Carol,

You are so right about parents looking for validation for what they
already think is right.  I have gotten to the point, after all these
years, of not really trying to change people's minds so much as providing
validation for whatever little spark  of "knowledge" that I see or hear
and to fan that spark as much as possible.  Sometimes it bursts into a
flame, sometimes it slowly fizzles out.  We can only do so much.  A good
friend of mine had a baby.  There is no doubt in my mind that this baby
is dearly loved and well cared for by the whole extended family.  But
breastfeeding was not even a consideration, sleeping through the night
(alone) an early, important goal, etc.  This kind of parenting I cannot
understand, but she could not understand anything that I did, either.  It
is obvious in my breastfeeding classes that only a small portion of moms
are planning to exclusively breastfeed, except for the first few weeks.
Many are going back to work, want to know about bottles and pacifiers,
etc. But they are enthusiastic about breastfeeding and I hope that they
will get off to a good start and that some of them will fall in love with
breastfeeding and attachment parenting the way I did.  Most probably will
not.  But I find that even those that just nurse for a few months, if it
goes well, are enthusiastic and plan to nurse the next baby.  Why they
wean so early is a mystery to me, except that they just don't seem to
want to spend the time and it is assumed by many, in spite of what I tell
them in class and what they read in the books, that nursing is something
you do just in the beginning when the baby is very young.  There is
always the assumption that formula will be introduced at some point.

Anyways, this is getting long and I have no solution (obviously).  Sadly,
I am doubtful of any large scale return to long-term breastfeeding in the
future.  It seems to me that unless the medical community is willing to
get behind a SERIOUS push for breastfeeding, that technology and
"super-duper" formulas will be the wave of the future.  At least,
breastfeeding seems to be hanging in there.  Don't get me started on
where childbirth practices have ended up in the last 10 years.

Peace
Sharon K.
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