728x90
my iParenting
From Our Sponsors
e-newsletters
Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters

new terms of use
new privacy policy
award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Home › Articles › Issues for Mom › Religion and Breastfeeding

Religion and Breastfeeding

How Breastfeeding Impacts the Religious Woman

By Jennifer M. Paquette

Pages:  1  2  3  4  

Being religious doesn't mean you have to be squeamish about baring it all for your baby. Mia Diamond Padwa of Bronx, N.Y., is an observant Jew and the mother of three children. She nurses anytime, anywhere – and that includes shul (synagogue) and Shabbat (Sabbath) meals at other people's homes. "I do not expose myself any more than necessary, nor do I hide in another room," she says.

Padwa laughs as she recalls her son's bris (circumcision). "Right after Shmuel's bris, I was heading into the ... ladies' room to nurse," she says. "The rabbi [asked] with concern if that would be private enough." Ironically, Padwa had been nursing her daughter, Eliana, in the back of the shul for the last three years.

Hunger vs. Modesty
For Padwa, religious modesty doesn't contradict a mother's imperative to feed her children in the best way possible. In fact, breastfeeding is part of Jewish tradition. The Hebrew word for baby, she points out, actually comes from a root meaning "to suckle." "A baby is defined as a nursing baby," she says.

At a conference of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance, Padwa addressed the subject of "Breasts, Babies and Boundaries: Breastfeeding in the Talmud." "The Talmud clearly considers breastfeeding the only way to feed a child," she says. "Tzniut [modesty] is certainly an important value, but it is a misinterpretation ... to think that a mother feeding her child is immodest or improper."

Christian women, too, are spreading the word that breastfeeding is part of God's plan for our bodies and our families. Elaine Smith* of Dubuque, Iowa, is a pastor's wife. She cites the verse, "Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her ... for you will nurse and be satisfied at her comforting breasts; you will drink deeply and delight in her overflowing abundance" (Isaiah 66:10-11).

Though many believe the Bible uses exclusively male images of God, these verses are a glimpse into God's softer, more nurturing side. And if it's good enough for God, it's good enough for us, says Smith. "If God Himself uses ... nursing and feeding a child as an analogy to explain His love for us, then I feel no shame in doing these things and talking about them."


Pages:  1  2  3  4  

Want to see more?

Comments

There are no comments for this article yet.Be the first to add a comment.

Post As:
Enter your comment below:
Title
Comment Text
CAPTCHA
Please note that any comments submitted become the property of Disney Family / iParenting and can be edited and posted at our discrection.