My brother-in-law is a Naturopathic Doctor here in Northern California and I was curious what he'd have to say about this post. Here is his response (you've got to love the man!): Hi Brooke, I have never heard of any of my colleagues suggest to a woman to stop breastfeeding. I find that most Naturopathic Doctors are in steadfast support of breastfeeding. It has been reported that milk cortisol levels are approximately 70-80% of blood cortisol levels and there is research to suggest that maternal cortisol levels do, in fact, affect childhood temperament. (see below) However, the data was gathered using infant "fear behavior" as a measurement. "Fear behavior" is not very quantifiable and may be a very subjective value. With the many benefits of breastfeeding obvious to us all, perhaps lowering this poor woman's stress level may be a better way to go. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17336002 ---------------------------------------------- Brooke Casey, CPM, IBCLC Midwife and Lactation Consultant -------------------------------- Compassion is the deepest form of memory. --Eve Ensler *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome