I ABSOLUTELY agree with this.  When someone has real issues and must breastfeed, why shame them further - even if that is not the intention.  It's like shaming my nephew because he is wheel-chair bound.  We emphasize the value of breastfeeding as RELATIONSHIP and IMMUNE FACTOR provider as one of the lecturers I heard at a Hale/Hartmann conference did.   

-----Original Message-----
From: Lactation Information and Discussion [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Katherine Lilleskov
Sent: Thursday, July 02, 2009 9:21 PM
Subject: Formula

I realize that my perspective may be slightly skewed because of the population that I work with, but I don't feel that our efforts need to be focused on coming up with a new name for formula. I work in a major New York City Hospital where close  to 80% of our women leave the hospital breastfeeding and fully planning to breastfeed. They KNOW that breastfeeding is superior to feeding formula, whatever name you give it. And the name formula is not what makes their attempts to breastfeed fail when they do. 
More likely factors are mishandling of early breastfeeding challenges, lack of support for breastfeeding in the workplace and the incredibly broken health care system that totally ignores preventative care like breastfeeding support.

In private practice I have worked with several women having their second baby who had to use formula for their first babies, due to medical issues like PCOS, and they described the shame they felt when they pulled out a bottle of formula in front of their breastfeeding friends or in front of strangers in a playground. They know that breast is best, but couldn't make it happen and it has nothing to do with what the substance they were forced to use is called.

We do have to continue to educate women that breastfeeding should be the norm and that if one is going to deviate from the norm  there needs to be a very good reason for that, because no matter how  hard we try we will never be able to duplicate the amazing substance that is human milk. As long as we keep emphasizing that, does it matter what the name is? Formula to me just means that they have created a recipe to come as close as they can, which is actually the truth. They will just never be able to come up with the formula that is equivalent...

Until we have milk banks where any woman who is unable to breastfeed her baby is able to supply her baby with human milk, the only option we have when we need a substitute is formula. So I believe that we need to fully support and educate all women in their efforts to breastfeed and they will be able to arrive at the logical conclusion that formula is a substitute but not an equivalent...whether we call it nectar or sludge.

Kathy Lilleskov RN IBCLC (Feeling very protective of her mommies who are trying very hard to breastfeed)

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