Why? Why Not?

Now that D's 8 months and 17 days as of writing, some people tend to ask the one question that I've heard a hundred times (trust me, if I get a peso for everytime I'd be asked the question...I'd probably have enough to buy a stash of GroVia hybrids! LOL!).

"How old na is your baby?" someone asks.
"He's 8 months na." I'd answer.
"Wow, ang lusog niya! Anong milk niya?" someone asks again.
"Breastmilk." I answer with a smile, as normal as I look when I smile.
"Hah? Breastfeeding ka pa rin until now? Why naman?" someone asked.

I'm so tempted to answer with all the sarcasm and frustration in the world, 'Why not?' Seriously, why not? It seems that people in the city (urbanized areas) have already been so exposed to what's on TV that the most natural thing in the world is being questioned and dare I say, criticized. I've been used to be being stared even when I was a kid given that I am born with a cleft lip and palate, so being stared and gawked at when I'm feeding D in public was never an issue to me.

I feel quite strongly about this advocacy because I do not like the fact that people are not being educated. They would rather choose what is convenient as opposed to what is natural and what is readily available. Although I truly respect the choices that mothers make, I also make it a point to speak my mind since it is something truly close to my heart. It breaks whenever I hear babies getting sick because of formula or because they easily contracted a water-borne disease.

In the US, it is even common to hear people say this to nursing mothers, 'I do not masturbate or pee in public, why should you expose your breasts in public?' Again, I would love to answer with all sarcasm in the world, 'Why? Did I expose my breasts to you?' I even saw a motto that said, 'If you're offended by my breastfeeding then you've been staring at it for too long.'

We are luckier here in Davao since breastfeeding in public is not even an issue. I've seen several photos and also read several horror stories in Manila where nursing mothers were asked to leave restaurants because they made the customers feel uncomfortable. Or that it is indecent to be breastfeeding in public so they have to look for a comfort room to feed the baby instead. Wow, I was shocked to hear about this because in our own country where it is still very natural and common to be breastfeeding even in the jeepney (yes, I've seen a mother breastfeed her baby while in the jeepney!), why constrict mothers to feed their children?

Bottomline: There is a law here in the Philippines that protects nursing mothers and yes, they are allowed to nurse in public. Malls and other public establishments are required to have an area where mothers can breastfeed their children in peace (and no, it's not the comfort room!). And if you think that it's indecent for mothers to be "exposing their breasts" to feed their children...then you're staring at it for too long.

Again...they ask why and I answer with a why not.