 Are you passionate about anything?
I am passionate about teenage pregnancy and breastfeeding.
I think that it is great that women are supported a lot more now than when I had my chldren when they choose to breastfeed.
When I had mine it wasn't the 'done thing' to breastfeed, and if you did you were on your own and left to 'get on with it'
I do feel though, that more needs to be done to educate families and the public in general about the benefits, I think sometimes women feel they can't carry on because of pressure from family and friends, and I think that is very sad.
Don't get me wrong, I am all for choice, and if a woman doesn't want to breastfeed then that is fine, so long as it is her choice, and the same goes for if she wants to stop and switch to artificial feeding.
Things have come a long way since I was told to feed my youngest son in the ladies toilet because a woman complained in my local swimming pool. But more needs to be dome in my opinion.
Teenage parents I feel are sometimes treated unfairly too, they seem to all be thought of as being stupid, I know that not all teenage pregnancies are the result of accidents, but they do happen, even to more mature women.
These young people need and deserve support, advice and educaiton so that they can make informed choices about their situation, without being judged.
It's hard enough to have a baby, but even harder when you are little more than a child yourself, and I wish that a way could be found that would make these young people stop and think, and then be responsible before they end up in this situation, but I guess for now...that is for another day.
Some of these young people go onto make wonderful parents, who study and worl to support themselves and their baby. I admire them for that. |