Linda Smith writes:
> A mom who doesn't breastfeed
>has reasons - legitimate ones from her perspective - for her choice and is
>more than likely trying to do what she thinks is the best thing for her
baby in her life situation.

I must say I think a lot of women in the US never give breastfeeding a
thought -- they just bottlefeed because "that's how babies are fed."  I'll
bet a lot of moms don't have any reasons at all not to breastfeed, because
they've never even considered it.  Just like many people don't agonize over
whether to use disposable diapers (clutter up landfills) or cloth ones (take
a lot of water to wash) -- they just use one or the other without giving it
much thought.

P.S.  I think Linda is right on with her points about "disconfirmation".
There are many many opportunities for giving people information about
breastfeeding (or the risks of artificial feeding), not just those in which
it might be interpreted as putting down bottle-feeding mothers.
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Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D.                         email: [log in to unmask]
Anthropology Department                               phone: (409) 845-5256
Texas A&M University                                    fax: (409) 845-4070
College Station, TX  77843-4352