I second Betsy's thoughts on encouraging moms to breastfeed the way that 
they "want to". When we as lc's meet a mom where she is, we encourage her 
as a mother. An encouraged mother is an empowered mother.  All it takes is 
one mom to tell her group of friends how great b/f is working for her and 
a whole new circle is formed. Mothers are influenced by their culture, no 
matter what the "experts" say. It is a delicate balance to make sure that 
the mother is making an informed decision. Telling her about the hazards 
of formula feeding but encouraging her where she is (even if she continues 
to unnecessarily supplement or whatever) allows us to preserve our 
relationship with her. She knows that we haven't lied to her, but by 
accepting her decison we are not patronizing her or making her feel like 
she doesn't measure up.I would rather tell a mom going back to work who 
isn't going to pump that she can b/f when she and baby are together, and 
support her in that effort, than to have her leave with the idea that b/f 
is all or nothing. Usually that results in mom going to 100% formula. And 
guess what, the formula marketers already know this! They don't want 
mothers to be encouraged to "do both", and they are feeding the media  
stories (those "surveys" of mother's perceptions of how they are treated 
by the "other side" that are so popular) of rivalry between bottle-feeding 
moms (selfish and guilty about it but defiant) vs. breastfeeding moms 
(militant martyrs who judge mothering quality by feeding method). Our tact 
and diplomacy in personal situations isn't selling out. We need to counter 
the formula corporations spin-doctoring of "us" as inflexible and self-
righteous by compassionatly caring for mothers one at a time. Moms figure 
out pretty quick that when the formula recall is announced, nobody gives a 
damn if their baby is the one that got sick. When we stick to the facts in 
a public response, such as letter to the editor, rather than get drawn 
into the arguement (the whole choice thing)we can advocate for mothers, 
babies, and our profession, and let our integrity speak for itself.

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