Gisele Talks More About Breastfeeding and I Agree With Her

08/04/2010 by

As most of the world knows by now, Gisele Bundchen says all manner of ridiculous things on the topic of motherhood.

First, she talked about how some pregnant women turn into garbage disposals. Then, she talked about how childbirth “wasn’t painful, not even a little bit“. And more recently, she spouted off to Harper’s Bazaar about how she thinks breastfeeding should be mandatory worldwide for at least the first 6 months.

Gisele Bundchen Gisele Talks More About Breastfeeding and I Agree With Her

While I think that Gisele is, for the most part, a silly over-privileged woman who is likely out of touch with many issues, I get what she’s saying, and I agree with her sentiment. Before you start throwing your stones, let me explain that I know very well that not all women are able to breastfeed for various reasons. I get that. But I also know that formula is pushed, pushed, pushed as something that is as beneficial as breast milk and that’s not the truth.

What concerns me even more, is that formula companies go into third world and developing countries and convince the women there that formula is BETTER than breastmilk, and that is really disgusting. And when those poor starving women don’t have enough money to buy enough formula to feed their babies, they cut the formula powder into amounts that don’t give enough nutrients to sustain their child’s life. And then those same poor starving women mix the too-small-amount of formula with dirty, contaminated water and feed it to their undernourished children. This is happening right now. Right now! And it’s a tragedy.

Gisele Bundchen1 1024x768 Gisele Talks More About Breastfeeding and I Agree With Her

So when silly Gisele comes skipping along and says that there should be a breastfeeding law, what she’s actually trying to say – very badly – is that worldwide breastfeeding should be promoted to the point that it’s the norm. Because breastfeeding SHOULD be the norm. Everywhere. It should be assumed that a mother will nurse her child. Formula should be the exception. I am not saying to get rid of formula. It saves lives. Yes. But, it should not be promoted more heavily than breastfeeding. It shouldn’t.

I lay no judgment on a mother about using formula. I understand that women are just trying to do the best for their kids. I understand that. We ALL understand that, even Gisele.

Gisele took to her website yesterday evening to clarify her hard-line statements.

“My intention in making a comment about the importance of breastfeeding has nothing to do with the law. It comes from my passion and beliefs about children. Becoming a new mom has brought a lot of questions, I feel like I am in a constant search for answers on what might be the best for my child. It’s unfortunate that in an interview sometimes things can seem so black and white. I am sure if I would just be sitting talking about my experiences with other mothers, we would just be sharing opinions. I understand that everyone has their own experience and opinions and I am not here to judge. I believe that bringing a life into this world is the single most important thing a person can undertake and it can also be the most challenging. I think as mothers we are all just trying our best.”

. . . . .

Marilyn can’t believe she’s been forced to defend a supermodel.

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Filed Under: Celebrities, Celebrities Say The Darndest Things, Celebrity Moms, Celebrity Parents, Eye Candy Tagged With: Celebrities, celebrity moms, Celebrity Parents, gisele, gisele bundchen
  • JW

    Good post. It’s certainly easier to read a snippet of something a silly supermodel has said and overreact by calling her names and wishing violence upon her (omg, the number of times I’ve seen commenters on various sites state that they want to punch her in the neck! What’s with all the neck punching?!) but there’s usually at least a little more nuance there than has been communicated in the media. That, and the fact that Gisele likely is not one of the Great Communicators of the world.

    Let us all join hands together as women and love and support each other!

  • jo

    Why is it that you make more sense than Gisele does?

    Oh yeah I remember she is Gisele. Still can’t stand her

  • JW

    That last part was a joke, btw.

  • Kerry

    The only people who promote formula more heavily than breastfeeding are the people who make formula. I think breast-feeding in general is way more promoted than formula in general. Also, Gisele’s comments were specificaly about breastfeeding in the US, not in third world countries.

    This is purely ancedotal but one of the main reasons people use to encourage breast-feeding is that it reduces allergies. Why do so many more kids have allergies today, then they did 25 years ago when I was a kid? I took a poll and not one of my friends who were born in the 70′s was breastfed. Not one of us has allergies either. Try doing that with a group of 6 or 7 year old kids today who were breastfed and I can almost gaurentee you a few of them would have allergies.

