<< What makes breastfeeding such a hard sell?  No one left alive on the
 planet has any illusions about it's superiority as a source of infant
 nutrition.  Everyone pays lip service to the benefits and feels a bit
 guilty when they say, "Yes, but..." But they still say "Yes, but." >>
{Kathy D, I see in the following Lactnet group summed up somewhat what I will
say here, but I worked on it so hard, I am sending it anyway...:)
...}
Barbara, I wish that were true, but in my experience with a child in a
school where the vast majority of parents are either middle class or poor
black Americans or Latinos, there is still a tremendous ignorance about
breastfeeding, and the rate, for a long as I have had children in that school
( 10 years now) is nearly zero.  Whoever these families pediatricians are,
they apparently have not heard anything strong enough about the impact of
infant feeding choices to change their minds from the US mindset that formula
is absolutely fine. This also applies to other races as well, I am not
singling anyone out here, just that  this is my experience in a school of
nearly 1000. I have seen moms nursing at PTA meetings about three times in 10
years. As far as infant nutrition, I still see juice in propped bottles in
the mouths of tiny babies, and formula everywhere.As far as car seats and
helmets go ( and CT still does not have a helmet law to this day,) these
behaviors do not ask a person to do something 'intimate' on an ongoing basis
with their bodies. Anyone can put a baby in the car seat, or strap a helmet
on a child's head. Anyone can hold a bottle or prop it up. It takes a minute
and the babysitter can easily do it. A new mom may fumble, but she cannot
fail to get the baby in the car seat every time, after the first try.
Breastfeeding is a body and mind committment.  Some women seem to need a
physical disconnection, a break or some sense of personal space be maintained
even with their tiny infants. I think the vast majority of women could, no
matter what their work situations, at least breastfeed for a few weeks
regularly, and then continue in some fashion. So what is the excuse for this
not happening? Myriad reason, sadly. Lack of support, lack of information
that the work it would take to pump is actually good for something more than
formula could ever provide. Even one nursing a day for a formula-fed baby
would be a tremendous gift, and yet...Although I never felt this, I have also
seen some friends who simply found the emotional and physical connection too
frightening to even attempt breastfeeding, or having attempted it, and had
challenges, gave it up quickly. Because their MDs never told them the real
impact of not breastfeeding, never really gave them encouragement, they must
have seen  it as more a lifestyle choice than a health choice. Putting an
infant in a car seat is seen as a safety issue, and although there are still
parents who don't use car seats, most would not consider not using them. I
suppose until the inherent sub-standardness of a child's life without
breastfeeding is honestly discussed by the medical profession, breastfeeding
rates and durations will remain ridiculously low here. The US concept of the
right to be an individual with choices and rights, also plays a part, and
seems to supercede the baby's need to be nursed. This extends beyond
breastfeeding into other parenting behaviors. It seems there are just a lot
of families who believe that the baby should simply fit in conveniently with
the adults's needs. "Good babies"  are still babies who sleep long periods of
time uninterrupted and ask for little body contact. I don't know if being a
generation of mother's who were for the most part denied many of their
hard-wired needs being met has anything to do with our state of parenting,
but it certainly might.
Judy LeVan Fram, Brooklyn, NY

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