To me, this foster mother's comments are not much different from what many
mothers say - basically: "I couldn't breastfeed and had to use formula, for
what I see as valid reasons, and my children are perfectly fine, so I don't
believe or like hearing that breastfeeding is better."

So if I was talking to a mother who says something along these lines, or
writing back to this foster mother, I would probably say something like
"You're right, there are many factors that go into raising children and
keeping them healthy, and it sounds like you've done an amazing job with
yours. But you know, we're getting more and more research that shows that,
compared to the breastfed baby or child, babies fed formula are at greater
risk of various illnesses and developmental problems. It certainly doesn't
mean that every baby fed formula will have those problems, but the risk is
higher. Don't you think it's useful for mothers who have the choice whether
to breastfeed or formula-feed to have that information?"

Teresa

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