Talking about today's article, found at the URL below, not the other five
BF-bashing articles ...
http://www.salon1999.com/mwt/feature/1999/05/21/nursing/index.html

Be sure to read *all three* parts of the article. A friend forwarded the URL
to me and -- in a rush with the kids -- I skimmed part one and couldn't
figure out why she had a problem with the article, beyond the obnoxious
title.

This is not an article that bashes Walrond, and the title actually does
reflect the article's thesis. It tells us that Walrond, "like all new moms
today -- was under considerable pressure to breast-feed, that she felt her
self-esteem and competency as a mother hinged on her ability to breast-feed
successfully. The complete turnaround on breast feeding by the medical
establishment in the last 20 years is not noted in the press. The
breast-is-best philosophy, peddled by many hospitals as if bottle-feeding
were tantamount to child abuse, goes undocumented." Then she goes on to
quote various "authorities" saying pro-BF things. In other words, folks --
this tragedy is *our* fault. Has anyone else here read BFWG? It's very clear
to me that the author of this article has.

The author -- rightly, IMO -- makes the point that women aren't getting the
support and knowledge they need to go along with the "breast is best"
mantra. But she's really missing the boat when she says things like,
"'Experts' sternly lecture expectant moms with statistics and slogans."
Really? See, I remember getting glossy parenting magazines that told me BF
was inconvenient, and not to feel guilty if I chose to bottle-feed. I
remember several boxes of formula arriving at my home. And when I was having
troubles BFing, I remember my son's pedi sending me home with formula
samples and the advice that he'd do "just fine" on formula.

Like BFWG, this article perpetuates the myth that women are being pressured
to breastfeed. At the end of the article, there's:
"Table Talk [Salon's discussion forum]
Breast intentions:  Are new mothers being bullied into breast feeding?"
A lot of the same old same-old there.

This bias of this article per se bothers me less than the fact that this is
the sixth article Salon has published that's negative toward breastfeeding.
Why do I get the feeling that members of the editorial staff of Mothers Who
Think are letting their own infant-feeding guilt issues affect their
editorial content?

Late-night ramblings from --
Janice Berry, mom of Zack (11/30/92) and Gina (9/4/96)
Westerville, OH
[log in to unmask]

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html