Breathe
By Nelly Segura
I was at home, exhausted after a sleepless night, when my husband saw me sitting on the couch nursing our baby. As he was washing the dishes, he demanded, "What are you doing sitting there? Help me. I looked at him, incredulous, and replied, "I'm feeding your son...little thing." This brief exchange, which I overheard during a Massive Breastfeeding event, reflects the lack of recognition many mothers face on a daily basis for the dedication and time invested in breastfeeding.
The "chichi hours" are an invisible labor in a society that values more the disgusting "nalga hours" (those dedicated to work fruitlessly in front of a desk). But what would happen if we were to translate this time into economic terms?
During the first three months, an average baby feeds every three hours, with approximately 20-minute sessions per breast (Asociación Española de Pediatría). This adds up to a daily total of 320 minutes, or approximately 5.3 hours. Multiplying these hours by the 90 days of those three months, we have a total of 477 hours dedicated exclusively to breastfeeding.
