Carole Elliott wrote:
><snip>

>  I do have to say one thing before I get onto the subject. Re the
> discussion on guilt and the request for references.   I don't think we
> should be making any    "public" statements unless we personally can
> give a reference  that we have read in its entirity, (ie just citing
> the reference is no good, as the actual study article whatever
> may be unconvincing) I don't mean to
> sound critical Rachel, but if we compain that formula, and some
> hospital based practises are unresearched, then we need make sure we
> can back up our    own  statements.  I know that all you said was true,
> but it's much stronger when referenced.  I also feel that using postive
> words for breastfeeding, rather than negative words for bottle feeding
> ie (dumber) is more likely to allow our message to be heard.
><snip>

My first post, without citations, was an impulsive gesture on my part.  I was
actually glad to get challenged, so that I had an excuse for collecting
references that I've wanted to have in my files anyway <g>.

 I am a lawyer, not a medical professional, so I'm a little shaky with the style
of discourse when addressing these kinds of issues.  Nevertheless, I think
everyone who sent me references helped me to acquit myself nicely, backing
up all the things I had in my notes from LLLI conference sessions with
real journal cites.

As to the negative vs. positive language, I think there is room for both.
As an advocate and hell-raiser, I want to challenge people to think differently
about issues than they are used to thinking.  I prefer to use the negative
language because it highlights the fact that breastfed children are merely
normal, and that formula-fed babies, as a group, suffer from deficits from
formula feeding.  Thus, breastfed children are normal, and formula-fed children
are, on average, dumber.  Now that may be inflammatory, but I think someone
(and I've decided to appoint myself!) should be lighting a few fires.  I also
think that someone (and maybe that is most of you all) should be doing it more
diplomatically.  Hey, maybe I'll make all you bf zealots start looking
moderate!

Rachael Hamlet, hellraiser for a day