Is the quantity more important or the duration?

IMHO, the most important thing is what is important to the mother.  If her
priority is the baby's health -- perhaps because, for her that represents the
best start she wants to give to her preceious baby --  then the balance between
quantity and duration will be important.

For me, what was most important was something about the quality of the
relationship between myself and my baby, with the relationship with baby's
father woven in and around that.  Part of that had to do with my babies' health,
but the main part was the process of being a symbiotic unit.

(BTW, the different scenarios might have a different impact on the mother's own
health, say, for example on her subsequent risk of developing premenopausal
breast cancers.)

Some time ago I came to the conclusion that, even if someone told me, and
demonstrated, that formula feeding and breastfeeding had the same health
outcomes for baby and mother  I would still want to breastfeed because its the
best thing I have ever done with another human being in my entire life.  It has
something fundemental to do with who I am.  I find many of the women I speak to
have something of this dimension tucked away in their minds, and are pleased to
talk about it.  It helps to put the exact quantity/duration type of debate into
perspective.

Let me use one of Gay Palmer's analogies:  Is it important to have a sex with
your husband (or whoever) more frequently, for a longer duration, or is the
quality of the experience an important factor?  My guess:  everyone has a
different answer (probably even within most couples).

Magda Sachs
Breastfeeding Supporter
The Breastfeeding Network