I enjoyed this episode, but I didn’t care for what Leila said about women not knowing how to breastfeed or not seeing how it’s important.
While I don’t think she was trying to be mean, I found this hurtful. I tried very hard to breastfeed, but had limited success. And I worked with multiple lactation consultants and did all sorts of things to try to make it work.
I know many other moms who feel like failures because for various reasons they could not breastfeed or even pump milk in some cases.
For these reasons, I didn’t care for this remark. However, she had a lot of good information to share.
Hello Linda! Thank you for listening. I'm so sorry you felt slighted by Leila's comment. I won't speak for Leila, but I do know that it can be easy to make a passing comment in a recorded conversation that does not accurately reflect the fullness of one's opinion. I am praying for you, your healing, and peace!
Thanks, Danielle! I appreciate you taking the time to thoughtfully reply. I completely understand. I just felt the need to call this to your attention, as some other mothers listening may have felt the same way.
I love Girlfriends and all of the work you do. Looking forward to listening to your next episode!
Hi Linda! Many women are in your situation, having tried to breastfeed and found it so difficult and even impossible.
If you go back and listen to what I said (I just re-listened myself), I hope you will understand the point I was making. Basically, until our time, women everywhere fed their own children at the breast. Some could not (this is of course the human condition -- just as some cannot even have children -- yet it is the natural order of things), and those who had this trouble gave the baby to a "wet nurse" (usually a sister or servant who also was nursing her own child).
I'm sure you're familiar with images of Our Lady with her Child... surely that image would not hurt the feelings of a woman who could not have a child. She would see the importance of the image to our spiritual life (as well as our natural life). We would not call *her* a failure, but we would also not stop saying that having babies is important and good!
Likewise, the image of the mother feeding the baby at the breast is spiritually important. As I said in my conversation with Danielle, it's one that is nearly lost. In fact, I know so many women who have had trouble breastfeeding, and much of the trouble comes precisely from not having many other women around, each with her own experience, to offer what I would call "normal" (as opposed to "expert") help. It's a spiraling problem.
It's so sad when there is a part of experience an individual can't enjoy for one reason or another. My heart goes out to you -- I'm sure you went through a lot of grief and anguish!
My point here is that nursing babies has all but disappeared... that is really sad for the life of women in general: for their well being in the home and for the world. It is also sad for the spiritual life (as delved into at length by St. Francis de Sales -- I gave a talk in Littleton CO about it here: https://youtu.be/QELThhFCNt0?si=dIaphWDy__DM3gIA
(the first part is about my conversion -- you can skip to the part about St. Francis de Sales and his Treatise on the Love of God!)
In a podcast of 20 minutes it's hard to explain everything. But we really have to get back to mothers holding and feeding their own babies! Preferably at the breast, but as my father said to me when I was quite young, if not, she can still hold her child, look in her baby's eyes, cuddle him, and be the one who nurtures him! The world needs this beauty!
Thank your for your kind and thoughtful response. I completely understand that it is hard to fully explain everything in a short podcast. I wrote in because I knew Danielle would respond in a loving way.
I appreciate you taking the time to share these resources. I struggled a lot with my birth experience due to needing an emergency c-section and then struggled to nurse. I definitely felt less than other moms.
Again, thank you and I look forward to checking out more of your work.
I enjoyed this episode, but I didn’t care for what Leila said about women not knowing how to breastfeed or not seeing how it’s important.
While I don’t think she was trying to be mean, I found this hurtful. I tried very hard to breastfeed, but had limited success. And I worked with multiple lactation consultants and did all sorts of things to try to make it work.
I know many other moms who feel like failures because for various reasons they could not breastfeed or even pump milk in some cases.
For these reasons, I didn’t care for this remark. However, she had a lot of good information to share.
Hello Linda! Thank you for listening. I'm so sorry you felt slighted by Leila's comment. I won't speak for Leila, but I do know that it can be easy to make a passing comment in a recorded conversation that does not accurately reflect the fullness of one's opinion. I am praying for you, your healing, and peace!
Thanks, Danielle! I appreciate you taking the time to thoughtfully reply. I completely understand. I just felt the need to call this to your attention, as some other mothers listening may have felt the same way.
I love Girlfriends and all of the work you do. Looking forward to listening to your next episode!
Hi Linda! Many women are in your situation, having tried to breastfeed and found it so difficult and even impossible.
If you go back and listen to what I said (I just re-listened myself), I hope you will understand the point I was making. Basically, until our time, women everywhere fed their own children at the breast. Some could not (this is of course the human condition -- just as some cannot even have children -- yet it is the natural order of things), and those who had this trouble gave the baby to a "wet nurse" (usually a sister or servant who also was nursing her own child).
I'm sure you're familiar with images of Our Lady with her Child... surely that image would not hurt the feelings of a woman who could not have a child. She would see the importance of the image to our spiritual life (as well as our natural life). We would not call *her* a failure, but we would also not stop saying that having babies is important and good!
Likewise, the image of the mother feeding the baby at the breast is spiritually important. As I said in my conversation with Danielle, it's one that is nearly lost. In fact, I know so many women who have had trouble breastfeeding, and much of the trouble comes precisely from not having many other women around, each with her own experience, to offer what I would call "normal" (as opposed to "expert") help. It's a spiraling problem.
It's so sad when there is a part of experience an individual can't enjoy for one reason or another. My heart goes out to you -- I'm sure you went through a lot of grief and anguish!
My point here is that nursing babies has all but disappeared... that is really sad for the life of women in general: for their well being in the home and for the world. It is also sad for the spiritual life (as delved into at length by St. Francis de Sales -- I gave a talk in Littleton CO about it here: https://youtu.be/QELThhFCNt0?si=dIaphWDy__DM3gIA
(the first part is about my conversion -- you can skip to the part about St. Francis de Sales and his Treatise on the Love of God!)
I also have a post to explain how the mother who simply cannot breastfeed can still "nurse" her baby and offer the world this image, an icon really, of the child being nurtured by its mother: https://likemotherlikedaughter.org/2012/09/what-does-nursing-baby-mean-and-readers/
I hope you will read it.
In a podcast of 20 minutes it's hard to explain everything. But we really have to get back to mothers holding and feeding their own babies! Preferably at the breast, but as my father said to me when I was quite young, if not, she can still hold her child, look in her baby's eyes, cuddle him, and be the one who nurtures him! The world needs this beauty!
God bless!
Thank your for your kind and thoughtful response. I completely understand that it is hard to fully explain everything in a short podcast. I wrote in because I knew Danielle would respond in a loving way.
I appreciate you taking the time to share these resources. I struggled a lot with my birth experience due to needing an emergency c-section and then struggled to nurse. I definitely felt less than other moms.
Again, thank you and I look forward to checking out more of your work.