Last Friday I posted a bit about Whoopi Goldberg’s response to covering up the areola in a breasfeeding clip during the “Hot Topics” segment on The View. I thought I would expand on the clip itself, and pose a question to you.

On a trip to Sierra Leone, in support of a tetanus-vaccination project, Salma Hayek came across a starving baby and decided to nurse him while being filmed by ABC News. She told the camera crew that she did this in part out of compassion for a suffering child, but also to help lift the stigma against breast-feeding in Africa. Men in Africa often think women can’t have sex if they’re still nursing and pressure their wives to stop breastfeeding when few alternatives remain for safely feeding their babies.

The response to this is as can be expected. Breastfeeding advocates are praising her for promoting breastfeeding; those who are uncomfortable with breastfeeding are attacking her decision. If we think back to the earthquake in China last May, and the Chinese policewoman Jiang Xiaojuan’s heroic and emergency breastfeeding of several babies orphaned by the earthquake, we can see Salma’s act of emergency and compassionate breastfeeding is similar to policewoman Jiang Xiaojuan’s. The only difference here is the public’s response. Policewoman Jiang Xiaojuan was heralded a hero by the public; Salma is getting a mixed response, but definitely not one of unanimous hero.

Why is that? Is it because the public at large does not consider Sierra Leone to be in a state of emergency? Maybe hearing about the state of countries across Africa and their need for support has deadened our compassion? Maybe we think it’s not an emergency because it has been an ongoing issue for generations? Have we turned off our ears and closed off our hearts? Are we so jaded that we only recognize one-off environmental disasters as emergencies? Why is nursing a hungry baby more acceptable in one situation than another? Isn’t a hungry baby a hungry baby?

Personally, I love that Salma, a confessed breastfeeding addict, breastfed a hungry baby in Sierra Leone. I love that she was able to give of herself in that way and be proud of it! My question to you is, would you be able to breastfeed another woman’s baby

I would! I would not be able to deny a starving baby milk when it is something I have to offer, something I can give so easily. And yes, I would be proud of my actions as well. Of course, there are many health considerations to think about in any “wet-nursing” type situation, but a hungry baby is a baby in need. Many babies would not take another woman’s breast after having their mother’s; they do know the difference.  But if the baby is happily feeding and if the the breastfeeding is consensual, would you not do the same?

Did anyone catch The View this morning? The ladies on The View spoke about Selma Hayek’s latest breastfeeding adventures in Sierra Leone during their “Hot Topics” segment. They had a video clip of Selma breastfeeding a starving baby she encountered while in Siera Leone. When the video showed Selma nursing, the clip obscured her areola with a fuzzy circle, the high-tech equivalent of a blackout bar. Before the clip even ended Whoopi was exclaiming” Whoa, wait a minute, what was that?” Sherri explained that they had to block out her areola because it couldn’t be shown on daytime tv. Whoopi looked disgusted and made a comment about how it was horrible that a woman breastfeeding a baby couldn’t be shown without covering up something.

Yaaaay Whoopi! I am so glad someone on the show had the brass to say something! How are we as a society to normalize breastfeeding when broadcast networks insist on covering the areola in breastfeeding footage? Seriously. It’s an areola for crying out loud, we all have them.

My darling daughter has been sick for the past week. Low-grade fever, listless, lethargic, she just wants to sit in my lap, cuddled up and nurse. She has spent the past week barely eating anything, she only wants to nurse. I’ve just had one of those sessions where I’ve looked down to watch her tired face as she drinks the only sustenance that has nourished her for these past five days and I am filled with thanks.

I am thankful for having the ability to breastfeed. I am thankful that we as mom and daughter have been blessed with a syncopation that has allowed us to breastfeed together so well. I am thankful that my body produces the most important life-sustaining fluid for my baby, and still after 22 months, flows freely for her continued nourishment. I am thankful that when my daughter is sick and wants nothing to eat or drink, that she wants the comfort and nourishment that only my breasts can give her. Thankful that I can breastfeed.