Thinness and bounce-back culture is a trend that has unfortunately reawakened. While I’m certainly aware that despite the huge body positive/neutral movement did not entirely squash the thinness-is-ideal mindset that so many have, I would have thought that there would be more acceptance in the postpartum world. Alas, I was too hopeful. The influencer trend of either subtly or not-so-subtly showing off their thin postpartum body is reminiscent of the early 2000’s magazine covers with celebrities showing off their postpartum body usually with headlines reading, “How I lost the baby weight!” I can’t scroll for a second without being fed…
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How the Breastfeeding Versus Formula Feeding Debate has Fueled a Generation of Guilty Mothers Breastfeeding versus formula feeding. The two feeding options for mothers are often met with vitriol online by many who say breastfeeding is the only option. This pressure has left mothers feeling guilt over their decision to formula feed. Although, this was not always the case. The so called “milk-wars” began much earlier and is still pervasive today. Throughout history mothers have mostly breastfed, although early historical evidence indicates that other options were available to affluent mothers, such as wet nurses. Feeding vessels made from various materials such as…
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Matrescence. The term was coined by anthropologist Dana Raphael in the 1970’s to describe the process of becoming a mother. Similar in how we shift during adolescence with a combination of hormonal and identity changes, Matrescence encompasses all the changes that occur from preconception to postpartum. In this sense, we understand that Matrescence is a developmental stage 1in a birthing person’s life. A New Identity The transition to motherhood can be a rather jarring experience, especially when we have a preconceived idea of what motherhood looks like. We are so often fed this image of motherhood, particularly new motherhood, as…


