Rhoda writes:
>
>2. Our community has breastfeeding initiation rates well in excess of 90%.
>We often manage 60% some breastfeeding at 6 months and have plenty of
>toddlers nursing (our aim to get 90% at 6 months and beyond).  In one of
>the new parent support groups I facilitate a mom came in with a story that
>left me with very mixed feelings. She is pumping and bottlefeeding her 8
>week old baby due to a complicated situation for which her LCs have not yet
>found a solution. This is a much desired baby born after years of expensive
>fertility treatment so she is quite emotionally vulnerable.
>        The mom and babe were visiting a local coffee and doughnut shop (Tim
>Hortons for those of you who know Canada). While she was bottle feeding the
>baby a man approached her and gave her a very loud lecture about choosing
>to bottle feed. Didn't she know the risks of formula? How COULD she treat
>her baby like that etc etc. You get the picture. She was HORRIBLY
>embarrassed and managed to stammer out that she was feeding human milk not
>formula. He humphed off and she slunk out of the shop!


<snip>   I was both extremely sad for the mom and struck that it is bottle
>feeding in public that gets the nasty criticism now.  So is this a
>breastfeeding culture? or just a parent intolerant one.

Neither - sounds to me  it's plain old-fashioned mysogyny, and the workings
of the pregnancy and breastfeeding police who like to boss mothers around
and make them feel bad.

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc Newcastle upon Tyne UK

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