Melissa, I am just really curious as to how this woman has become a self-appointed expert on breastfeeding? It concerns me that by engaging with her, we have agreed that she is an expert. The reality is that you are not even addressing the same points as one another b/c her knowledge is clearly limited. She cannot take you on when it comes to the science so she just keeps claiming there is no science. And people who want to hear that they can make the choice to not bf and have no consequences are loving her. The other thing I always notice about these boards is that even the breastfeeding moms tend to be very poorly educated and often make invalid or detrimental arguments. In general, the average person cannot think beyond his or her own experience, so they cannot engage in generalized debates in a competent way. I am not suggesting folks shouldn't respond. I might. I just wish LLL had not chosen to engage with someone like her. Jennifer Tow, IBCLC, CT, USA Intuitive Parenting Network LLC ? "OpposingViews.com is a debate website that various issues are discussed and debated. They get experts on either side of a contentious issue and the experts write up a few points for their side of the debate. Once these are posted, the public has an opportunity to comment and react to the points made by the experts and other public comments. And the experts can write rebuttals to the other side's posts as well. ? A few weeks ago, La Leche League International was contacted about participating as the expert for the "Yes" side in a debate entitled, "Will Formula-Feeding Harm My Baby?" LLLI asked me to write up the debate points and we have posted those. The expert for the "No" side is Joan Wolf, a PhD women's studies professor at Texas A&M who wrote a long discourse against the bf ad campaign a year or more ago. I believe she has been discussed here on lactnet before. ? I've written rebuttals for each of her points and expect that they will go up on Friday. In the meantime, if you'd like to join in, you do have to register with the site to make any comments. So far there have been only 29 comments from a handful of people on either side of the debate. Much of what is here is pretty predictable.. ? There's also a survey question: "Should you formula feed?" Out of 35 responses, 86% say no. "Yes" and "No" are the only options. There's no "only if medically necessary" option. ? Here's the link to the debate: http://www.opposingviews.com/questions/will-formula-feeding-harm-my-baby *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome