Comments on Blacktating: Louisville Black Breastfeeding PSAs

We have very low breastfeeding rates here in Loui...

2012-02-03T11:59:08.938-05:00

We have very low breastfeeding rates here in Louisville and I don't think I've ever seen another woman nursing in public that wasn't a "natural mama" shop like Mama's Hip. The hospitals here aren't much help in that regard. :(

I think Hooter Hider has such great name recogniti...

2012-01-30T13:08:00.016-05:00

I think Hooter Hider has such great name recognition that it has become the de facto name for nursing covers, like Q-tip or Band-aid.

I was sort annoyed about the nursing cover comment...

2012-01-30T10:28:31.455-05:00

I was sort annoyed about the nursing cover comment (and wondered why they specifically identified a brand, "Hooter Hiders," were they partially funded by that company?). But really, I find the taking baby with a full set of teeth pretty creepy.

http://www.amber-hinds.com

I'm not a giant fan of the video style, but am...

2012-01-29T21:53:50.637-05:00

I'm not a giant fan of the video style, but am appreciative of the message that they are trying to get out there. I live in Louisville, and Kentucky has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the country.

In my opinion .... we have a pretty good rate of nursing in public, at least among my own circles. There have been nurse-ins staged all over the city, and there's a pretty big 'granola' population -- those of us who are comfortable nursing in public, practice extended breastfeeding, return to work and continue pumping, etc.

I'm not sure what the answer is -- I think you HAVE to have a good support system. With my oldest daughter (now 17) I had no idea I could return to work and still breastfeed. With my youngest three, I nursed them well past 2 years old, pumping at work, etc. My husband was very supportive, as well as my friends. I had an online support network, which helped tremendously as well.

If dads, grandmothers, extended family members aren't on board, I think it makes it easy to throw in the towel when you hit a rough patch.

Another thing to consider -- pediatricians and health departments need to promote breastfeeding as well. Most mothers leave the hospital with the formula care packages in this area, and minimal breast feeding support materials.

I like the ads. While the teeth are a little weir...

2012-01-28T11:50:17.292-05:00

I like the ads. While the teeth are a little weird and distracting, actually, I think they may be a good thing. It's obvious, of course, that they are fake and not there when the baby is not talking, but perhaps they send a little message to counter the idea that "only a masochist nurses a baby after they get teeth."

Not in love with the stuff you mentioned - covers,...

2012-01-28T08:01:07.640-05:00

Not in love with the stuff you mentioned - covers, pumping, etc. - but you're right that these are now really a big part of breastfeeding today. Thumbs up for ANY ad in favor of breastfeeding. If formula gets screen time, so should breastmilk!

I left a comment on Motherwear's blog before ...

2012-01-28T00:48:22.334-05:00

I left a comment on Motherwear's blog before I saw this and watched all the videos. I like them better all in context, I just saw the last one on her blog and wasn't a big fan. My main concern was that it is reinforcing a trend I see in the African-American community, which is to plan no direct breastfeeding but instead to "pump and feed it in a bottle". I don't think the mothers who plan this understand what it will take to exclusively pump - including that they usually do not have access to a good enough quality pump to maintain it. Yes, this is absolutely meeting mothers where they are at in terms of making them feel more comfortable about the idea of breastMILK, but we only see this baby bottle fed...not a single image of breastfeeding. I wish so much that the mothers I meet who are planning exclusive pumping could have more images of breastfeeding to make them comfortable with the idea of a baby at the breast. Breastmilk in any form is great, of course, but I think most women have a much better shot at giving breastmilk to their babies longer if they are willing to do direct breastfeeding.

hopefully their breastfeeding rates aren't so ...

2012-01-27T22:49:17.075-05:00

hopefully their breastfeeding rates aren't so low that they think that bfing may cause your baby to get a premature set of adult teeth. I've seen the e-trade commercials and never noticed teeth, but these creeped me out immediately!
Teeth aside, I agree with whozat.

Thumbs UP!!! ALthough the teeth on the baby are bi...

2012-01-27T22:44:00.654-05:00

Thumbs UP!!! ALthough the teeth on the baby are bit scary lol

Your comment is 100% mirroring a conversation I ju...

2012-01-27T21:58:40.930-05:00

Your comment is 100% mirroring a conversation I just had with someone else. I completely agree with you that these ads are meeting people where they are. My guess is that Louisville has low breastfeeding rates and even lower occurrences of women nursing in public. Being reassured that it's not nasty and you can use a cover or sling to feel more comfortable is not a bad message in this circumstance. You are the second person to say the baby looks creepy, but to me it was so obviously an attempt at humor and a rip-off of those etrade Super Bowl commercials that it never occurred to me to find it creepy.

I agree. While some might not see "you can pu...

2012-01-27T21:49:13.130-05:00

I agree. While some might not see "you can pump and use a cover" as the ideal message, I think they are meeting people where they are, and addressing concerns that seem to be common in the community.

I do with that the special effects folks had managed to animate the baby's speech without giving her a full set of adult teeth though. That's kind of creepy ;-)