Readers React To Viral Breastfeeding Photo

Patch readers have not been shy to offer up their opinions about a Pennsylvania woman whose breastfeeding photograph went viral.

The story, posted Wednesday on Patch, showed Montgomery County mother Jessica Anne Colletti’s now-viral photo of her breastfeeding her child and a friend’s child at the same time.

Colletti, a Bala Cynwyd resident, posted the tandem breastfeeding picture Saturday on Mama Bean Unconditional Attachment, a pro-breastfeeding blog. The picture was uploaded in celebration of World Breastfeeding Week.

“My son on the right is 16 months and my friend’s son is 18 months. I watch her son while she works and have been feeding them both for a year! So much love between these milk siblings, it’s a special bond between us all, the post said. It was hashtagged #milksiblings.

The story generated a lot of buzz on Patch and Patch Facebook pages. Opinions were mixed, with some in full support of Colletti and others disturbed by her feeding practices.

Here’s a sampling of some of those opinions:

• “Too gross to look at. And by posting means there’s a hidden agenda.” -- Steve Mari via Facebook
• “Sad you think it’s Gross. I feel the same way about raising an infant on fomula. This is normal, healthy and only perverse in a warped mind. Women have been feeding other infants for thousands of years.” -- Sacha Botbol via Facebook
• ”Can’t imagine what the fuss is about!! I nursed a friend’s baby when her mom was late picking her up, and that was 30 years ago. Not sure I would have posted it to Facebook, but all wealthy families hired wet nurses for hundreds of years so mom was free to participate in the lifestyle of the time. All those wet nurses had babies of their own ( or no milk! That’s biology). So they nursed 2 babies at once.” -- Laurie McPhee Walsh via Facebook
• ”I can’t comment on the underlying action, but I think it is COMPLETELY inappropriate to be sharing this with the world. Close the door and develop a personal relationship with the children and parent. These kids are entitled to some privacy.” -- John Codd via Facebook
• ”I’m sorry that’s disgusting! You want to breastfeed your kid that’s fine, but your friends kid as well. That’s just sickening.makes me want to slap your face.” -- Athena Demertzis Dontas via Facebook
• “By far, the best nutrition and immunity system that nature provides. Some might find it odd, or even disgusting that a woman would nurse a child that is not her own. “Wet nurses” have been around for centuries. It is only because of today’s attitudes that this might upset people!”--Patch user Paul Joseph via Facebook
• “Wet nurses have been around, I agree, but it doesn’t have to be splashed all over social media.” -- Patch user Carol H
• “I don’t care what people and their friends do in their privacy of their home but this makes for an awkward future for these kids knowing that their mom has a picture of them two sucking on her breasts on the Internet.” -- Patch user Awkward Son

Colletti, in an interview with People, said “people are misinformed” and there is an attempt by society to “sexualize” breastfeeding.

“They think it’s gross bodily fluid that shouldn’t be shared or transferred in any way. And I can understand, if people are receiving donated breast milk, they want to have it tested, but if you know the mother directly and she’s healthy, and you know everything about her, it’s a perfectly healthy relationship to have,” she told People.

In a subsequent blog on The Huffington Post, Mama Bean of MamaBeanParenting.com, where the photo first appeared, defended Colletti.

“If we filter past the shock-fueled cries of “gross!”... there is a lot of love for this picture. Because the majority (of my audience at least) see this practice of wet-nursing for exactly what it is: a wonderful alternative to direct breastfeeding,” Mama Bean wrote.