I'm just catching up on my Lactnets, so have just read Linda's post on guilt and just had to respond with a resounding AMEN. As an OB RN and an IBCLC, I like most of us have been accused of "talking moms into breastfeeding" as though I coerced them by "making them feel guilty" if they didn't bf. We are constantly cautioned at all costs not to make them 'feel guilty". And I rage against that. Guilt is a function of the conscience. It is doing what you know you shouldn't or not doing what you know you should. It is your conscience. I don't give it to you. Therefore, when I recently held mandatory inservices for all the OB staff in the hospital I worked in (a real accomplishment in my hospital), I was very conscientious (pardon the pun!) about including an editorial I came across in the Nov. 17, 1994 Lancet which said, "Too often, a mother who indicates her intention to bottle feed is told nothing more about breastfeeding. Health workers defend their restraint on the grounds that they do not want to make mothers feel guilty. However, such guilt as there may be in this context has not been adequately studied, nor is it clear which mothers if any need such protection. If a mother chooses to bottle feed, her choice should be respected; but it is surely desirable to give clear and complete information about both methods of feeding. If a mother is uncertain, or if she really wants to breastfeed but finds it difficult, or if she had a bad experience previously, then she needs help. She needs a warm chain of skilled support, not cold assurance that failure does not matter." I was gratified when a nurse came out and excitedly told me that she had just "talked a mother into breastfeeding"! Let's get the word out, the medical community at large recognizes the importance of "talking women into bfing" even if your corner of the world doesn't. We're the "warm chain"!!!