    There are studies to support that breastfeeding is best, you’d have to live under a rock to not know that. So why can’t we just leave formula feeding mothers alone? They know the info, they’re making their own choices, why do we have to judge them and make them feel guilty? Ugh the mommy wars. I hate them.

    In the grand scheme of things all that matters is that parents feed, love and shelter their babies. When these kids are 45 years old and running for president, no one is going to want to know whether they were breastfed, co-slept, used a pacifier, etc.

    BTW I breastfed my first for 5 months and I’m pregnant with my second, who I will try to make it to the 6 month mark with but I don’t give one iota whether or not anyone else does.

    • http://www.alotofloves.com Marilyn

      @Kerry Gisele’s full interview referenced her desire to have a “Worldwide Law” for breastfeeding not just in the US.

  • Heather

    I think it’s ridiculous to claim that anyone is promoting formula feeding in this country. Worldwide, maybe. But here? No. Women who choose not to breastfeed, whatever their reasons and circumstances, are treated to “Breast is Best” with the implied, “So you are giving your baby less” every time they turn around.

    And as far as I’m concerned, any judgment that breastmilk is best is just that- a judgment. It’s not a fact. There are benefits and disadvantages on both sides of that equation.

    • http://www.alotofloves.com Marilyn

      @Heather I’m not sure how you can say that there is a possibility that humans have were created not being able to supply the best nutrition for their offspring naturally. I’d be interested to see what scientific proof you have that would ever rate formula as better for a baby. Breast milk is best. That’s not a judgment it’s fact. Having said that, as I said, I support the fact that formula is needed in some cases and for various reasons.

  • Aleks

    YES! Thank you. I think thats exactly what she meant.
    I couldnt believe the nasty remarks on the other post. I understand having a strong opinion but to stoop to the point of name calling someone you dont know??

  • Alyssa

    We are absolutely clobbered with “Breast is Best” in this country. It’s on the formula commercials, it’s on all the information you receive from the formula companies…plain and simple, if do not breastfeed, you are made to feel inferior & that you are not doing the best you could possibly be doing for your baby. Seriously, Hospitals & Babies R Us have breastfeeding seminars, clinics & consultants, but with the myriad of choices in formula types & brands, and bottle types & brands, when is the last time you saw someone offer a formula-feeding/bottle-feeding seminar or clinic? Parents are just supposed to muddle through. How about a little support for ALL forms of feeding our children, and ALL women, and we just stop making each other feel like crap?

  • http://www.findingfairytales.com andrea

    EVERY time i tell myself “andrea, do NOT get into another tirade about breastfeeding…”

    but then i ignore me because i don’t always know best.

    i would love for marilyn to translate what i really mean by that instead of just accepting that i’m a snarky idiot.

    judgy mcjudgersons need to shut up.

    every situation is not yours to educate people about. also, keep in mind that your way is not necessarily the right way…but it is YOUR WAY, so have at ‘er.

    a

  • Jennifer

    THANK YOU.

  • norm

    I still boycott Nestlé because of their appalling behavior pushing formula in the Third World. Unforgiveable.

  • http://www.strocel.com Amber

    Here is the problem I have with Gisele’s statement – she is telling other people what they should do for their children. As a breastfeeding advocate, I wish she hadn’t done that. It is no help.

    If she said, “I chose to breastfeed and I love it! And I love knowing that it’s so good for my baby,” cool. Then it’s about her and her choice. But as soon as you start telling other people how they SHOULD feed their babies, you’re passing judgment. And that’s not so cool. Especially when it’s from someone who clearly has no authority to speak on this subject.

    Now, if she wanted to teach me how to walk properly in heels, I’m all ears.

    • http://www.alotofloves.com Marilyn

      @Amber I completely agree that Gisele worded her sentiments poorly. Her statements are always stupendously terrible(e.g. pregnant women becoming garbage cans). She seems to speak in the farthest extremes and that’s what always gets her into trouble.

      I still appreciate what she was trying to say in her stumble bumble model-way and I don’t think it was necessary for thousands of women on sites worldwide to threaten her with physical injury.

