La Leche League Exec Barbara Emanuel Responds to Gisele Breastfeeding Quote

Posted by Michele Zipp

on August 11, 2010 at 3:41 PM

THE STIR a cafemomblog

We've all got an opinion on Gisele Bundchen’s breastfeeding quote. Someone says breastfeeding and law in the same sentence and a firestorm erupts -- well, only if that someone is famous. In case you missed it, Gisele said, "I think there should be a worldwide law, in my opinion, that mothers should breastfeed their babies for six months."

I wanted to know what Barbara Emanuel, Executive Director of La Leche League International, thought about Gisele's comment.

Like me, Barbara was able to see the positive within the now infamous (and divisive) statement.

"One mother doesn't have to be wrong so that another mother can be right," Emanuel told the New York Post. "There are lots of choices out there, and La Leche League respects those choices."

Read on for my exclusive interview with her and learn more of her thoughts on this topic.

Wasn't Gisele's core message positive?

Barbara Emanuel: Yes, I think she is a new mother who is in love with her baby, and the connection that is enhanced by breastfeeding her baby. Her comments sound like a fulfilled mother who wants other mothers to experience the same joy.

Do you think Gisele has brought a positive light on breastfeeding or negative?

It is always positive when a mother feels so strongly about the benefits she has found in breastfeeding. Unfortunately, her enthusiasm has been picked up in a negative and judgmental light. La Leche League strongly supports each mother to get good information, to help her make the best choices for her family.

Breastfeeding is the most natural and best thing for baby, yet some people almost seem to be anti-breastfeeding. Has Gisele's comments furthered those who seem to be anti or unsupportive? What message do you think Gisele was really trying to make?

Gisele's comments have been used by those opposed to breastfeeding; however, if taken in context they show her to be, at heart, just another mom in the long line of mothers throughout the ages who have found that breastfeeding is the perfect way to nurture babies, both physically and emotionally.

Thank you, Barbara. For more information on LLLI, please check out their website, LLI.org,  and their latest book, The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding.

Can you see the positive behind what Gisele was trying to say?

http://thestir.cafemom.com/baby/107872/la_leche_league_exec_barbara

Brody Jenner decided it was a good idea to get his girlfriend's initial shaved on the side of his head.
Mohawk, tattoos — all signs of a serious punk rocker, or in the case of Brody Jenner, being in love with a punk-pop princess. Jenner and his girlfriend Avril Lavigne hit the streets of L.A. with the former Hills  star sporting a new addition to his fresh new haircut, a “A”, presumably in honor of the singer’s first name. We can’t be too surprised with Jenner’s locks showing his loyalty to his lady-love, after already inking his arm with her name back in July. And unlike a permanent tattoo, at least hair grows back in relatively painlessly.

Lindsay Lohan covers the August/September issue of Complex, shot in May (she showed up 5 hours late) by photographer and reality star Indrani, then rumored to be her lover.

"Unfortunately, Lindsay got caught up in the madness--Cannes, court, and conviction--before we had a chance to interview her," the magazine concedes, "so we instead used the cover story to ask the question everyone's forgetting: what's it like to be LiLo right now?"

The story doesn't really answer that question, but it does recount her recent troubles, from the Michael Lohan HIV hoax to her passport loss in Cannes.

Lindsay recently posed topless for German GQ. She is due in jail on Tuesday, though she is still hoping to get out of her sentence.

The Lohans are setting out to get their good name back with a reality television show.

"We have already started filming," Dina Lohan told the New York Post. "The cameras follow us in our daily lives and as we promote our businesses. I want to prove that we are a good, hardworking family and we don't have the crazy lives that some people claim we do."

Dina claims she is in discussions with a major network and that Lindsay will participate when she is no too busy playing an abused porn star or taking off her clothes to sell handbags.

"The show will feature my kids, and Lindsay will also appear in some episodes, although she's very busy filming and promoting her fashion lines," Dina said.

This is not the first time the Lohans have tried to star in a reality show. In 2008, E! aired nine episodes of 'Living Lohan,' which centered around Dina turning Ali into a singing sensation.

Michael Lohan has a long history of reality dreams. In 2007 he filmed the 'Michael Lohan Reality Project,' a ten-minute video of him praying, ministering to others and airing Lindsay's dirty laundry, and reportedly shopped it around several major networks. Last year he and Jon Gosselin came up with a 'Divorced Dads' concept and in March he pitched a show featuring Jon's ex-girlfriends. Dina tells the Post Michael will not be welcome on the new Lohan show.

Will you watch the Lohan's new reality show??
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/28/lohan-reality-show-dina-l_n_627547.html