Karen:  I agree that health care professionals need to take into account
mothers' feelings when recommending health behaviors.  If this doctor
really told the mom that she is a bad mother, he is extremely
insensitive.  As someone who has been misinterpreted and misquoted,
though, I would not judge this doctor unless I had witnessed what he
actually told the mother (although I never raise my voice at patients, I
was told by one of my patients that I had yelled at her when she hadn't
taken her medication!).
Just as I would give a strong message to parents about the importance of
immunizing their children, I would give them a strong message about the
importance of breastfeeding.  But if a mother decided not to immunize her
child I would try to find out what her concerns were, not call her a bad
mother.  The same goes with breastfeeding.  Too often, health care
professionals ask "breast or bottle" (if they ask at all!), then drop the
subject if the mother says bottle.  It's time for all health care
professionals to become breastfeeding advocates.  If some parents feel
pressured, it's no different from those who feel pressured to wear their
seat belts or quit smoking.  If they choose not to take my advice, they
are still my patients, and I know that they made an informed decision
that is the best that they can do in their circumstances.  But at least I
know that the mothers who chose to bottle feed did so for their own
reasons, not for a lack of information withheld by me in order to prevent
them from feeling guilty.  Alicia.  [log in to unmask]