The UK Infant feeding survey shows consistently that bottles (content unspecified IIRC ) given in the first week hugely increases the risk of total weaning from the breast. Mothers who give anything from one bottle upwards are three times more likely to be fully bottle feeding by the age of three weeks (haven't checked to get the correct stats - if I have time tday I will do so). The reasons for this are not explained or speculated upon, and I suspect they are complex....bottles are more likely to be given in the first week when there are problems (real or perceived) with bf, for a start. What I have not come across is some decent data showing the effects of bottles given later. Heather Welford Neil NCT bfc Newcastle upon Tyne UK *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html