Dianne wrote:
>One of the problems  I see with this type of "science" is that the
recommendations  are geared towards the general public, and, unfortunately,
the bulk of the general public is (and I'm trying to be somewhat
politically correct here) is not terribly bright.  Now I have no "science"
to back up this statement  :-) but, from what I see, the majority of the
general public cannot be counted on to intelligently evaluate a situation
and consider the risks and benefits and make informed thoughtful healthy
decisions for themselves and their children.  They need and take the black
and white dictates of some higher authority with no questions asked. <

I both agree and disagree with Dianne's statement.

I DO think that many new mothers find it easier, in the midst of the
early *fog,*  to have a clear set of instructions.
Unfortunately, as we all know, babies, like adults, are unique
individuals, and differ considerably in their behaviour patterns. One
size does NOT fit all. Maybe what we need to start with is a better
educational system, one which encourages children to ask
questions.<GASP!>

I DO NOT think that most people are *not terribly bright,* but I DO
think that they are poorly educated (see above) and, in addition,
usually relate best to that which is most familiar to them.
If we walk down the street, sit in a restaurant,  or visit a park or a
mall, how many babies would we see with pacifiers? Now think about how
many babies we would see nursing?
How many of us, excluding maternity staff, saw a newborn nursing
before we had our own babies?  How many saw newborns being bottle fed
or with a pacifier? If we only SEE babies doing certain things, we
begin to think of them as normal.
When my first baby was born I planned on breastfeeding for six months,
because that is what was *normal* where I grew up. I honestly thought
that babies miraculously weaned themselves from the breast to the
bottle at that age. I had never HEARD of a baby nursing for any longer
than that. That was my normal.

What we need to do, of course, is to change the cultural norm to the
biological norm.
Babies being put to bed by themselves in a crib with a piece of rubber
or silicone in their mouths is not biologically normal.
It isn't nice to try to fool Mother Nature, because in the end, she will win.

norma, the apolitically correct <G>

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