I can't believe this sort of thing makes it into a paper. This is from a
local paper in Vancouver, BC that is available free of charge and
distributed to homes. I will include a few choice excerpts. I might ad
this column is "Health Matters" and was written by a Dr Patrick Nesbitt,
a family physician in Vancouver.

Headline:Breast or bottle is strictly a matter of individual choice
"For something so natural, breast feeding still manages to be a
controversial and misunderstood area of medicine."

"Historically some women have felt that bottle feeding was safer because
of sterility - who could prefer sticking a dirty nipple into a young
child's mouth when safe, sanitary sterilized formula and bottles were
available?"

"Bottle feeding also gets past the the practical problems of nursing
milk that won't come, sore swollen breasts, cracked nipples, sibling
rivalry, interference with marital relations and mothers who have to
return to work."

"There are some health benefits for bottle feeding. Babies are slightly
less jaundiced when bottle fed, have less anemia when a few months old,
and grow faster. Bottle feeding protects infants from mothers' milk
which may not be safe, mothers who have serious infections, moms who are
on drugs (which may be transmitted to breast milk), or moms who are on
unhealthy diets due to fads, ignorance or poverty."

"Breast feeding makes many women feel closer to their babies. Breast
milk contains antibodies to make the baby more resistant to disease.
Breast milk is actually fatal to some germs and some people think breast
fed babies have fewer allergies and and respiratory infections in the
first few months. And breast milk is definitely convenient."

"But many women choose not to or are unable to breast feed. For those
women bottle feeding is a perfectly honourable alternative. Modern day
formulas are entirely adequate for good infant nutrition, so parents who
choose not to breast feed shouldn't be made to feel guilty about their
decision."

"So feed your baby whatever way you want and don't let anyone make you
feel guilty about your choice. If someone else thinks they are more of
an expert than you, just tell them they may have boobed."

END OF EXCERPTS

Sorry for the length, if anyone wants the complete article I will have
to type the whole thing, not really much more. This stuff just steams
me.

There is an e-mail address for the editor, Randy Shore,
<[log in to unmask]>.

Donna Hansen
Burnaby, British Columbia