Hey, breast feed so you can lose weight!!

Argh! I was reading NYT online a few days ago, and the "Breast-Feed the Baby, Love the Calorie Burn" article in the Fashion & Style section made me really angry! I know in my LifeSpan Developmental Psychology class my more...holistic professor expounded on the benefits of breast-feeding, concentrating on the transmission of passive antibodies from the mother to the baby, but also how it helps with the bonding process (she was big on making sure we knew bonding wasn't an instant snap of the finger between mother and child) between them.

This article seems, to me, to illustrate the obsession media and society has with females being thin or not gaining too much weight. It's sickening! Yes, perhaps one of the benefits of breast-feeding is possible weight loss, but if you do it for the sole reason of weight loss...I find it...somewhat deplorable. It seems like the feeding of the baby, the nutrition is then just a tool for the mother to get back to her pre-baby weight. To go back to a time when her body wasn't witness and responsible and a home to another being... When "mother" wasn't a role in her life (assuming it's the first child) or "expecting mother"...

My disclaimer, though, that I've never been pregnant or given birth so I can't say what I'd feel about my weight gain during pregnancy and after the birth. My mom tried to breast-feed me, as she did my two elder siblings, but I was allergic or reacted badly so I had to be formula-fed. I think I'd breast-feed my kid. I don't know if doctors would recommend mixing both (formula and breast-milk), but I think I'd like the idea of breast-feeding my baby and feeling that awe...

(P.S. Sorry for the weird formatting of the full text article. It's better to click on the link, since you see pictures, too, and comments.)

( full text )