Saturday, April 10, 2010

Weekend Movie: Learning Makes It Natural

Nova Scotia, I salute thee. This is possibly the best PSA campaign I've seen for breastfeeding yet.





After a particularly lively week of breastfeeding in the news, this is a breath of fresh air. I love the simplicity and directness and inherent compassion here. In the, um . . . lively comment sections that follow, lactivists are typically accused of understating the potential difficulties of breastfeeding, and overdoing it with the "It's just natural! Thus it comes naturally!" approach. While I might disagree with that characterization in most cases, and there's plenty to discuss in terms of detrimental outside influences, I do think it's a point worth taking into consideration.

So, how perfect is this? It doesn't even get into the benefits of breastfeeding/risks of formula - because really, where to even begin in :33? Instead, the message they send is one of support and understanding, of affirmation that there is indeed a learning dynamic at work, and use wonderful analogies. I particularly like the language one, not only because it really is like learning a language (one that you are learning together with your baby), but also because but also because relationship is fundamental to language.


See, those cats are American lactivists, and that squirrel is this PSA campaign. Or perhaps the nuts are the campaign, and the squirrel represents Nova Scotia mothers? Maybe the nut is breastfeeding itself, and the squirr . . . Point being, DO WANT PLZ.

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