My sil chose to bottlefeed all three of her children
(the eldest is now in his 20s).  She is an RN with
extensive experience in labor and delivery and
neonatal intensive care, and well versed in the
benefits of breastfeeding.

When my sil became pregnant with her first child
(the first grandchild), my mil (who---before LLL even
existed---had happily breastfed her children despite
social and medical opposition) began incessantly
nagging my sil to breastfeed.  To everyone's surprise,
my bil sided with his strong willed mother in this
particular battle (yes, there had been plenty of battles
about all sorts of things, from the wedding plans to
the religious education of the grandchildren).

My sil chose to bottlefeed her first child simply
because she wanted to show my mil that the decision
was hers to make.  The second and third were bottlefed
because if she changed feeding practices, my sil would be
admitting she had made a mistake the first time.

Fifteen years later, when my dh and I had our first child,
my sil told me that she regretted not breastfeeding her
children.  She stated that she would have chosen
breastfeeding if she had not been pressured to do so by
my domineering mil (who meant well, but didn't realize
that her strong opinions and controlling personality often
led people to do the opposite of what she desired).

My sil taught me to be gentle with women who have
decided to bottlefeed.  Sometimes they are reacting to
forces that I have never experienced, and cannot comprehend.
(Yes, I had the same mil, but she had mellowed considerably
by the time my first was born---and we lived in another state!)

Ana Rita Guzman RN JD
LLL Leader