I love all the great slogans for breast milk that have been suggested for baby bottles lately. I am troubled, however, by the eagerness of some mothers I see to give breast milk to their babies but to place little value on the *act* of breastfeeding. Some mothers seem to develop a relationship with the breast pump but to have difficulty getting the baby to breast. I am thinking of one mom who worked full-time while pumping milk for her twins for 6 months. In the evenings and on weekends she had many social and organizational activities. The babies got all breastmilk until they started solids, but very little nursing. Another mother of twins never got past pumping and bottle-feeding, even though she was with her babies full-time. (Both cases were several years ago). I think our society's view of breasts as sexual objects has much to do with this. I know there are situations when mothers cannot breastfeed, and times when bottles are a temporary help for all mothers. But I hate to have people focus on the benefits of breastmilk while passing over the benefits of the act of breastfeeding itself. The importance of early attachment to one, primary caretaker can get lost. The value of skin-to-skin contact, the loving gazes and games that nursing mothers and babies share, cannot be duplicated when the breastmilk is put in a bottle that is propped or held by the older baby or even when the bottle is given by any number of other loving caretakers. I read once that human beings are the only animals that nurse "en-face." We know the mother's face during breastfeeding is just at the ideal distance for baby's vision. Despite the formula ads that show bottle-feeding parents with the mother (or father) looking lovingly into the baby's eyes, most bottle-fed babies are not held in a way that encourages face-to-face eye contact throughout the feeding. Do mothers reap the same benefits of the release of prolactin and oxytocin, the "mothering" hormones that help them feel calm and loving in the midst of a chaotic day, when using a breast pump rather than sitting down to hold, cuddle and nurse? (I really don't know!) Just some thoughts. Any comments? Anne Altshuler, RN, MS, IBCLC and LLL leader in Madison, WI