Hi all!! I generally just lurk on Lactnet, gleaning much technical breastfeeding info, soaking it up, and loving it (we'll never know how many people truly benefit from the discussions held here). However.... I feel compelled to agree with Kathy D.'s post regarding patients not being advocates for their own health and medical care! This issue really burns me up. Women, especially tend to be "obedient" when given hospital rules to follow. One day a new mother (still in the hosp), called me crying, because the "newly remodeled, to be family centered" hospital advertises that rooming in is encouraged. Well, that is only during daytime hours. This mom was trying to overcome the normal BF problems experienced with the first baby, by rooming in 24 hrs and demand feed with this one. Of course the nurses took the baby away that evening, and she was wiped out, not knowing what to do, and too vulnerable to argue. All I could do was remind her that the baby was HER daughter, not the hospital's, and that she was a consumer. Would she let the sales clerk ar Wal-Mart push her around? It eventually took a call to the DR. to get baby back, but why does she have to fight a battle over something so basic. By the way, this hosp still sends free cases of ABM home with everyone (so I'm told). As far as the author of BWG feeling disapproval from society for bottle-feeding in public...I don't know where she is from, but in my little corner of the world, it is directly the opposite. I bottle-fed by oldest daughter, and was accepted everywhere. In fact, no one even questioned our feeding method. It seemed NORMAL (gosh, that is so sick to me now, and I will be trying to make it up to her the rest of her life)! But with my second daughter, I felt like the outsider in my choice to breastfeed. I was the unusual one, the one who was different. With the third, I didn't care anymore, although I was more informed and armed in the support of La Leche League friends (the first time I actually breastfed in the company of others doing the same). I constantly strive to show my children and all around me, that WE are feeding normally (of course without bashing the others, because as someone pointed out, we have no idea how that mom came to making that choice). Sorry so long..I've been wanting to breathe the thin air on the soap box!! I'll go back to lurking now. Thanks for the ear!! Jean Lewis, LLL Leader, and interested lurker in Newton, Iowa, where we are preparing to go out, first time out for dinner ALONE in at least a year!