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TV3
# Midday Snack
A woman breastfed her baby live on Irish TV today
And the reaction was mixed.
BROADCASTER DIL WICKREMASINGHE was a guest on TV3′s Midday programme earlier today.
The Newstalk presenter has recently given birth to a baby boy, Phoenix, and was on the show to discuss attachment parenting.
During the discussion with host Elaine Crowley and panellists Tina Koumarianos, Sonia Harris and Terry Prone, Crowley pointed out that Dil was breastfeeding her child throughout the segment.
The show received both positive and negative feedback from viewers.
One viewer texted in and said:
Great to see breastfeeding on the show – it’s not promoted positively enough in this country, well done! – Donna.
While another said:
Thank you Dil for: 1) breastfeeding on TV and 2) explaining attachment parenting with such easy matter of fact-ness. It was the best description of attachment parenting I have ever heard.
A caller, Karen, said that it has turned her off watching Midday:
No need for Dil to be breastfeeding on TV. I won’t be watching the show again when she’s on it. She’s a self-promoting gobsh*te. Has she ever heard of a breast pump?
Another viewer texted in to applaud the balanced nature of the show:
I did not breastfeed my baby and he is fantastic, very strong and very smart .. He is 7 years old now and last year in school he had to do English and Maths from second class .. Bottle feeding makes no difference.. My son is very strong tall and smart and very well balanced and I decided to bottle feed him because breastfeeding kind of disgusted me.. Thanks for not talking down bottle feeding mother’s Elaine, we do our very best too.
Crowley said that the point of the piece was to support women in whatever their choice for their children was.
If I didn’t point it out, there is no way anyone would have known little Phoenix was having his lunch live on air. All mothers should be supported no matter what they want to do, and if you’re lucky enough to be able to take your baby to work and he happens to be hungry, well what are you gonna do?
According to the Growing Up In Ireland study, Ireland has one of the lowest rates of breastfeeding in the world, despite a push by maternity services to promote it.
Read: The longer kids are breastfed for, the more they earn when they start working
Read: The pressure to breastfeed can be overwhelming and failure can be crippling