      Also, I’m pretty sure that she must have had help wording her clarification.

  • http://mommymae.wordpress.com mommymae

    formula is pushed in this country from day 1. yes, lactation consultants are available, but we are all sent home from the hospital with a plastic diaper-bag full of formula samples. when new parents come home and are having initial trouble with breast-feeding, they’ll turn to the formula if they have it & breast feeding isn’t clicking right away. i breastfed all 4 of my children, but it wasn’t wine and roses. i had to work hard to make it work in the beginning and even had to suffer for 2-3 weeks of sore nipples and engorged breasts and that will turn a slew of people off when there’s a can of food at the ready.

  • Danielle

    I must disagree with the bit about formula being pushed on people. I attempted breastfeeding my son for weeks and NEVER did anyone tell me there was an alternative. Doctors and lactation nurses just kept telling me to keep at it but eventually something in me died. Each feeding made me despise my baby. I couldn’t bond with him because he only brought me pain. Finally my husband and I presented a united front to my doctor and said this isn’t working. She talked about supplementing and never went into further explanation. We had to research it on our own and that is pathetic. We were new parents and scared and no one wanted to help us. After we switched to formula I felt like a HUGE failure and that is unfair. I’m still angered by the medical community for putting so much pressure on moms to only breastfeed. With my second baby it worked so easily. I could finally see why moms would breastfeed. I get that it is the best type of nourishment to give our babies but from my experience there was zero pushing of formula in Vancouver.

    • http://www.alotofloves.com Marilyn

      @Danielle You and I both had kids in Vancouver with a completely different experience.

      I also had a terrible time with breastfeeding. I have/had inverted nipples and it took six weeks of the worst pain I’ve ever felt before my first was able to latch properly. In stark contrast to your doctor, I had two nurses in hospital and two visiting public health nurses tell me to give up and use formula. In fact both of my kids weren’t even over a day old before I had nurses trying to give them formula while in hospital. It was unnecessary entirely. I think it’s fair to say that our experiences are diametrically opposite and based on the medical staff we were in contact with not the city we live in.

      However, as I said, I fully understand the point of formula. I have dear family members that would not be here without formula, including myself. There is a serious imbalance in information when it comes to breastfeeding/formula use. This imbalance is everywhere and is partially the fault of the medical community and partially the fault of advertising.

      I’m sorry you had a hard breastfeeding journey. I know that frustration well. I do wish we would stop jumping on mothers who breastfeed or not. We should be supporting each other and acknowledge that mothers are almost always doing the best they can for their kids.

    • http://www.alotofloves.com Marilyn

      @Danielle I forgot to say that the fact that your guys had to push so hard for some help is extremely disheartening. It’s terrible that you didn’t receive the support you needed.

      • Danielle

        Thanks Marilyn. I guess it’s so dependent on which doctors you see and which nurses are there to offer “assistance”. I delivered at St. Pauls and my doc was on Davie and Burrard…not sure who you saw but too bad that we both had tough experiences. Bringing babies into the world is tricky enough without all the pressure from society added on.

        Helix was tongue tied, severely…he looked like his tongue was forked! But no one even mentioned it until his 18 month check up in Nanaimo when my doc said “boy breastfeeding must have been hard with him being tongue tied”! Until then I still thought I failed him. Without his tongue extending properly he couldn’t latch on and it just made me bleed and of course with at least 8 feeds a day it never healed. I switched to pumping for 8 weeks and in the begining all I pumped was dark pink. The nurses actually said to feed him the bloody milk! It all felt so wrong. The only part I regret was feeling so down on myself and I’m certain I wouldn’t have felt that way if it wasn’t so rammed into me to solely breastfeed.

        I couldn’t agree more that we need to just be positive and supportive of each other.

  • http://preemiehood.blogspot.com Elizabeth

    Before my first son was born, I had no interest in breastfeeding. I wasn’t going to even consider it, until my son was born 13 weeks early. I had no doubt breast would be best for him. I pumped and pumped – after I held him (which was not the often because he was so sick) I would pump, I would pump with a picture of him next to me, I even tried Reglan. On a good day I would get 1/3 of an ounce total all day. My milk just never came in.
    My next son was born at 35 weeks. I knew breast would be best for him, too. I tried breastfeeding. He kept losing weight. After about 2 weeks of watching him get smaller and start to do worse, I quick. Formula was best for him. My milk never came in.
    My daughter was born at 39 weeks – still no milk.

