I am deeply perplexed by all these accusations (especially the Dworkin article) about breastfeeding making mothers feel guilty etc. etc. I was up quite late last night trying to think of a single other instance in life where anyone gives a rat's patootie about women feeling guilty. There just aren't any. Women are made to feel terribly guilty if they are too fat, if their nails are too thin, hair too limp, asthmatic children are said to be the product of "smothering" or "unaffectionate" (depending on the year) mothers, it goes on and on. You are guilty if you go back to work; guilty if you don't. Guilty if you resume sex after childbirth, extra-guilty if you don't want to. And look at this advert I received recently in the mail for a migraine medicine: http://www.michelledepesa.com/zomigad.jpg and don't forget the crash-test- dummy PSA with its not-so-subtle hints about where you'll spend eternity if you don't put your child in a car seat (see Kathy D.'s post on this). YET -- mention breastfeeding, and folks come out of the woodwork from all walks of life, (but especially book writers and hcp's) waving their hands and begging us not to make parents (especially *mothers*) feel guilty! Can it all be chalked up to the obvious fact that there is a very expensive consumer product at the end of this "protection" (one that after just a few "hits" the user is hooked)? Or is it more than that. Books (even those by Sears and Sears) commonly succumb to this as well. The authors list all the fabulous reasons to "choose" breastfeeding and their info sometimes good, but then it sums up a segment on bottlefeeding by asserting that if you choose bottlefeeding "whatever your reasons" you should not feel guilty, ABM fed kids do fine too, etc. I see this all the time. Everywhere parents are urged to consider the ramifications of their choices - EXCEPT with breastfeeding. The problem with this pre-emptive assuaging of assumed guilt is that it really is inappropriate reassurance. Anyone on the fence about breastfeeding will stop when they see that kind of info, or read the Dworkin article or similar. I know I do this a lot. When I wanted to hear that ibuprofin was ok to use during pregnancy, I kept looking until I found a source that said so - I read the warnings, got concerned - *but kept looking* until I found the reassurance I was after then *stopped* looking. I see this often with women who are ambivalent or undecided about breastfeeding. It only takes one such bit of evidence and the search ends. This is what worries me the most, because that inappropriate reassurance is everywhere (as we saw in the "pros of bottlefeeding" handout many of us critiqued). Michelle DePesa *********************************************** 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