Did anyone watch 20/20 tonight?

JennieR

JennieR

Cathlete
They did a program all about babies. They talked about reborn babies. They're these dolls that look like real babies and people take them out in public as if they're a real baby.

Anyways, they did a story on two different women who breastfeed their children who are 5 and 8. Does anyone else find that disturbing? When watching the show it just creeped me out. Here's the link is anyone's interested.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=6551439&page=1
 
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All I can say is EWWWWWWW!!! I don't have kids so the whole idea of breastfeeding is a foreign concept to me, but at that age it should be considered child abuse!!! IMHO!!! they are old enough (at least at 8) to know some things...

...but guess the kid-less girl should just keep her opinions subdued...

***ewwwww***:confused:
 
Interesting topic

Hello,

I caught parts of the show. I saw the part that discussed breastfeeding toddlers and the part that discussed the dolls.

I was uncomfortable with the breastfeeding children older than infants. However, I don't think it would be detrimental to the child's development. The one mother had a point when she stated "that is what breasts are for". I also agree with her point that breasts have been made into sex objects too. I don't judge the mothers for what they do. I personally would not do it and nor am I comfortable seeing it, but it is their business.

Now, I am very disturbed about the dolls - after borns I think they were called? The one women stated she was disappointed when she did not get attention from people when she wheeled her doll around in a stroller in public. That is not a problem of not being able to have children. That woman has more serious issues. I felt sorry for the one woman who had several miscarriages. I can understand her desire to have the doll. But the doll is not going to develop into a toddler, a child, a teenager, and adult. What kind of relationship is this?

I have not given birth to children, but I do have stepchildren. Having children is more than changing diapers and giving bottles. There is an emotional bond that develops. I am developing a nice bond with my stepchildren. It takes time, but I am enjoying getting to know them and being their friend. I won't ever be "mom", but I am a part of their lives as much as they are of mine. Those dolls are not going to play games or talk or ask questions or haver personalities. They are perpetually there. PLUS, you can leave a doll home and go out. You CANNOT do that with an infant.

There is no substitute for being a parent. It is a unique experience.
 
JennieR said:
They did a program all about babies. They talked about reborn babies. They're these dolls that look like real babies and people take them out in public as if they're a real baby.

Anyways, they did a story on two different women who breastfeed their children who are 5 and 8. Does anyone else find that disturbing? When watching the show it just creeped me out. Here's the link is anyone's interested.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=6551439&page=1
Click to expand...
I used to work as a secretary for my state's Early Intervention program and vividly recall blowing a gasket one day when I ran across a flyer the nurses I worked for were planning to distribute, promoting breast feeding WELL into childhood. It had a long list of famous people who were breast fed past the age of 4; with several still being breast fed at age 6 and one at age 8! I WAS LIVID. The nurses who came up with it were all standing near me in the reception area when I hissed "A woman still breast feeding her child at age 6 needs to get a life, get a MAN, and stop using her child as a sexual surrogate.... No 6-year old boy needs the humiliation of everyone at school finding out he still sucks his mommy's t**" Dead silence. Nobody dared say a word.

Working around early interventionists I already knew there was a real push to get women to breast feed, ostensibly because the nutrients in breast milk are so great for early childhood development. I knew the facts but had been simmering for some time about the way new mothers were being guilt-tripped and made to believe they were bad mothers if they didn't choose to breast feed or if they just weren't successful. I had/have no kids but know it's often very hard to get newborns breast feeding and new mother's with breast feeding issues already feel bad enough without having further guilt and shame for their "selfishness" or "incompetence" dumped on them. I'd also been getting angry for some time over the bullying government stamp (we were a STATE agency) on what I felt was a private matter and a deeply personal decision. When I saw that flyer it was the last straw and I just blew. If they were trying to gauge the reaction of people outside of e.i nursing, wondering how their new campaign of terror would go over, they got their answer. If their own secretary got so mad they didn't have to work too hard to imagine how the public at large would react. I don't think they ever used it.

I didn't see the 20/20 but, clearly, I find aspects of this issue "disturbing."
 
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The ladies with the dolls were unreal. So unhealthy and so sad. Therapy required.

