But what if evolution designed us so that breastfeeding is emotionally, psychologically preferable to formula-feeding?

Intriguing new research suggests that some women develop postpartum depression due to reaching for the bottle instead of pulling out the breast.

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As you know, it’s World Breastfeeding Week and for me that means a plugged duct! Yep, that’s right, I woke up Monday feeling feverish and my left breast was throbbing and sore. I was wondering why the night before I had the chills when I woke up once to switch sides. I’d also felt the breast soreness during the night upon switching sides but I was too tired to really think on it.

It was tender to the touch and I could definitely feel a mass inside. It was also a bit swollen.  I still had the chills. I recounted my breastfeeding schedule the day before and realized Clark did not nurse as often as normal. We had a busy weekend. To make matters even worse, it HAD occurred to me that I was wearing an under wire bra. I don’t normally wear an under wire bra but it was the only clean bra I had that day. Plus, I carried Clark in the Ergo baby carrier several times over the weekend which can contribute to pressure on the milk ducts.

In any case, I did not feel well and immediately started applying natural methods to help rid the situation. This is my second go at nursing, my first go my son had thrush but we overcame it and nursed a few months short of baby number two arriving (18 mos.). I’d heard about this happening and in fact I think it might of occurred with my first. I was completely engorged and remember having to massage my breasts in the shower. Oh, the memories! I figure a little plugged duct can’t be bad, right?! Okay, maybe not. A plugged duct can be painful and annoying. I believe, in my case, I’m somewhere in between. I haven’t experienced terrible pain but I do have a “wedge” in my breast and I have to constantly massage it out. I know you’re thinking this can’t be fun…

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How ’bout plastered on walls around the world, every day of the year?

That’s what the 2010 Rugby Breastfeeding Calendar is shooting for. It’s a calender produced by the UK’s Rugby Breastfeeding Cafe, where women play a full-contact sport while nursing. Oh wait–no. (It’s located in Rugby!)

From the Telegraph:

One photograph shows a half-naked couple embracing with their newborn baby at the breast.

Another features a pregnant woman breastfeeding her four-year-old daughter after a bath.

And one shows a pretty brunette in a revealing bra putting on make-up while breastfeeding her son.

These tasteful, beautiful shots are used to show it’s absolutely hip and “sexy” to breastfeed, while raising money for the Cafe. And it all started with a tiny little £100 donation.

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According to the Dallas Observer:

In one–the photo that would threaten to send Mercado and her boyfriend to prison–the infant Rodrigo is suckling her left breast.

The technician at the Eckerd thought various photos were “suspicious ” and lied to Mercado when she went to pick up the photos, returning only 3 of the 4 rolls. Later, when the police arrived, they confiscated the photos and passed them on to the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office, which got indictments against Mercado and boyfriend Johnny Fernandez, who had just arrived from Peru when the pictures were taken.

We thought they contained sexuality. If you saw the photos, you’d know what I mean.

(Ew! Don’t you expect a nudge and a grunt following that comment?!)

The couple was charged with “sexual performance of a child”, a second-degree felony which could carry up to 20 years in prison.

This is the photo in question, though fuzzy in the Observer, for obvious reasons,

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Because that sack of flour in a basket did a really convincing impression of a screaming infant. Maybe a bit more realistic would have been helpful.

A Melbourne high school canceled a live breastfeeding demo for a life cycles class. Sarah Simmonds, a volunteer from the Australian Breastfeeding Association’s community education program, was to breastfeed her 4-month-old son in front of the class at Hume Central Secondary College in Broadmeadows.

But when she arrived, she was surprised to discover that the teens in the class didn’t have parental permission, so they couldn’t watch the breastfeeding demo.

Because–you know–we wouldn’t want to expose our teens to the indecency of natural infant food, straight from tap.

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