Breastfeeding with the TV On?

Babycenter.com is a great resource for moms.  There are informative articles, helpful forums (one of my favorites is Breast feeding Support and Help), and emails with updates on your child’s growth and development.  I have spent a lot of time on this site and respect what it offers to moms.

I do, however, take offense to a recent email.

Each update email comes with a segment where doctor mamas answer questions.  The question that upset me:

Is it okay to nurse my baby with the TV on?

Not a bad question, but only one doctor was really encouraging to breast feeding moms.

Nancy Showen, M.D.
Pediatrician in San Francisco, California and mother of four
I'm not a huge fan of TV in general, but I don't think watching TV occasionally while breast feeding is something mothers should feel guilty about. Breast feeding is a great time to really focus on your baby, but in reality that’s not always possible. Many moms breast feed while distracted by other activities like reading to an older child, reading a magazine, or talking on the phone. If watching TV sometimes is relaxing and helps you continue breast feeding, that's a good thing. It is definitely true, though, that the noise from the TV may be distracting to older babies.

The other two heap guilt on moms who are most likely exhausted and who may be struggling with breast feeding.  It’s yet another thing we new moms are doing wrong.  With Buggy, I was struggling physically and emotionally.    I didn’t have much fight left at this point (2 months) to keep going.

Kelly Ross, M.D.
Pediatrician at St. Louis Children's Hospital in Missouri, and mother of triplets
As a general rule, no — feeding time with your baby is bonding time for the two of you. It's a time for you to hold, snuggle, and talk to your baby. She needs this interaction to grow and develop. It also reinforces the association that eating is a positive thing. As babies approach 6 months, their interest in their surroundings is often greater than their interest in eating, and breast feeding in a noisy environment is likely to fail. Often moms will stop breast feeding at this age because they think the baby isn't interested in breast feeding anymore, when, in fact, if she's taken into a quiet room it will be successful.

Leslie Gavin, Ph.D.
Child psychologist in Orlando, Florida, and mother of four
Spending time with your baby nursing or feeding is precious one-on-one time. It's biologically designed to foster attachment and bonding because of your physical closeness, cooing, cuddling, and most of all, eye contact. I would discourage watching television because it dilutes this time by taking away your attention and eye contact.

I ask, how many of these moms breast fed?  How many breast fed one with other young children running around? 

In an idyllic world we could sit for the hours on end these newborns nurse and just gaze into their eyes, ignoring everything else going on. 

In reality - Not. Gonna. Happen.

Dr. Mom 1 hits the nail on the head.  The other two?  I say keep your advice to yourselves.