Maybe this has been thought of before, but I was thinking of a way to make
new mothers realize, on a visceral level, why they shouldn't formula feed.   I'm
thinking in particular of those newly post-partum mothers who sometimes ask
if formula is really all bad, or those who say that they grew up on formula and
they're fine, etc., etc.

Imagine that medical technology reached a point where you could grow a fetus
until about 12 weeks in utero, and then you could have it taken out and put
into an incubator-type machine, that feeds it and nourishes it until full
gestation.   Imagine, too, that this machine had undergone extensive trials and had
been --for the most part--- "successful," and that the deaths that have
occurred from it are not *necessarily* linked to the machine itself and that when
used properly, the babies really grow fine and thrive.   Most moms would not opt
to do this and we could ask them why not?   What feels so wrong about it,
especially when it is so successful?   The answers are similar to our feelings
about breastfeeding--natural design, norm for the baby, etc.

Just a late night thought--feel free to extrapolate and add to this analogy
if anything strikes you!

Heather Kelly, MA, IBCLC
NYC, NY

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