Enough With the Breast-feeding Wars!

may i say i had 3 children and they r grown and they r smart and working u no the word working class people who pay taxes, now mrs, obama why did i not guess u would have your nose in here somewhere ,going to try and make it a law too, i wish you would ,don;t you and what;s his face done enough ,u are not, will not come into my private life and try to run it, try running your own like saving your money to help this country instead of worrying oh; my god what shall i wear to the next kings wedding lol got fooled didn;t get a invite ohhhh and to think of all our money u saved us ,taxpayers not having to buy u a gown ,ty ,and yes, 90 thousand dollars to fly and plant one tree in fuel how stupid can 2 peolple be ,welll pretty dumb ,haven;t you people done enough harm to my country not yours ,u and whats his name would love that ,never going to happen ,not today as long as we as americans call this our home not yours but our home ,and breast feeding u say ,oh; lady fingd something to do ,u failed at your garden lol and a few other things we will not go there ,but back off bit-- and run your family like send them back to your real home ,rev. wright was so right about you 2 and god help u when and if u make those pearly gates i have my doubts, so let us americans be free and we are that u and whats his name has done your damage now move on and quit trying to run the world ,and sorry about you not getting a invite lol must have been a slap in your face about time and boy did he blast you whew and good for him ,,and as a women i woulld love you to try and run us white women and tell us we have too, that king has nothing on what we could do to you and your way of thinking ,get out while the getting is good and love the mistake he made 57 states told alot of true blue americans who he really is ,but another stroy ,lol u 2 have been a joke at our expense and we suffer not you, but do something with them arms and that face pleaseeeeee,i remain a true american that will fight to keep our country before too much more is done wake up america

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Whether to breast or bottle feed is a very personal choice for every mother and shouldn't be a matter for government or the media.

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I definitely agree we shouldn't shame or criticize mothers who don't breastfeed. However, I don't agree that we should just throw our hands up and say "Oh, formula fed babies do ok, so there's no need to change anything!" There are a lot of mothers who want to breastfeed and are not able to due to unsupportive employers and a lack of good help getting started. I struggled a LOT with breastfeeding. I had multiple lactation consultant visits that my insurer refused to pay for. I was very priveleged - I could afford to pay out of pocket, and I worked part time hours and worked in a professional environment that allowed me adequate pumping time during my shift. I don't want to see this country lecture mothers who choose formula, but I would like to see us provide paid lactation consultants (either through insurance or medicaid) and meaningful leave and flex scheduling options for working mothers, so that the mothers who do want to breastfeed can do so.

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First of all, I say that breastfeeding is normal and no big deal. Formula feeding is artificial and no big deal. It becomes a big deal when women who want to do one or the other are prevented or discouraged because of what other people think, or because they didn't receive the support they deserve. Breastfeeding has a steep learning curve; it hurts at first and because it has to do with a woman's body we can feel inadequate. After that, it is often easier, more convenient and more enjoyable than formula feeding (until a woman has/wants to go back to work). 70% of women begin breastfeeding in the hospital, because they WANT to. How many of those are still breastfeeding six weeks later, six months later? Did they stop wanting to, or did they feel like they failed? These women need individual support, not guilt trips.

If any woman wants to keep breastfeeding, we must support her decision and make sure she has the resources available to make it work. If a woman wants to stop breastfeeding, we must support her decision and let it go.

However, formula companies that advocate formula in third world countries without adequate sanitation, access to clean water or education about how to use it correctly, should be raked across the coals. It's one thing to allow a woman to make a choice; it's another thing to deny a child safe nutrition in the name of making a dollar.

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I'll stop promoting breastfeeding when the rest of the country STARTS promoting it. Breastfeeding mothers are made to feel weird when they nurse in public, and working, nursing mothers are not supported with the resources they need. What else can we do but yap about it?

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I agree. Enough already. I was so upset by the "breast-feeding moms" who who were pressuring me to do it and making me feel like a loser mom for choosing not to do it. It was even more disturbing to have the nurses in the hospital, the nipple natzis, coming in with a pump and trying to hook me up like a dairy cow. It's all a bunch of crap! When I had my daughter, I had a friend who had her son the same week. I did not breast feed. She did. My kid never got a single ear infection. Her son had three ear infections. My daughter had a simple cold. Her son caught the crouph and it lingered on and on. Today, my Similac-raised daugther is nine and reads at the sixth grade level and is a straight A student. Her breast-fed son? Not so much. At best, he's an average student. So yes, I can say all the hype about breast feeding is a bunch of crap!

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