An Open letter to Kochie - from an unsuccesful breastfeeding mother.

Dear Kochie,

Whenever I hear the words "Classy". I think of Ron Burgundy and his line "You stay classy San Diego". I love that movie. Ron Burgundy, to me, is meant to be about a fictional character, a news anchor, that is so politically incorrect, you find it hard not to chuckle. In reality, news anchors/journalists, are generally open minded, respectable figures in that big olde plasma, that are viewed Nation Wide.

I think your image of breastfeeding has been a little distorted. I imagine that what you mean by classy, is more like an image of Miranda Kerr being photographed in a silk gown, dimly lit and vaguely smiling at the camera taken by her uber famous husband, Orlando Bloom. I imagine you weren't offended by that image that was mainstreamed in "high traffic areas" of the internet called "The News". I'm sure it was even posted on your show when the image was released and you all doted on the picture. 

Breastfeeding, in my experience, is FAR from that image.

When I breastfed my first born for a mere 10 weeks, it was agony. Pure agony. I contracted mastitis twice, something you will never have to endure, never slept, half my days were spent with cold cabbage leaves wilting on my engorged, hard as a rock, breasts and on top of that I was expressing milk with this a breast pump, that my son now happily tries to play with as though it were a trumpet. But I was told breast was best, in fact the message was pretty much shoved down my throat for the whole time i was pregnant, and there after. As I walked out of my hospital there was a board with this picture.

There is nothing CLASSY about getting your child to latch on. When I was having difficulty in the hours after I had given birth, I had a complete stranger grabbing and pulling my boob around, as though it wasn't attached to my body, telling me the benefits of breastfeeding and how her daughter never got sick till the age of two, I put on a brave front and acted like it was normal whilst I was crying in pain inside. For ten weeks I had cracked nipples with barely any skin left on them, I cried and wondered why I was failing and yet mother's in third world countries walk around with their baby hanging off their boob.

After ten weeks, enough was enough. My baby needed to eat and put some weight on. So in the bottle it went and up shriveled my un-classy boobs that soon became just sacks of skin. They used to be cute and perky.

Because of backward thinking minds, like yourself, I never went out in those ten weeks. In fear of offending anyone who saw my ugly looking boobs. My scenario was nothing glamorous like Mrs Kerr-Bloom.

The same went for my second son, again, I was unable to breastfeed. I guess I'm not well endowed, per se, when it comes to breasts and feeding children.

Do you know how hard it is to organise one self and actually get out with a breastfeeding child??? Do you know how hard for a baby to latch on without ripping off ANY skin? Do you know how hard it is to sit in a spot, get comfy and feed a child?? Do you know what it takes to muster up the courage and defy all people who think like you and get out there and ... DO WHAT IS NORMAL AND NEEDS TO BE DONE?

But we, as mothers, are damned if we do and damned if we don't. And it becomes tiring hearing, yet another, bigotry comment from the state of mind of a plain old bigot like yourself. Your comment was unnecessary and crude. And I have no idea what language you were speaking when you said "you've gotta be a bit classy about it".

I'm sure if you ever went to a restaurant, ordered a steak, then asked to go eat your steak next to the mens urinal because a vegetarian sitting next to you was offended and wanted you to be more discreet about eating a steak - you take to Sunrise and rant on about your rights to eat steak. Right?

I admire any mother who is or has been able to breastfeed for longer than I did. You have NO idea what shame came with my inability to not breastfeed my kids. It was more personal and my kids are absolutely fine, but still there isn't a moment of jealously that I feel when I see a woman breastfeed. It's beautiful, so natural and all class if you ask me.

Breastfeeding is not about whether you're classy or un-classy, modest or discreet. It's about feeding your child and meeting their needs anytime and any place.

Next time, if you find yourself near a woman who is breastfeeding and are offended? Then perhaps you should play the classy act, be polite, don't say anything and remove yourself to a place where you will be more comfortable. You don't have a child hanging off your boob, you don't have boobs, therefore it would be easier for you to up and leave.

Why don't you just do the news and leave us mother's to make all the decision that are the best for our children, sans your rather UNCLASSY and unnecessary commentary. And maybe, as a male media persona, you should use your opinions to help other backward thinking men, like yourself, to be more open to the fact that breastfeeding is natural and should be treated with care and respect.

Your Truly,

An unsuccessful breastfeeding mother. 

And to sum it up: