~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Winnie, bless you.  I'm glad you commented on this.  The old slogan, "Breast is Best" and the mind-set that breastfeeding is "better than" the substitutes, only shores up the idea that the other stuff is okay, and in fact the norm.  It encourages the idea that breastfeeding is a nice little extra for parents who want to be picky or particular - like mag wheels on cars.
The paradigm shift that breastfeeding is NORMAL (rather than the "best") is something which I used all through my PhD thesis, even though when I started it, this paradigm shift was very new and startling.  This idea underpins all my writing now.
While we are on the subject of semantics, where possible in recent years, in my writing I have labelled non-human milk according to its origin.  "Milk" is human milk.  Other milks are "bovine milk", "cow's milk", "cow's-milk-based products", "goat's milk", "artificial baby milk". "manufactured milk".  In an article of mine currently in peer review, only human milk is referred to as milk.  If we all did this, we could create a further paradigm shift.
Let's do it!
Virginia
in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
~~~~~~~~~~~
On Sun, 12 Oct 2008 Winifred Mading wrote:
> Jeanette,
I think that even with (or maybe especially with) those that "have heard 
breast is best and believe it" need to hear the message that breasstfeeding 
isn't best-it's NORMAL.  Until we can get this paradigm shift firmly in 
peoples' minds, I think our progress will continue to be in tiny steps. 
Breastfeeding will still come across as a "nice little extra credit".  The 
presentation at ILCA on "Voldemort" did an excellent job of pointing out how 
even in supportive professional articles it still is presented "backwards" 
and in too many cases the "villian" (formula) isn't even named.  Articles 
like "Breastfeeding and Cancer" which may state that breastfeeding may be 
protective against some cancers in moms and babies (still the wrong 
paradigm) still give the wrong impression in the title.

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