Vicki wrote:
> I can't imagine starting a class with the disadvantages of artificial
feeding. What a negative way to run a class. What's wrong with the
advantages of breastfeeding?
When we talk about the *advantage* of one thing over another, it implies
that the OTHER thing (in this case, artifical baby food,) is the norm.
The biological norm is breastfeeding.
If enough women in a community choose to bottle feed, then that may very
well become the CULTURAL norm, but it will still never be the biological
one.
I therefore prefer to talk about the BENEFITS of breastfeeding, rather
than the advantages. This may seem like a small point, but it is a
significant one, because it changes the whole way in which we see a
natural function. Diane Wiessinger's eloquent article in JHL, *Watch your
language!*, says it all.
I absolutely agree that *bottle bashing* tends to antagonize people, thus
making it is self-defeating behaviour on our part. Mothers have the right
to make an informed decision based on facts, not opinions, and it is our
job to provide them with current information. We can do this by teaching
them about the many benefits of breastfeeding. They will very quickly get
the message that artificial baby foods are a poor substitute!
However, if a mother asks...I have a double-sided flyer - on one side it
lists (in alphabetical order) the benefits of breastfeeding, and on the
other side the disadvantages of formula feeding :)
Norma Ritter, IBCLC
private practice in Big Flats, NY
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