Yikes, so few of those letters contained good information.  I found the 
following two the most distressing.  BF causing dangerous spikes of blood 
pressure???  Stopping BF to alleviate PPD???  To my understanding, those 
wonderful mothering hormones can help a mother through PPD and ceasing cold 
turkey can harm in so many ways!
Kimberly, La Leche League Canada Leader

From: 
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/20/science/20webletters.html?pagewanted=5&_r=3

"To the Editor:

You note that breast-fed babies are less likely to become obese. That may 
have something to do with the extreme effort babies must expend to empty the 
breast.

As they do, their blood pressure rises sharply, then falls back to normal 
when they take their mouths off the breast and come up for air. By contrast, 
bottle-fed babies don't expend nearly as much effort, and their blood 
pressure doesn't go up as much. Indeed, mothers who bottle-feed often 
enlarge the hole in the bottle's nipple to make their baby's first job 
easier.

Dr. Herbert S. Gross
Rockville, Md.
The writer is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of 
Maryland School of Medicine."

 "To The Editor:

I was surprised that your article made no mention of postpartum depression. 
When my first child was born 11 years ago and I was crippled by depression, 
the first thing my doctor told me was to stop breast-feeding immediately: 
nursing increases the hormonal flux that a woman experiences during 
pregnancy and after childbirth.

Furthermore, a fragile new mother, whose life has just been profoundly 
altered by a startling new lack of freedom and independence, can be 
overwhelmed by this new physical and psychological tether to the infant. The 
terrifying realization that this tiny baby could be kept alive only by my 
constantly being at the ready, day and night, nearly sent me over the edge.

By having someone else cover some of the feedings, I got back part of 
myself. Allowing the hormones to settle down and getting good psychotherapy 
saved both the kid and me. Let's not forget that healthy babies need 
mentally healthy mothers.

Bronwyn Quillen
New York"

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