This is something I wanted to say last time it came up, but I held my
tongue. Some people here seem to be claiming that a baby fed via a
bottle "bonds with the bottle, not with the parent". As a
bottle-feeding mother of an exclusively breastfed six-month-old, I find
it offensive, but that's as may be. As a scientist, I find it
inaccurate.

I have observed a lot of babies breastfeeding, both professionally and
in my family life. My son behaves in the same way while bottlefeeding
as babies tend to do when breastfeeding - he gazes into my eyes, plays
with my hair, stops to smile and play and gurgle with me, grasps my
lips and nose, holds on to and pats my hands and yes, even my breasts.
At no point has he exhibited this behaviour towards the bottle. Now
that he is becoming more independent, he'll grab the bottle and feed
himself, but I am yet to see him grin and blow raspberries at it. He
also behaves quite differently when day care providers feed him,
compared to when I feed him.

Let's credit babies with some natural intelligence; they know the
difference between their mother and a piece of plastic.

In my ideal world, all professionals working with mothers with
breastfeeding difficulties would bear in mind that a minority of these
mothers will end up exclusively pumping milk for their babies (if well
enough supported). Remarks made to mothers in the early days, even in
passing, have an enormous impact. For these dedicated mothers to always
carry the psychological burden of believing their baby is bonding with
a bottle, instead of with them, is a sobering thought.

Lara Hopkins
family doc in Perth, Western Australia
exclusively pumping for Luke, six months and four days

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