Tish Durkin, writer of "Breast is Best?  This Bad Mom Trusts the 
Bottle" had me -- a professional breastfeeding advocate -- chuckling 
and nodding for the first half of the article.  Although I have 
dedicated my life to helping mothers and babies experience the joy of 
breastfeeding, I fully understand her squeamishness and fear over the 
thought of breastfeeding in public, leaking milk, and losing freedom.  
She is not a bad mother for feeling this way; she is normal.

However, the second half of her article in which she downplays the 
importance of breastfeeding to infant health, made me see red.  I have 
to agree with her husband that Tish is "distorting all the reliable 
data" to "rationalize" her way out of it.  If she does not want to 
breastfeed, that is her choice, but she should not attempt to discredit 
over a century of research showing the risks of not breastfeeding -- 
increased illness and death, even in the United States.  Tish, please 
use your considerable talent with writing for good, not evil.

Unicef has just reported that 6 million child deaths occur each year 
due to lack of breastfeeding.  Six million.  Child.  Deaths.  Deaths 
that could have been prevented if society supported and encouraged 
breastfeeding beyond lip service.  I don't fault Tish for not wanting 
to breastfeed; she has never done it and is very focused on the 
potential discomfort and embarrassment.  She has never experienced the 
heart-wrenchingly beautiful experience of seeing her infant relax into 
her body and settle down for warm milk and perfect contentment.  I hope 
she decides to give it a try, just to see if she might like it.  She 
can stop anytime, knowing that even a few days of breastfeeding gives 
her child precious immunities and perfect nutrition that last a 
lifetime.

If Tish decides breastfeeding just isn't for her, I beg her to not try 
to convince other people that it is not important.  I hope Tish and her 
baby will be among the lucky people out there that do "fine" with 
formula.  Other people will not be so lucky, and will be among the 
statistics of serious diseases that breastfeeding protects against: 
leukemia, meningitis, asthma, necrotizing enterocolitis, SIDS, 
diabetes, breast cancer, obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, Hodgkin's 
disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and the list goes on and on.

Tish, I hope that when you see your baby smacking his lips and nuzzling 
into your shirt looking for milk, you will experience a change of 
heart.  Breastfeeding can be one of the most joyful experiences of a 
woman's life -- as can giving birth -- and I welcome you to open your 
heart to the experience.   I don't think you will regret trying.

Sincerely,
Lynnette Hafken, MA, IBCLC
International Board Certified Lactation Consultant

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