    Now, I’m all about trying to breastfeed (or pump if you have NICU baby). At least try it. If it doesn’t work for you, then switch to formula. The colostrum is the most important. All 3 of my kids got the colostrom, but nothing came in after that.

    I still want to punch Giselle and I wish her really bad stretch marks with any future pregnancies.

    • DianaCLT

      Elizabeth – I was exactly the same: before I ever had kids, I didn’t understand the big deal about breastfeeding. For me, the idea was even kind-of gross. But once they were here? I WANTED to. And it didn’t work out as I’d hoped. Good for you, for trying. Your kids are happy and healthy, and that’s what matters. <3

      No idea if you're having any more kids, but have you tried/heard of any of the things that are supposed to help increase milk and improve let-down? Fenugreek works for many, but not for me. I drank something called Mother's Tea (I think), which helped a bit. I was fortunate, that quantity wasn't usually the issue (wish there was a tea to help a kid LATCH!).

  • Karen

    Sorry, she’s playing the dumb supermodel card. “Oh, when i said I wished there was a law, I didn’t mean “Law”!”

    Saying that you wish there was a breastfeeding law on the books, that made breastfeeding for the first six months mandatory and enforcable by the law (what would the punishment be for not breastfeeding…wearing a Scarlet “F”, I suppose?) is VERY different from expressing hope that someday, breastfeeding will be every mom’s default setting.

    Gisele is the poster child for the motto, “Think before you speak.”

  • DianaCLT

    When my son was born, the hospital gave him formula before bringing him to my room. I was not happy – he didn’t want ME, after that. I struggled and went to a lactation consultant, and he just couldn’t latch onto me. I became a dairy cow (dairy human), and pumped my milk for him, for 7 1/2 months, though he also got formula. With my daughter – I was hellbent on nursing. I wanted things to go better than they did, with my son. I told the hospital to bring her to my room ASAP. They said I’d have her within 1 1/2 hours. When did I get her? FOUR and a half hours later. Poor thing was famished. She slurped hungrily, but wasn’t really latching. We tried, constantly, but she never got the latch. I persisted. She couldn’t get the latch. She lost weight. She lost the maximum she could lose, and still be released from the hospital. By the time she was born, I had two friends that were lactation consultants. They’d offered insight, before Lilly was even born. One came over, a few days after we got home. We’d weighed Lilly that day, and were mortified to realize that she’d lost over a pound. My friend looked at me with sad eyes, and said she was starving. I hadn’t wanted to rely on my pump, like I had to with my son…but my daughter was starving. Started to pump. She started to gain. Still tried to nurse, but would always end up giving her pumped milk (Or, as I put it, she didn’t like Direct Deposit). I got her to nurse for 8 1/2 minutes, once. 23 minutes, another time. I was elated. But other than those times, she never really took to it, for more than a minute or two at a time. So I pumped, like nobody’s ever pumped before. The freezer was about 3/4 full of my milk. If there was a competition, I would have won. (I’m telling you…I was a dairy cow in a past life.) I pumped for eighteen months. Yes, she was also eating food, of course, by that time. But there was something in me that was driven to do everything I could. I was devastated that, again, the nursing didn’t work – but I COULD do this much. It wasn’t even a hassle, really – the pump went where I went. I’m NOT saying that this is something anyone else should do. I’m just saying that it’s what worked for us, and I WANTED to do it. I had one kid who had breast milk and formula, and another kid who had all breast milk. Both are healthy. Both are happy. But maybe that comes from mama being happy with her decisions, and the kids picking up on that?