I was torn about the women breastfeeding into childhood. It seemed like is was a positive experience for both mother and child although personally I see it as something very unatural. Certainly not until the child is 8 years old.
 
I did not watch 20/20 about breast feeding children past infancy. The sexual part bothers me just as much as the mother not allowing or nuturing her child to learn or discover self calming techniques. I wonder if it's also that kind of shame that keep some of the mothers who nurse their children past infancy silent.

Possibly related subject... Did the program suggest if these mothers were permissive or too lazy to deal with giving their child boundaries? Just a thought.

About the sexual part... Did they discuss the physical experiences of the mother? Is it similar to nursing an infant? Not to get too intimate, but there is a physical aspect to nursing besides just releasing milk. I'm no doctor, but I've nursed 5 of my 6 children.

Also, I vaguely remember reading a book where the adult character has flashbacks of being nursed as a child. It might of been one of Oprah's book club books or the author was on her show. Can't think of the name. Anyhow, I can only recall the shame the adult had when he realized that he had that kind of relationship with his mother.
 
Did not see the show but...

Stacey thank you for supporting those of us who tried and were not successful with breastfeeding. My first daughter was 9 weeks early and was not able to. I pumped for months on end to give her breastmilk from a bottle but always felt guilty because she didn't get it "naturally". My second daughter was dangerously jaundace so I had to give her extra formula and she preferred that over the breastmilk so she was only breastfed a few weeks. Thank goodness my OBGYN was like "Hey you did the best you could and she got milk for a little while." However, society does its best to make you feel really, really guilty about it if you don't.
 
When I got my new kitty in September, I was surprised to learn that cats actually lose the enzyme lactase at an early age and should not have milk!

I had a c-section with my first, and having a new baby, being in pain, and going back to work when he was 2 months old was overwhelming as it was, I could not add breast feeding. With my second, I did breastfeed until 9 months old, but guess what, she hated milk....all milk, and to this day(she is almost 16), she gets her dairy in other ways. The doctor at 9 months finally had me supplement because she just was too small. That is partly her, she is petite, but she just had some failure to develop. So he said, let her feed herself(a big mess, but easier), and until she was a year, gave her formula. BTW, she still did not hit the height/weight charts(as in, below 0%) until she was 5, so just her body type.
 
What seems abnormal in one culture is considered normal in another. There are cultures where breastfeeding till 8-9 is considered normal. In our culture, breasts have become sex objects and their real purpose in life has been shoved aside. I've known several women who breastfed their six year olds and trust me they weren't doing it for themselves. It's the rare woman who will admit in public to nursing an older child, most just don't want to deal with the flack they get.

The AAP's statement on breastfeeding is pretty open ended. “Breastfeeding beyond the first year offers considerable benefits to both mother and child, and should continue as long as mutually desired."
 
I couldn't bring myself to watch the breastfeeding part!!!
I breastfed both of my sons. They were breast fed until age 1 then were given pumped breast milk until age 3 because they had SEVERE food allergies and could have very little REAL food. They were allergic to milk, eggs, wheat soy etc etc. So I PUMPED the milk and put it in a cup!!!

Breasts are made for feeding infants who are unable to eat food. As evolution would show as soon as they grew teeth, they ate food. Because that's what teeth are for!!!!

The benefits of breastfeeding are to gain the immunity from the mother and provide nutrition. It doesn't help to breast feed your 6 year old then give him a hotdog for lunch!!!!

Something is wrong with these women who breastfeed an 8 year old. If you REALLY just think the milk is good for them, then PUMP it for goodnees sake. No 8 year old should be sucking on anyone's breast for any reason!!!

ellie
 
kryptychyck said:
Now, I am very disturbed about the dolls - after borns I think they were called? The one women stated she was disappointed when she did not get attention from people when she wheeled her doll around in a stroller in public. That is not a problem of not being able to have children. That woman has more serious issues. I felt sorry for the one woman who had several miscarriages. I can understand her desire to have the doll. But the doll is not going to develop into a toddler, a child, a teenager, and adult. What kind of relationship is this?
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They had a Dr. on talking about how unhealthy this is. Personally, I think the women that treat these dolls as if they're real, have something wrong "upstairs".
 
