Hi, All:  I help parents "get it" when discussing the benefits of 
breastfeeding, especially long-term by describing the following scenario:  
Your baby is now 50 years old and your phone is ringing.  You totter to the 
phone and say "Hello" in a shaky "old person's voice".  The voice on the 
other end is your baby's:  "Hi, Mom.  I was at the doctor today and he said 
I don't have heart disease, I don't have diabetes, I don't have breast 
cancer, I'm not fat, I don't have osteoporosis, etc."  You listen and then 
reply:  "Thanks, Mom! Your're welcome, son (or daughter)."  The feeding 
decision the parents are making right now (I gesture to mom nursing her 
baby as we talk) will impact the baby's health for the rest of his life.  
As well as mom's.  The reaction I usually get is startled thoughtfulness as 
they get a glimpse of the future.  I know (knowing what I now know) that 
most if not all the health problems that are beginning to crop up in my 
life can be traced directly back to me being formula-fed as a baby.  I  
think that breastfeeding's (or not) long-term impact on a person's lifelong 
health is one of the most powerful messages we can get across.  

Pam Hirsch, BSN,RN,IBCLC
Clinical Lead, Lactation Services
Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital
Barrington, IL  USA

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