Equal Division of Parenting Labor
March 28, 2009 by Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor
Filed under mothering
Recently the media spotlight has focused on the issue of breastfeeding and gender equality, with some women lamenting the responsibility of breastfeeding a child (personally I consider it a privilege and hardly worth debating). A March 2009 statement for the Commission on the Status of Women addresses the issue eloquently. “Breastfeeding and the equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men” is a joint statement of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, the International Lactation Consultant Association, La Leche League International, and the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action. It frames and answers the gender quality question:
As people increasingly strive for gender equality, the list of gender-linked tasks and responsibilities, which once were assigned to men or to women only, is shrinking fast. Breastfeeding, though, is still a challenge. Is it possible to share responsibility for work, decision-making, and well-being equally between men and women, when women breastfeed and men do not?
The statement highlights several key points:
My husband holding our sleeping two-day-old
- It makes sense to share the responsibility of assuring that mothers can succeed at breastfeeding.
- Breastfeeding is productive in that it provides (1) care for the nursling, and (2) the “product” of breast milk.
- Paternity leave, parental leave, and family leave are necessary to support men’s involvement in caring for their children.
- The reproductive roles of males and females are complementary, not identical.
- Shared responsibility does not translate into the father feeding the baby half of the time; the mother can breastfeed the child exclusively for the first six months, and the father can take on complementary solid food feedings when the baby turns six months of age.
It is well worth reading the entire statement (PDF).
I am so glad that statement was put out there. Rosin’s ridiculous article only represents one school of feminism, which I think is rather out of date. I think the push in feminism is not toward a 50/50 equality, but a FAIR shared responsibility. I like the idea that was in the statement about “complementary roles” rather than equal roles. Men and women are different, our bodies are different, but differences aren’t bad. Men will never be able to give birth or breastfeed, so what? My husband does plenty of other things with my daughter that I can’t or won’t do. I loved my breastfeeding time with my daughter, and part of me wishes that I nursed longer than I did. I can’t wait until we have another baby so I can nurse that one too.
Tanya at Motherwear.com did a nice piece on the differences in feminist perspectives on breastfeeding.
parenting isn’t equal all of the time. breastfeeding may take time and energy but it pays off when you can easily comfort your baby/toddler and understand what they want because you have a special bond. fathers may spend more time and energy comforting a breastfed child so it all equals out