I'm stunned and I can't quite say why. I'm a huge breastfeeding proponent yet the visual of a little girl nursing is somehow too much for me. It's admirable that a little girl would desire to grow up to be that kind of mother, yet in our hypersexual society, girls learn first of their breasts as sex objects. Only later do they recognize their immensely important role in the nurture and feeding of their children. I worry that the doll would result in the girls being introduced to their sexuality too young. Then again, perhaps the doll would introduce them to breasts as a maternal tool first, rather than the sexual one they are introduced to in pop culture and thus have the desired effect.

My daughter didn't need a special halter top to roll play breast feeding. She would mimic the way she saw me feeding her baby brother by holding her baby dolls up to her chest and everybody thought it was very cute. I just think a doll like this takes the whole thing to a new level. it is not really necessary. If kids see breast feeding a natural it is what they will naturally mimic. No need for strap on nipples...

If children witnessed breastfeeding regularly and as the norm, they would view breasts first as the natural way to feed our children. Children do not need a breastfeeding doll with dress up nipples (marketing alert!); any child can put a baby doll "to breast" even more easily and naturally than they could give the doll "a bottle."

A doll that actually breasts feeds? That's taking it too far. A halter to too - I don't think so. Young girls need to enjoy being a kid. This is not the time to encourage breastfeeding.

hi can enybody tell me what to do my breast is hurting me i been breastfeeding for about 4 month but for the past week my breast been hurting realy bad is red and swolling i call my dr who will cam me back to tell me what to do.

olivia, sounds like you could have a breast infection. go see your OB and even call your lactation consultant at the hospital where you gave birth. It could be something that resulted from a plugged duct (or it could be just a plugged duct, do you feel a small mass in that breast?) and nursing is the best thing for relieving this (do not let anyone tell you weaning is the answer because it only makes it worse for you (and your baby). You can also pump after feedings to help empty the breast since a plugged duct/breat infections can occur from the breast not being emptied during a feeding. Make sure your baby empties one breast before switching sides. I'd definitely talk to an LC or call a LLL leader in your area for more specifics once you determine the cause of the problem. I write articles and post them here, so feel free to go there and contact me if you need any other advice once you determine the issue with your doctor. http://www.examiner.com/x-14809-Birmingham-Green-Parenting-Examiner Good luck!

As for the doll, my daughter nurses her dolls all the time. No special doll needed, nothing sexual about it. I find animated dolls a little creapy and the halter top would be the only sexual thing about this deal. But I am grateful my daughter is learning breastfeeding is the way to feed a baby, if she gives her dolls milk in a bottle she pretends to "pump" milk first. :) cute.

I love that you guys are offering each other health advice! And I find it fascinating that some of you have daughters who already mimick your breastfeeding. This is new territory for me, as I do not have children. Thanks all for sharing!

My 4 year old has nursed stuffed monkeys, baby dolls, even a stuffed hippo. She has learned from watching me feed her baby brother. I wouldn't buy it.

I'm really confused why a breastfeeding doll could be said to promote teen sex!
And I don't see a problem with the doll, either. It's a far better concept than Betsy-Wetsy was in my day, along with all the other dolls whose mouths are designed for a bottle. Yes, children do often use whatever doll they have to play at nursing, which is, after all, hopefully a big part of their world. But the doll speaks to bringing a different set of values into the business of toys for young children, so that bottlefeeding is not seen as the only norm.
Olivia, it would be really good to nurse on the affected breast first so you make sure it gets drained all the way before offering the other one. After this is resolved you can go back to offering a different breast first at each nursing session.
I'm an inactive La Leche League leader, and I really recommend getting in touch with them!

It's admirable that a little girl would desire to grow up to be that kind of mother, yet in our hypersexual society, girls learn first of their breasts as sex objects. Only later do they recognize their immensely important role in the nurture and feeding of their children. I worry that the doll would result in the girls being introduced to their sexuality too young.

OK, this is psychotic. Psychotic, do you hear me? Girls learn that their breasts are sex objects first, then learn about breastfeeding later... but learning about breastfeeding first... would teach them they're sex objects?

Repeat after me: Breastfeeding IS NOT ABOUT SEX.

Personally, I think that if they're going to make baby dolls with bottles, it's high time they made a BFing doll too. Fair is fair. This is the BEST thing we could do to socialize our daughters properly from day one as to the role of the breast in human reproduction. Here's a hint: It's not a handle for the guy to grab onto during sex!

But the rest of us could sure stand to get a grip...

I am a doctor and I breast fed both my kids. I come from a country where breast feeding is the only way to go unless the mom has a medical problem, is sick or too weak to breast feed or the baby itself cannot breast feed. In the US the fuss about breast feeding is astounding--it is discussed defensively by those who breast feed and is also disparaged by those who think of the whole natural way of nurturing and being as an embarrassment or a shame. I recently saw a patient in my office. She was a healthy woman and was pregnant with her fourth child. She had food stamps from the government and she told me that she was enrolled in a government program that would subsidize formula for her child. This is heinous. The woman did not work. She subsisted totally on government dole. She was not sick and there was no contraindication to breast feeding. Yet when I asked her if she would be breast feeding she screwed up her nose in utter disgust and told me that breast feeding is a revolting practice. While the educated middle class females and the successful career women have seen the light in the US about breast feeding, the women in the ghettos and the barrios of this land, who don't have jobs, who are reproducing in quick succession, who are impoverished and undereducated have a low opinion of breast feeding. These devalued women, the sex toys of their boyfriends and their mates, believe that their breasts should be kept in good shape for the purpose of retaining their useless men as lovers and guess what, many of these men are mere visitors to the homes of these girls, in between jail time. And the government allows this! Yes, on your money and mine, these women spurn breast feeding and the government gives them medical assistance, ditto for all their children and the government also provides the formula. Next to nothing do these girls get in the form of education about breast feeding from our overly compassionate government. When I expounded on the advantages of breast feeding, one of them being the sheer economics, the girl dismissed me, the doctor, informing me quite breezily she had government assistance. She may have benefited from the breast feeding toy if it had been gifted to her when she was a child.