http://thestir.cafemom.com/baby/123763/pumping_moms_face_risks_we
This made my blood boil. I think it's deplorable that the topic has been raised, especially with such negative connotation. If breast pumping was being studied to give other pumping women support, fantastic, because holy shit is pumping difficult. But this is just another way to make women feel guilty for not breastfeeding... and it's still breast milk!! Yes, we all know that breast is best, but what about the moms who can't do it, or choose not to? There is a multitude of reasons, and each mama is different, and each baby is different. So if a woman is committed to pumping, she should be praised for all her efforts, not made to feel scared about "hidden dangers" or guilty about improper use of oxytocin output.
Some mothers don't have a choice, especially if they go back to work. And maybe they do have to pump in bathrooms... that doesn't mean each mother is an idiot who is gonna stick the bottle in the toilet before expressing milk! And have you ever tried to cuddle a baby while pumping to obtain maximum bonding experience? If you consider cuddling doing a balancing act like something out of cirque du soleil, sure then. In all seriousness, I am tired of hearing other mothers try to one-up each other on the breast feeding front. Why must we try to validate ourselves in this manner? It doesn't make us better mamas, and it certainly doesn't make us better girlfriends.
Clearly I had trouble breast feeding. It started about 15 minutes after my son's birth... when he stopped breathing. This was the most horrifying moment of my life, as any mother can imagine, but after bagging him and giving him some air he was breathing again. But because of this episode, he was whisked off to the nursery for a battery of tests, leaving me with no baby. Needless to say, I didn't have the opportunity to try to breastfeed after birth. Once I could walk and visit him in the nursery, I tried my first go at breast feeding... not successful. Apparently, the pregnancy had caused my left nipple to invert, so I was instructed to get nipple shells to try to pop that sucker out again. This made me look like I was walking around with golf balls in my bra, but the maternity ward is no place for vanity, so I just kept on truckin'. I repeatedly tried breastfeeding at the hospital, but Holden was NOT having it, and the nurses were not helpful. On my last day at the hospital, I finally got the lactation consultant I had been needing. When she saw Holden push me away and scream when I tried to feed him, she introduced me to the SNS (supplemental nursing system). This was a little device used to finger feed babies who have latching issues. Once we got home, I desperately tried to continue breastfeeding. No luck. The next morning however, I woke up to Nature's boob job, and I ran around the house topless for about an hour because for the first time in my life I had boobs! But this was short lived, because I was severely engorged and my breasts felt like they were in vice grips. I was advised to put cabbage leaves on them to help the swelling go down, so now I ran around the house looking more like a salad. In the meantime, I was pumping every two hours. This became MORE than a full time job, especially since all I had was a single pump. So, I would pump one boob for 20 mins, then pump the other for 20 mins. Then I would assemble the SNS & feed my son. This was a painfully slow process, as the SNS was difficult for Holden to master. After feeding the baby, I had to wash the SNS, put the nipple shells back on, and clean the pump. After the entire process was finished, it was basically time to do it again. My life was set on repeat, and I was exhausted. 
Shortly after the baby was born, my in-laws flew to California to come see their Grandson. Lucky for me, my mother-in-law was an OB nurse for 40 years, and volunteered to help me feed the baby. I figured she would have me well versed in the art of breast feeding in no time. After multiple attempts, we weren't getting anywhere... Holden was just one of those babies that absolutely refused to latch on, so I just kept pumping. And pumping. And pumping. Somewhere in week two of my son's life, I started popping capillaries in my left breast, causing me to pump blood. This was my breaking point. All I wanted to do was give my baby what nature had intended and my body was not cooperating. Thank goodness my husband was so incredibly supportive, because I was seriously about to jump off of the Manhattan Beach Pier and plummet into the depths of the Pacific Ocean. Shortly thereafter, I noticed my supply was not where it should be, and I was no longer able to produce enough milk to keep up with my son's needs. I started taking fennugreek & blessed thistle from the health food store & drank a special tea. I also had to buy a natural nipple cream because all the pumping had left my nips sore, cracked, scabbed, and bleeding. Despite all this, I continued to pump. I pumped around the clock every day for four months straight, until I dried up.
The inability to breastfeed my child in no way compromised our bonding experience. We started out cuddling skin-to-skin, and continue to bond in other ways such as story time and physical therapy. Holden has torticollis, which may actually explain why he couldn't latch on... it may have just been too painful for him to turn his little head. But now everyday we work on it and I encourage him & celebrate his progress, no matter how slight. Also, bottle feeding our son has meant that Dad gets to join in too, so he gets to bond with his baby in that manner & I can take a quick shower or finish the dishes!
Thankfully I had an amazing team of cheerleaders in my corner... my husband, my mother-in-law, and my girlfriend Jordan (aforementioned milf in previous post). Without them I don't think I could have carried on for as long as I did. Which brings me back to my original point... we should be encouraging & praising women for pumping--it's a lot of work!! Even if a mother chooses to formula feed her baby from birth, we should be supportive of her, not critical. Giving birth and raising a child is hard enough, so let's do ourselves and mommies everywhere a favor... don't be such a boob.
