Here is the response I got from the book's author. Comments anyone? >Date: 28 Dec 95 13:32:18 EST >From: Bill Adler <[log in to unmask]> >To: "'Jeffrey Fouche'" <[log in to unmask]> > >To: Jeffrey Fouche >From: Peggy Robin >Subject: *Bottlefeeding Without Guilt* > >I always appreciate hearing from breastfeeding advocates who do not resort > to >name-calling or guilt-slinging, and so I thank you for a generally > thoughtful >letter. If you read the entire book, you will see that the focus is on > mothers >who started out intent on breastfeeding. Most of them diligently followed > the >advice of La Leche League, breastfeeding manuals, and/or certified > lactation >consultants. Many of them (just like me) had successfully breastfed a > first >child. However, the problems of breastfeeding can sometimes be very diffic >ult >to work out; many breastfeeding advocates (who themselves had an easy time >breastfeeding, or who had problems that they solved with the help of > standard >techniques) seem to have a hard time believing that the mothers who have tu >rned >to bottlefeeding have "tried hard enough." > >You compare formula use to smoking, but the two things are quite > dissimilar. >There is no circumstance in which cigarette smoke is beneficial. When >breastmilk is not available as a form of infant nutrition, formula is not o >nly >beneficial, but essential. Eighty-five percent of Americans born in the > 1950's >were brought up on formula and only formula. That generation constitutes > a mass >experiment in formula use which should be pretty reassuring to the mother > today >who finds herself unable to breastfeed. Chances are high that many, if not >most, of bottlefeeding's most strident critics were themselves fed formula >as >infants. > >I did not write the book to discourage any mother from breastfeeding. I > wrote >it for those who had already experienced breastfeeding difficulties and > were >feeling guilty about having "failed" at mothering their babies. Indeed, > it is >my hope and belief that my book may be of help to the mother of a bottlefed >first child, who wants to breastfeed any subsequent children. By > identifying >and discussing some of the more intractable problems that may arise, a > mother >may be able to seek more effective help, right from the start, the next > time >around. She may also be less panicked over the matter, having already > seen her >bottlefed first child thriving, and thus more able to relax during > breastfeeding >attempts (which usually aids in let-down). > >Having been both a breastfeeding mother (first child) and a bottlefeeding > mother >(second), I would definitely say I experienced more negative reactions > from the >society around me when I was bottlefeeding. Some breastfeeding advocates > think >this is a positive thing. I say it's never a good thing to have strangers >upbraiding mothers in public about how they feed their babies, and that > applies >equally to critics of public breastfeeding and critics of toddler nursing. > >Sincerely, >Peggy Robin > ~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^* Jeffrey S. Fouche, RN, BSN Breastfeeding Educator [log in to unmask] Web Page: http://members.gnn.com/jsfouche/breastfeeding.html Higher intelligence begins with breastfeeding! *~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~