Breastfeeding Ilonggas (BFI) issued the statement below regarding the session at the Iloilo City Council a few days ago that stemmed from this Bombo Radyo Iloilo FB post. It mainly involved Vice Mayor Joe Espisosa III and and Councilor Ed Penaredondo who joked about the BFIs Hakab Na event at SM City Iloilo held weeks ago to celebrate National Breastfeeding Awareness Month. After the online uproar from the radio's FB page, both politicos issued their separate apologies - Vice Mayor Joe III and Councilor Ed Penaredondo.
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Many of us personally did not hear what the Vice Mayor and the City Councilor said about breastfeeding during a council session yesterday. In fact, we requested for a copy of the transcript to get a perspective of how the discussion started and how it evolved, provoking a lot of listeners especially women. The transcript however won't be available till next week according to our contact from the city hall. A lot of concerned citizens have expressed disgust, anger and disappointment because such comments were least expected and viewed as disrespectful of women from the second highest official of this city and a city councilor.
It's just sad that our society has oversexualized a woman's body where even government leaders consider it acceptable to use a woman’s breast as part of their sex jokes when it’s a natural form of nurturing a child through breastfeeding. It is sad that some government leaders see breastfeeding as taboo or an inappropriate act when done in public --- when that woman only wanted to address the basic need of her child and not necessarily to gain attention and expose herself for public shame. Who wants to be shamed anyway? We are telling you, there are plenty of reasons why mothers have no choice but to feed their children in the public, covered or uncovered. Parading their breasts for the sake of showing off is definitely not one of them.
This kind of incident just strengthens our advocacy to spread the health and economic benefits of breastfeeding and to normalize it in public places. Support groups like Breastfeeding Ilonggas (BFI) would not have been formed if there was public acceptance in the first place --- if women understood and prepared enough for their role as primary nurturer; if some doctors do not prescribe infant formula milk right away without attempting to educate and support the patient mother to lactate; if all medical institutions really practice what World Health Organization (WHO) and Department of Health (DOH) have been campaigning for many years, that is, to encourage mothers to exclusive breastfeed up to 6 months of age, with continued breastfeeding along with appropriate complementary foods up to two years of age or beyond; if all medical practitioners and community health workers were really patient enough to counsel distressed mothers who couldn't lactate; if all efforts have been exhausted before choosing formula, then probably there is no need for us to be writing this open letter.
Raising awareness of the existence of our support group can be often tiresome but seeing how it has significantly increased the chances of mothers to sustain breastfeeding beyond infancy in Iloilo is affirming that what we have started in 2014 will go a long way. Special shout out to the lady who was interviewed by Bombo Radyo Iloilo who expressed her disgust about the lewd comments of a few local government officials relating to breastfeeding during a recorded public session. We believe it was such an imprudent, irresponsible and disrespectful act against women.
It’s disappointing to think that in highly developed countries like that of Europe, mothers who breastfeed their children uncovered is considered normal and yet in developing countries like the Philippines, breastfeeding is often associated with low-income families who couldn’t afford infant formula. And if one doesn’t belong to that economic strata, she is criticized for indecent exposure. It only becomes an indecent exposure because of indecent minds of many who sexualize breast as an object of pleasure and not as a source of life. This mindset has created a stigma that resulted many women to neglect their natural purpose to nurture, for fear of getting criticized, rejected and ridiculed.
In fact, the issue of putting up lactation rooms in public places is such a modern issue that shouldn't be a concern if our society is welcoming and accepting. But because a lot of mothers have already been publicly shamed in malls, workplace and even hospitals (imagine that?!), the need to stay hidden not to scandalize the ignorant and the perverts has now become an issue.
Ask your grand parents, your great grand parents. When did formula milk become available? And why was it introduced in the first place? Isn’t it to supplement or substitute mother’s milk due to various medical reasons? Our forefathers grew up from their mother's milk.
It was the Generation Y that many of our parents, the so-called “baby boomers" were offered affordable options to give formula. It was globally advertised as alternative to breastmilk so mothers can work and do something else other than parenting. It was hidden under the guise of so-called shared parenting where fathers can also feed their children (fathers can parent in different ways, ask our husbands). Women were given options and in a way “empowered” to choose; there was nothing wrong about it except that it undermined its long term health effects on children and the society as a whole. Milk companies have been very good in advertising and misleading us. It's a multibillion industry that has compromised society’s major health issues of our generation and the generations that followed thereafter (asthma, obesity, diabetes, cow’s milk allergy, eczema, lactose intolerance, you name it!).
To our local government officials, you can always justify it as a manly joke. But for us women, it was disrespectful and deemed as verbal harassment on our personal choice to use our breasts for nurturing. Many of our husbands and partners have expressed their disgust and they are taking a stand too because they understand how much sacrifice their wives give just to sustain breastfeeding in a society where the use of feeding bottle is more convenient; where women who feed their children in public have to endure stares and judgments especially when one breast is exposed (because t's either hot under the cloth or the child just refused to get covered or there is no lactating rooms available for the public to use); where many women opted to extend breastfeeding because it's economical and lessen household expenses; where working mothers have to give up their snack/ lunch breaks or get up in the middle of the night so they could pump and store milk. Sadly, they sometimes have to do it inside a restroom where it’s smelly and unhygienic. Imagine if your food is prepared or cooked inside a toilet. How does that make you feel? In the same way when breastfeeding moms are asked to feed their children in restrooms, how would you feel if you are asked to finish your meal inside a smelly restroom?
Standing up for the rights of women and children to breastfeed in public hopefully destroys the stigma of shaming and sexualizing women’s breasts. We are speaking not to shame parents who have chosen to formula feed their children. Breastfeeding Ilonggas believes women especially mothers, are entitled to choose what they think is best for their children and we respect that BFI does not condone shaming mothers who choose other forms of feeding. Each mother has her own story, belief system and hopefully informed choice.
But for many who have joined our advocacy, a lot of them have voiced out that they were either misinformed in the past or were never educated about breastfeeding hence infant formula was their top choice. And when they eventually discovered the health and economic benefits of breastfeeding through our series of social media campaigns and mother’s classes (child birth preparation), they were enlightened, educated, empowered and now willing to support other women in their community as well. And this is why we encourage more people even the non-breastfeeding communities to speak out if you actually believe in our cause. BFI cannot do it alone. We are here to educate people. But there is so much work to be done. We cannot just keep on fault-finding here. As government officials who have wide reach of networks, be prudent in your words. Your joke does not only offend a lot who have worked so hard to make breastfeeding work for their families but it contributes to the stigma that a woman’s body is only made for sexual pleasure of men. It is breeding a misogynistic society and you have a moral responsibility to not create such mindset if you are truly advocates of equality. We have been knocking on the doors of the LGU for the past 3 years asking for their support but never received positive response (and we have records to show it).
Breastfeeding a child during infancy and beyond unless there are medical reasons that say otherwise, should not just be a norm but a public health concern that needs strong support from the government. The private sector is supposed to just follow. Our local government officials are in the best position to create positive influence that will give long term health benefits in our society. BFI is not closing its doors to future partnership with the local government as long as they are ready to be educated. Ignorance is unacceptable reason especially when you are holding a significant influence in society. We will continue to create a safe and friendly community for mothers and children to positively support breastfeeding whether done in private or public places.
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