I remember the feeling of empowerment that I got, when I finally got it
right and BF for longer than 2 1/2 weeks!  My daughters were 6 & 7 at the
time and I remember thinking I want it to be easier for them.  I want BF to
be the norm.
It has been easier for them, my younger sister, my nieces and some of my
daughter-in-laws, but it's still not the norm and that is why I'm STILL a
"fanatic" after all these years of LLLLeading and IBCLCing. BF empowers
moms.  I've seen it over and over. And BF bonds.  And all the wonderful
health reasons for baby AND mom.

On the practical side, since I've become a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and
don't just see lovely League moms any more. (My circle had gotten quite
narrow-everyone BFing) I am appalled at how sick formula babies are
-continually- one ear infection after another, GI upsets and so on.  They
are sick so much of the time!  How can you relate to a baby who is sick and
cranky 50% of the time.  It can't be fun!  And they really don't "smell"
good, like a BF baby. These factors have to disturb parent-baby
interactions.  And folks we pay for these poor results.  We pay for the
formula, the health (ha-sick) care, the antibiotics, the special ed, the
counseling and yes-the jails.

Enough said, I'm climbing down off of my well worn 30 year old soapbox.