On Fb - Your baby won't starve w/o WIC whip out the boobs

[August]

I didnt realize the meaning of WIC when i readed the post i just assumed it was the name of baby formula there...ofcourse every baby should have acces to free babyformula if their mother cant breastfeed them.

What i find truly sad is to hear so much women saying i dont have milk, my boobs are too big or my niples are wrong, i mean the nature make us females with the capacity of breatsfeeding our offspring and its so so rare when you really cant do it with appropiate help..and womans didnt receive this help by the pediatricians that are really old fashioned and dont know anything about breatsfeeding and that should be solved too.

One of the things i like about fundies is that they unlike most of the society nowadays give the credit to breatsfeeding that it deserves.

No. Nature is a cruel bitch, and things like PCOS, which give you equal chances of having normal milk, not enough or too much don't care that they force you to pass your baby off to a sister or cousin to eat. Also, we've had milk cattle for a long time, so women have been able to keep their babies alive with non-human milk instead of letting them die like nature wanted. Unless you've ever had inverted nipples or a baby with a high palate or low supply, don't even open your mouth to criticise those who've dealt with it. And for ignoring people with mastectomies or MS or RA or HIV and babies with galactosemia you're just stupid.

It is not "so so rare" to be either unable to breastfeed or unable to exclusively breastfeed. Yes, the US sucks, and so do some other countries, like Ireland and France. But look at the stats in countries like Norway, where they have good support. 98% breastfeeding at one week(easily 2% are on medications which preclude it, sexual abuse history, or babies with conditions which preclude it). But already, 6% are being supplemented, probably for poor supply or macrosomia (macrosomia's not a reason to continue supplementation, but it is a reason for a bit of formula in the first week if their blood sugars aren't good). At 1 month, down to 82% exclusive, 5% exclusive formula. At three months, 12% exclusive formula, 62% exclusive breastmilk. I think that's the number which represents the maximum possible biological extent of breastfeeding, about 60% can do it exclusively, about 10-15% can't and the people in between can't provide all of the baby's needs.

http://kellymom.com/wp-content/uploads/ ... es2006.png

PS: don't assume I'm a formula feeder being defensive. I breastfed my children exclusively for six months each, then in combination with other foods until they were around four. But just because I managed to make it work doesn't mean everyone can, or that it's just a matter of trying harder. Nature = cruel bitch who wants to kill you and your baby, if she can.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

I totally agree. I was just saying that her argument that breastmilk is "free" is not true. It takes calories to make calories.

Seriously! The way some people talk, you'd think that breasts are the biological equivalent of perpetual motion machines. Hey! World hunger and all energy issues solved! :?

[Childless]

I was unable to breastfeed my son. It was a combination of dangerously low iron levels on my part which they did not catch until the end of my pregnancy (and thus did not afford me enough time on iron supplements to get back up to normal) and a frenulum on my son's part that was not diagnosed until he was 2. My body simply could not produce milk because of the iron deficiency. My son could not latch properly because the frenulum. It angered me that no one caught the frenulum until it required a surgery instead of a small little snip. It also angered me that no one thought to investigate it as a possible cause of my son's latching issues. It would have explained a lot. We struggled for a month to breastfeed while supplementing with formula. I called it quits though because every breastfeeding session devolved into my son struggling and screaming and me crying in frustration. I felt it was damaging our ability to bond, so I threw in the towel. It wasn't worth both of us being miserable. I'm lucky enough to have a job that provides me with enough income that I didn't have to apply for WIC. But, I'm thankful it's there for women who need it regardless of whether or not they breastfeed. I've witnessed first hand children starving to death for lack of food and I'm glad that, at least in some countries, the government is in a position to prevent that from happening. I'd much rather my tax dollars go to feeding those in need than to funding yet another war or bridges to nowhere.

[flyawaystray]

My mom breastfed me up until a certain point, then I got on soy formula. My sister was unable to breastfeed with her kids for whatever reason. I hate the breast is best argument because it makes women who can't breastfeed feel bad.

[nelliebelle1197]

i dindt read the comments(the facebook link isnt working to me) but that quote that you post here sounds perfectly normal to me, what she is saying is the true, breastfeeding is as good as babyformula if not better and is free.

