I just read 52 posts so don't expect much mental acuity. I, too, am accused of seeing every issue through breast-colored glasses. There is much that puzzles me about attitudes toward breastfeeding, in our "modern" cultures. There seems to be a very strong aversion to even *thinking* about breastfeeding. I read articles about breast health, infant nutrition, emotional and mental health, child abuse, unconnected children, adult health, parent abuse, and many other aspects of the human condition and I see the clear connection to the experiences of the first several years of life. But the researchers or the writers never consider breastfeeding as a factor. The most basic, natural beginning to life and they don't even look at it. It seems that they would have to work hard to NOT see a connection. How many years will it take for "us" to PROVE that breastfeeding is the way to feed our young, and that babies and mothers belong together? It is ridiculous to call this "non-supportive" of breastfeeding. It is downright subversive. Where is all of this vehement objection coming from? There can be 33 studies that prove the superiority of breastfeeding, but the impact will be wiped out by ONE study showing that it is no big deal. There has been mention of recommended length of breastfeeding. I hear often, "How long does a mother have to breastfeed for her baby to get the benefit." Or, "My doctor said that all of the benefit to the baby is gained by six weeks,(or six months, or 'till the milk comes in, or one year.) A mother called me yesterday about weaning her 18-month old because every time she takes the baby to the ped. the nurses and the doc ask, "Are you STILL breastfeeding? There is no benefit to the baby now. She is just using you as a pacifier." The implication in so much advice is "Do this *thing* for as short a time as is absolutely necessary." Where did this attitude come from, that breastfeeding is a necessity, but not to be done with enthusiasm nor any longer than you *have* to? Can you imagine anything else that has as much benefit to mother, baby, family, and society being limited to its minimal experience? We Americans are accused of excess. "If a little is good, more is better." "Can't get too much of a good thing." "If jogging 4 miles a day is good for my heart, I will jog 24 miles a day." One journal article comes out saying that oats reduce cholesterol and everything gets fortified with oat bran. Where is, "If breastfeeding a baby for three years grows more brain capacity or reduces illness, let's breastfeed for six years"? If studies show that *some* breastfed babies have low vit D levels, Peds recommend ALL infants be given vit D. If a few babies are at risk for Hep B, then give the shot to ALL infants. But if breastfed babies are physically, mentally, and emotionally healthier, these same docs aren't eager to champion a return to breastfeeding for ALL infants. In fact,they don't want to hear that breastfed babies are healthier. WIERD!!! It will be interesting to see if the APP statement in the upcoming Journal will have any impact at all. There is some kind of abhorance toward breastfeeding, but not as much toward breastmilk. I think much of the resistance would be relaxed if we could get a "good pumping system" going and there wasn't all of that "being there", or touching, or cuddling, or connecting. It's that baby at the mother's breast that must be limited, or ignored, or discouraged. Is some of it "simple" ignorance or lack of training? Do they fear not knowing how to help a mother solve her breastfeeding problems, more than they do the ill health that will be created by abm? I believe that many pediatricians (others too) truly believe that all of the infants in the US that are not breastfeeding would be dead if it weren't for abm. They feel so much safer with what they understand and what was taught in their schools. Is the problem that we are letting them call the shots? What I am asking is WHY IS THIS SO HARD? It shouldn't be so hard to convince "Health Care Providers" of the benefit of breastfeeding. It shouldn't take volumes of studies and references and years of "proof." Patricia Gima, IBCLC Milwaukee