Hi Julia

> I have gotten a lot of emails/posts regarding breastfeeding and guilt. Many women agreed with me and many did not. I am happy to have the conversation rolling and wanted to get some much needed advice from someone with a mind that is a bit more business oriented than mine.
> I want to start a new organization; one that focuses on infant nutrition. I want LCs and women with knowledge of ABM to work in conjunction with one another to offer sound advice to mothers of children under the age of 2. 


Sounds like a great idea.  I wonder, though, how you will go about finding information about infant formula products that is free from commercial influence.  There is a lot of information that mothers need about mitigating the risks associated with formula feeding when there are no other options available to them.  The WHO has some good tools for communicating this stuff.

> We will promote breastfeeding as the absolute best when it comes to infant nutrition, but we will also offer support and guidance when it comes to mothers who choose not to nurse their babies. We will provide a forum to all women who love and nuture their babies to the best of their abilities.

Please don't promote breastfeeding as the absolute best.  Doing this leaves mothers with the impression that formula feeding is the normal way for normal mothers to feed normal babies and that only super mother (the absolute best mothers) are able to provide the absolute best in infant nutrition.  Let's face, the absolute best of anything is unavailable to most people most of the time.
Instead, you need to be honest with mothers and with health professionals about the risks associated with formula feeding and help them to weigh those risks.  In Australia, we can say that all Infant and Follow-on Formula products meet the relevant Australian Standard so each is as good a choice as any other.  And since there is no evidence that any of the expensive additives reduces the risks or harms associated with formula feeding, mothers need to be reassured that they can buy the cheapest brand available because it is just as 'good' as the most expensive.

> Is it wierd that I am scared to post this? I guess the fear I have gives me all the more reason to do this :)

I don't know that it's weird - certainly in Australia, it is the rare baby who is never fed infant formula so there is definitely a need.
Cheers
Nina Berry
Australia
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