  • Stacie

    I also do not think formula is pushed like you say. When I was younger I had a breast reduction. My chest was HUGE and saggy and I was only 23. It was before I was married or had kids or really thought about the implications. Insurance paid for the surgery b/c they saw it has a health concern for me (back pain, difficult to exercise, etc). They explained the surgery may prevent me from breastfeeding. Fastforward many years and I had a sweet baby. I tried to breatfeed and could not. So I had not choice but the use formula. I was embarrassed every time I had to whip out a bottle for my child. Breast feeding moms hounded me as to why I wasn’t nursing. The nurses at the pediatrician’s office made me feel bad. Blogs and interviews like Giselle’s made me feel bad. I know I did it to myself. I had the surgery. However the stigma put on me as a bottle feeding mom was horrible. I couldn’t wait for both of my kids to get older so that I didn’t have to use formula anymore and I wouldn’t get the dirty looks or the comments about breastfeeding being better anymore. It all made my PPD so much worse. If I could have nursed, I would have, but I didn’t have a choice. I just wish more mothers would have been supportive to me instead of critical of me.

  • Kerry

    “I just wish more mothers would have been supportive to me instead of critical of me.” Exactly Stacie.

    When I was having problems breastfeeding (flat nipples and turns out a sensory processing difficulties child) I was only made to feel like I had to breastfeed. I kept expressing how miserable I was. How it took 20 to 30 minutes to get him to latch each and every time (we’re talking months into it) and then he would immediately fall asleep so I would have to do it all over again like an hour later because he was still hungry.

    I was never able to have a relaxed breastfeeding position (like lieing down) due to having to use a nipple sheild and my son needing me to be in a fully upright position supported by pillows to even have the possibility of latching on. This also meant I couldn’t breastfeed out and out about. I hade to be in my house or a visiting a friends house.

    I was Miserable. MISERABLE. Hating having a newborn. Hating even being married and starting down this path that would eventually lead to me being miserable. I told people this (pediatrician, lactation consultant) and they kept tell me “well keep at it, your son is gaining weight, your doing great”. I was like “I’m telling you I’m miserable, not enjoying my son and my marraige is suffering because breastfeeding is torturing me and you’re saying I’m doing good???” I wasn’t doing good.

    Finally when I gave in at 5 months and started weaning him to formula, I started to feel like myself again, my sex drive started to come back, I started to not dread the sight of my own son, I felt like I was able to re-enter the real world.

    Now how could all of this been good for my son? It certainly wasn’t good for me but I was pressured to keep breastfeeding no matter what. It was all about the baby, not at all about the mother.

    This time (I’m pregnant again) I will try to breastfeed and I hope this baby has an easier time but if I start to dread the sight of my own child again, I will move to formula. I will not let people guilt me into sticking with breastfeeding when it’s not working for both the mother and child.

    Formula is not poison. There is an entire generation of people who were almost exclusively formula fed and I dont’ think there has been any correlation to them being dumber, more disease-ridden, etc because they were given formula.

    • Karen

      Yep. While I do agree that mixing formula with bad water supplies in poor countries=bad, and breastfeeding is certainly the best option for those mothers, those of us with first world problems are blessed to have an alternative. In my case, all three of my babies have had tongue tie. (Our dentist says I may blame my husband, who himself is tongue tied, so I do.) My second son’s tongue tie was so bad he couldn’t even drink from a bottle without the milk dribbling out of the corners of his mouth, and he would exhaust himself after ten minutes of trying to figure out how the hell to swallow. Until we got it fixed surgically, he couldn’t eat. He sure as HELL couldn’t breastfeed. Don’t tell me nipple shields will fix it, don’t tell me, as my sister in law did, “Oh, just set your mind to it and decide to stick with it.”

      I would have loved to have breastfed my babies. It just didn’t work, three times in a row. And like other moms, I got nasty comments from strangers about how I “wasn’t bonding” when i used a bottle to feed my baby. One time I snapped at a stranger and said, “How do you know this isn’t breast milk I pumped earlier?!” It wasn’t, but that person sure shut up in a hurry.

      Bottom line is, moms should feel free to make the decision that is best for THEIR PARTICULAR SITUATION. If a mom needs to go on meds that are unsafe for breastfeeding, or has to go back to work and hasn’t a place to pump, or if a mom and baby have physical or psychological issues that preclude breastfeeding, it is not for Gisele WunderMom or anybody else to judge or mandate how we feed our kids.