Just to add to this thread: I have a clipping cut from a consumer magazine
of breast and bottle feeding which I made into a slide for talks as I
thought it was such a good example of its kind. In fact it's an ad for
anti-colic drops and two similar mothers feature in it, one at each side of
the text, each with a baby of about a month or so old. One is
breastfeeding; one is bottle feeding.

But:

The breastfeeding mother is naked (totally); her baby is naked (totally);
her hair is loose and on her shoulders.
The bottle feeding mother is clothed in a sort of silky top thing and her
baby has a nappy on. Her hair is pinned up.

Now the ad  is not promoting any sort of milk, but we all  know that ad
design is deliberated over very carefully, and these images will *not*  be
accidental.  I think - but I am not sure about this - it is reflecting what
the designers will think are the 'feelings' about breast and bottle feeding
- breastfeeding is romantic and idealistic and bottle feeding is more
realistic and organised.

We need to think about bf images. The romantic, soft-focus close ad of a
mother and baby bf may be lovely, and  *we* see it as reflecting what we
know to be true about bf when it is going well, and what we have
experienced ourselves.  I think there should always be a place for this
sort of imagery (not in an ad for ABM  puh-lease...) but we need to be
aware that if this is the only time mothers see bf, it could actually work
against bf - they see a picture like this and feel 'mmmm, nice,  but that
could never be me'

Heather Welford Neil
NCT breastfeeding counsellor  Newcastle upon Tyne UK