Mayor Bloomberg, Leave My Breasts Alone!

By Mildred Robertson

In an ever-increasing crusade to legislate day-to-day living, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has determined that women should only breastfeed their babies. New York state health officials have joined the bandwagon, issuing regulations that limit “unnecessary” formula feeding for breastfed newborns.

WHAT! How condescending. How judgmental! How uninformed!

Don’t get me wrong. I believe in the benefits of breastfeeding, and breastfed both my children. But it was no easy task, especially as a working mother. I chose to make the sacrifice to breastfeed my children even though it was logistically challenging. The key word here is, “chose.” It was not something that some government suit told me that I had to do it. Even my husband felt that was a decision best made by me!

The level of arrogance displayed by Mayor Bloomberg and others like him is mind boggling. How dare they assume that they are better equipped than the everyday person to make intelligent lifestyle and health care choices? It is mind boggling.

I am all for sharing the benefits breastfeeding affords to both the mother and the infant. That is why I made my personal decision to breastfeed.

My healthcare professional outlined ALL the options available to me, and the benefits and drawbacks of each.  I was given the information I needed to make the decision I thought best for me and my children. There is no place in this kind of decisions for government to insert itself. No one outside the family unit should have any but educational input into such issues.

Mayor Bloomberg should be able to find plenty to do without intruding in the personal, private healthcare decisions of New York’s mothers and their children.