Oh dear now I am going to sound po-faced and sour...but I think the analogy
of breastfeeding/bottle feeding with walking/wheelchairs is not really
usable. I know it sounds clever and a lot of it fits...but what if you were
delivering it to a class or an audience where there was a mother in a
wheelchair, or one who secretly fears (because of an existing disability)
needing one in the future????

I am thinking of my dear SIL who is very disabled (but not yet in a
wheelchair) with rheumatoid arthritis, who struggles to live as active a
life as possible despite the pain and would not like to be called abnormal,
or to have her disability, and her need for disability aids,  linked with
what she certainly regards as a very poor second class way of feeding a
baby. I *know* the analogy is describing bottles as, ideally, no more than
a necessary prop for people who have no choice in the matter....but we need
to be careful about the sensitivities of people who might see their
disability aids as essentially empowering them to lead more active lives....

Are there any Lactnetters with disabilities who might like to comment?


Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc Newcastle upon Tyne UK