One of the questions I seem to get frequently, especially from those who are already parents, is whether I plan to breastfeed this little peanut. My instinctive response is "yes, of course." People obviously have different opinions on the matter, but it just seems like it is part of the natural process of being a mother to me. At the least, I want to try it and hope that all goes well.
However, an article in the NYT made me think a little harder about this question. Living in Quebec, I take for granted that if I want to take a year off work without consequences (except only getting paid 1/2 my salary), I can. And I am guaranteed my job back. So if I want to breastfeed for 6 months+, theoretically I should be able to without having to worry about whether I need to pump at work in the middle of a meeting, or if my baby is getting too used to the bottle, or other related concerns.
In the US, however, maternity leave is much shorter and I am not sure everyone is guaranteed leave. So this article amused me because basically it is saying that while more women in the US are breastfeeding in the first months, more can be done to encourage women to continue breastfeeding. Uh, guys? How about extending maternity leave! This might allow women to at least have the option to continue breastfeeding!!!
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My cousin who is pregnant and lives in the USA told me yesterday that at her work, they asked her how many of the 12 weeks she was planning to take off for maternity leave!! Isn't that insane? The company won't top up beyond the 12-week unpaid leave. I'm definitely happy not to have to face that, living in Canada...
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