinkler
under the full moon, perhaps? Why not turn one's family into a small nurturing country protected by a virtual moat? ~ Julia Glass

In modern consumer society, the attack on mother-child eroticism took its total form; breastfeeding was proscribed and the breasts reserved for the husband's fetishistic delectation. At the same time, babies were segregated, put into cold beds alone and not picked up if they cried. ~ Germaine Greer

I try to feel my own edges in the
low light. I send my mind to the
outer edges of me - where do I end?
I send myself to my innermost edges,
and I see that in both directions
I am infinite. ~ Jessica Bates

My son was three months old when I started filming 'The Hobbit,' and I was still breastfeeding. ~ Evangeline Lilly