I also agree with those of you that said breasts are looked at as sex objects and have been for years. They're no longer used as God intended, that's for sure.

Ellie, I agree with you. If a mother chooses to breastfeed their child pass the age of two, I don't see why they just don't pump and give it to their child in a cup.
 
Peaceful Rainbow said:
What seems abnormal in one culture is considered normal in another. There are cultures where breastfeeding till 8-9 is considered normal.
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I was just about to say that! There are some cultures who don't understand our views on breastfeeding - among many other things in our culture as well. I didn't nurse for longer than 16 months of age, but I have a neighbor that has several children and she nursed them all until they were ready to wean, and that ranged from just under a year to almost 5 years old. Her children are all pretty secure and happy (I am not insinuating that breastfeeding is the only or best way to ensure that) and don't seem the least bit disturbed or warped. I am not about to judge anyone who wants to breastfeed their child for longer than what I would consider normal. I did enjoy nursing, it was my favorite time of day with my babies and I would hate to think that someone would accuse me of nursing for over a year (or longer than what they deem acceptable) because I was selfish, something was wrong with me or as a mother didn't know how to create boundaries for my kids. That being said I won't disagree that there are women who do it for their own insecurities or selfish reasons, but they are heavily outnumbered by those who just want what is best for their children.

Someone had made the comment about other mammals being weaned at a very young age: if you compare their growth/development at the time that they are naturally weaned, it would average out at the age of 6-6 1/2 in human years. And they all have teeth - in fact, the first set of teeth that mammals have are called "milk teeth". :)

As for the dolls, this is the first I have heard of them and I am not really sure what to think. My initial reaction is sadness for whatever happened to these women to make them act out this way.

Missy
 
IMO, I don't think any body should "remember" being breastfeed. I don't have anything against bf'ing b/c I did it, but I gave it up the first time I got bit! LOL But that was 7 monthes later. My nurse asked me how long I was going to breastfeed for and I told her, no longer then a yr b/c I thought that was to weird.
A child who is 8 will remember being bf'ed and I think thats gross!

Lori:)
 
O.K....

....what about the first segment of that episode...about how something like 20 percent of women have an orgasm while giving birth? Seriously. I had two natural childbirths and the sensation was anything but orgamsic. Like the complete opposite!

Aimee
 
Out of curiosity, specifically which culture considers breastfeeding an 8 year old normal?

I don't know the mind of God. Would it be a stretch of the imagination to say that breasts were designed for both sex and nursing? Other than Adam knowing Eve, isn't the Bible pretty much silent about sex and nursing before the fall?

Aimee... LOL All of my dc were born natural except my twins... and that never happened either.
 
well except that

gidget1978 said:
IMO, I don't think any body should "remember" being breastfeed. I don't have anything against bf'ing b/c I did it, but I gave it up the first time I got bit! LOL But that was 7 monthes later. My nurse asked me how long I was going to breastfeed for and I told her, no longer then a yr b/c I thought that was to weird.
A child who is 8 will remember being bf'ed and I think thats gross!

Lori:)
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I have a memory that pre dates my first birthday. I had gotten into the wild mushrooms in the back yard and of course I ate them. So my mother gave me ipecak syrup (spl?) and of course I puked. A lot. ouchie. I have vivid memories of this. So, if I can remember before my first birthday and its appropriate to nurse up until the first birthday then what?
 
JennieR said:
Anyways, they did a story on two different women who breastfeed their children who are 5 and 8. Does anyone else find that disturbing? When watching the show it just creeped me out. Here's the link is anyone's interested.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=6551439&page=1
Click to expand...

Occasionally breastfeeding a 5 year old in times of stress: marginally disturbing.

Breast feeding an 8 year old : disturbing.

And I haven't watched the segment, but I assume those dolls were intended for educational purposes (like showing teens what some of the responsibilities of taking care of a baby are, to discourage teen pregnancies), but it sounds like some people are using them as surrogate children? There are a lot of disturbed individuals in this world (like some that like to dress up as babies and have other people change their didies!), and while these people fit in that category, at least they don't seem to be doing harm to others. (They are definitely in need of some kind of therapy, though.)

ETA: Eww! I just watched the 'baby' segment. That woman needs some help, fast!
 
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