Hi All, Just wanted to let you know that I read the WWW page that Peggy has. Pretty sad. She had some quotes on there that came directly from Lactnet. Here it is one: "[How about] 'Cocaine Use During Pregnancy Without Guilt', 'Driving Under the Influence Without Guilt', 'Smoking in Your Baby's Face Without Guilt?'" Did she get permission to quote that quote? I doubt it. Who wrote that one? I'm going to search my files for it. Anyway, I wanted to share my letter with you all. I wonder if I will get a response? Enjoy! Jay Hello Ms. Robin, My name is Janet Simpson. I am a CLE and am studying to be a IBCLC. I must tell you that I have read your book, loaned to me by a friend who could not breastfeed. She was afraid that I would not be able to read the book with an open mind, but I am an open minded person. I am also a breastfeeding zealot, though I know that there are some women out there, like my friend, who can't breastfeed for one reason or another. I am respectful to all women, regardless of their choice of how to feed their baby. However, I think that if more women knew the truth aboutABM (Artificial Baby Milk) and what it can do to babies, they would choose to breastfeed, or at least breastfeed for a while. Your book has many things in it that I find very sad. Many things are out and out, in my opinion, lies. The things that you say about the breastfeeding community are so wrong. You lump all of us into one group of militant ogres who care nothing about peoples feelings and opinions. Yes, there are people like that out there, but they are ABM feeding folks too. We are not a "Cult" as you present us. We are people who are trying to let folks know that breastfeeding is a beautiful gift you can give your child, and also is the best way to feed your child. For the women who can't breastfeed, ABM is there for them for this reason. While reading your book, I felt bad for all the women who will see a misrepresentation of the breastfeeding community. They will consider all women who breastfeed as a bunch of mean spirited people who want to force their opinions and ideals upon them, which is simply not true. You also lable all of us as Pro-Lifers, which is simply not the case. Not all of the ABM feeders are pro-Choice, and not all of the breastfeeders are Pro-Life. I frankly don't see how abortion even has anything to do withbreastfeeding. I wish that you had decided to write this book as a way to help moms who chose to bottlefeed or had to bottlefeed, not as a way to slam the breastfeeding community. I am sure that you do not think that you have slammed the breastfeeding community, but you really have. You have made it seem as if Lactation Consultants are idiots and know nothing, and that the breastfeeding community is out to make ABM feeding moms feel guilty. That is sad. No one can make someone feel guilty. People need to take responsibility for their own emotions and their own decisions. Your book gives people an opportunity to cop out and lay the blame of feeling guilty where it does not belong, on the breastfeeding community. I support my moms who have decided to give up breastfeeding, and they still feel guilty. I tell them that they did their best, and that they tried and that is what counts. They still feel guilty. Why? Because they know that breastmilk is best. In todays world, too many people want to make others responsible for their failures or feelings. We need to remember that we are responsible for ourselves, our emotions and our lives. No one can make us feel what we don't want to feel. As far as your quotes go on your web page, I recognize at couple of them. Did you get permission from the writers to post the quotes? I will ask them. I know them. I wish that you had chosen to write this book as a way to help ABM feeding moms come to terms with their decision. It would have been wonderful to see a self-help type book designed to make ABM feeding moms accept their decision in a healthy way, rather than give them someone to be angry at. The moms who feel guilty need understanding and reassurance, not a book that slams the people who are there to help them in case they want to try to breastfeed, or have problems breastfeeding. I feel bad for you that you had so many problems breastfeeding your second child. I, too went through Hell to breastfeed my second child. I was lucky, I guess. I had a supportive family and a great LC who worked with us for 2 months while I healed from the external damage that my son caused (pumping and feeding EBM in a bottle), and then another 2 months while healing the internal damage in one breast (sitll pumping on that side, breastfeeding on the other). I also suffered from bi-lateral mastitis that refused to resolve for 4 months. I was a very sick lady. If I had not had the excellant support I had, I would have quit breastfeeding too. However, I chose to stick it out. That was my decision. People thought I was nuts. Maybe I was. But, I am still breastfeeding that same baby today, and he is now 17 mo old. And, I might add that he just got his first cold 2 weeks ago. And, yes he's been around plenty of sick people and kids in the past. Thses are my thoughts about your book and what you have said in it. I still think there is a better way to support ABM feeding moms than to slam the breastfeeding community. Also, I urge you to recheck your references on certain things. There have been studies that have shown an average 10% increased IQ in breastfed babies. If you are interested, I'll find the references for you. But I figure that you are capapble of finding accurate information on your own, if you really want to. Would you be interested in re-writing BWG in a fashion that is helpful and not intended as an attack against the breastfeeding community? I think that you would do a good job if you tried. I doubt that if you wrote a book supporting ABM feeding moms, without attacking and slamming the breastfeeding community, that it would raise the kind of controversy that this book has raised. But, then again, maybe controversy was what you after? Sincerely, Janet Simspon, CLE If you would like to quote any part of this letter, please get my permission first. I do not want anything I write to be taken out of context and used improperly. Thank You.