It would be so great if they would write *artificially* accelerated weight
gain in the first six months of life, because that is what increases the
risk of obesity.

About the NOW statement, apart from a few sentences that seem to be taken
from that bogus womens' group who planted a bunch of formula industry
propaganda last year or so, they are right on target as far as I'm
concerned.  There is no innate contradiction between enabling women to
maintain breastfeeding after returning to other work, and enabling mothers
and babies to have adequate time together for at least the period of
exclusive breastfeeding, or even longer.  We've got both where I live, for
example.

That was always my hesitancy about the ad council campaign, because once
again it places the entire burden for seeing to it that a child is fed
normally, on the mother, while ignoring the very significant and pervasive
societal forces that hinder the mother from breastfeeding.  

I am currently going around fuming because I happened to see the government
poster advertising courses for couples who have recently become parents for
the first time.  These courses were started on the initiative of the
previous government, in response to the high rate of divorces or splitups
during the first 2 years after having a child.  They are meant to improve
communications skills, and are called 'good life togetheras a couple'  (my
very clumsy translation).

The eyecatching illustration shows a bunny rabbit sleeping or possibly dead,
tightly swaddled with a feeding bottle in its mouth, and no arms holding it,
no visible sign of any adults at all, actually.  I was horrified and said as
much to the PHNs at the well child center where I saw it.  The courses are
actually held by PHNs and midwives.  The poster has been up for ages but I
don't go to the well child center much any more so hadn't seen it yet.
Nobody else has ever commented on it, it seems.  I told them we would have
flunked our Baby-Friendly evaluation if we'd had one up on the ward!  They
were mostly amused at the strength of my reaction, but did admit that a
sleeping/dead bunny alone with a feeding bottle doesn't have much to do with
interparental communication and closeness.

Sometimes I wonder whether I have something wrong with my brain because I'm
often the only one who notices these things, or cares.  Then I come to
Lactnet and realize there are a few others of us out there too, and I'm
comforted.

Rachel Myr
Kristiansand, Norway

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