Baby

For some inexplicable reason, breastfeeding -- the most natural, obvious way to feed a new baby -- is considered taboo among certain segments of the population, and for some reason, teen moms are among them. The statistics don't lie. The older a mom is when she gives birth, the more likely she is to breastfeed. And the moms on MTV's Teen Mom are no different. Or so it would seem.

Kailyn Lowry, one of the moms on Teen Mom 2, did breastfeed. "They didn't show it," she said. Interesting. Why, when there is already such a stigma against breastfeeding in the young mom community, would Teen Mom not show it?

The fact is breastfeeding should be commonplace. It's the norm. The reality is that unless there is a good reason why a mother can't -- a medical condition, a psychological aversion, or some inability to produce -- there is just no reason not to at least try. So why are young moms so averse to it?

As a mom, I breastfed my first for a year and my second for almost three. I know plenty of people who didn't breastfeed, but those I know couldn't for various reasons and that inability caused them much grief and guilt and sorrow. In fact, I only know of one woman who chose not to breastfeed just "because", and while, in the end, it's really no one's business, I also know she took some judgement and heat for that call.

If shows like Teen Mom 2 choose not to show breastfeeding, it only perpetuates this myth that breastfeeding ruins boobs or is "gross" or icky or will turn men off.

Many young women may be with partners who are averse to it, it's true. But there ought to be better education about the benefits of breastfeeding, not the least of which include a great deal of money saved by choosing breast over formula.

If young moms only see other young moms going with formula, then guess what? They will only use formula. It's discouraging and somewhat depressing that MTV is willing to exploit so much about these poor girls' lives, showing their big bellies, their boyfriend fights, their breakups, and yet they won't show the most important thing of all -- the bond between mother and child and how that is formed early.

Do you think it's weird that MTV wouldn't show nursing?

Image via MTV