My daughter was born at 26 weeks/1.8 pounds. She was never going to breastfeed and I killed myself for a year pumping and still had to supplement with formula. There are plenty of reasons why it doesn't work. Get off your high horse.

[AuntCloud]

No. Nature is a cruel bitch, and things like PCOS, which give you equal chances of having normal milk, not enough or too much don't care that they force you to pass your baby off to a sister or cousin to eat. Also, we've had milk cattle for a long time, so women have been able to keep their babies alive with non-human milk instead of letting them die like nature wanted. Unless you've ever had inverted nipples or a baby with a high palate or low supply, don't even open your mouth to criticise those who've dealt with it. And for ignoring people with mastectomies or MS or RA or HIV and babies with galactosemia you're just stupid.

Thanks, August, for the gentle reminder about the almighty Mother Nature. If Nature had her way with me I'd have been dead three times over with no Cloudlets to feed formula to. You have no idea what other women are going through, and what's more: no one owes you or any other member of the lactation police any explanations about the exact reason why they are not breastfeeding. I realize lactation police will grudgingly provide me an exemption (a 30-weeker, 1 lb 14 oz. preemie who was seriously small for her gestational age and her sister who was a 26-weeker, 1 lb 10 oz, severe preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome, emergency c-section and me being in a pretty bad shape overall - is that good enough or should I have just tried harder?). But I don't need to explain myself to be granted eligible to formula feed.

I apologize in advance if I sound royally pissed off. My kids are old enough now that being breastfed or not is a moot point, but I'm trying to do my little part in advocating for those who are vulnerable to pressure and guilt-trips, like I was. To quote an acquaintance who nursed her kids until kindergarten and was an active la-leche volunteer: "when I hear , it makes me want to whip out a formula bottle".

[Diana]

Sorry but i dont want to argue, im sorry if i hurt the feelings of you but i was not talking about the ones that have real problems which is really very infrequent and its bad luck that happens to you. But is surprising the number of people that with a good help would not have this problems that they think they have, and the reality is that most people usually dont know that. What im saying is what a lot of scientist, pediatricians and the World Health Organization say, so im not apologizing for telling the truth.

[Coconut Flan]

::shakes head::

[Verin Sedai]

I think it might be true that in a hypothetical perfect world, it would be a relatively small minority who aren't physically able to breastfeed. The thing is, overcoming those roadblocks that most "should" be able to get over would require the perfect storm of the right help at the right time delivered in the right way to a mom in the right mindset with the right support system, and did I mention the right time? Some women's grasp on breastfeeding can be so tenuous that even one or two skipped nursing sessions can throw them off, and some don't know that that's even a possibility. One of my fellow NICU moms was doing great pumping, and was bringing in far more milk than her micro could handle (she probably wasn't even up to a 15ml feed yet), so she decided that she was just going to take the day off of pumping. And that was it.

And that is only addressing the physical side of breastfeeding/pumping. There are so many emotional and familial pieces that go into it as well that it's nigh on impossible to make any sort of blanket statement about what women should or should not be able to do in terms of feeding their newborn babies.

For the record, I've had incredible luck/blessing in my breastfeeding adventures - never had any issues, even when exclusively pumping for a NICU-bound preemie for 10 weeks. I am the poster child for "everyone should be able to" and I am here to tell you it's a load of BS.

[lilah]

I agree with all of your points, and obviously there are many reasons why women can't breastfeeding, and certainly can't just re-lactate on demand BUT I also think that it is atrocious that WIC is the largest purchaser of formula in the U.S. and that formula is offered as a first option on WIC without a medical reason ( any of the ones mentioned here, or many others) or the mother needing to go back to work.

In my dealings with wic I have observed that they are very pro breastfeeding but are pragmatic that not every women will choose or be able to chose that route.

As for legally provided space and time to pump this assumes a women knows her rights and feels comfortable advocating for herself, when you've just reentered the work post partum. I've heard women who had to fight with their employers to get what they are legally entitled to.

[2xx1xy1JD]

Sorry but i dont want to argue, im sorry if i hurt the feelings of you but i was not talking about the ones that have real problems which is really very infrequent and its bad luck that happens to you. But is surprising the number of people that with a good help would not have this problems that they think they have, and the reality is that most people usually dont know that. What im saying is what a lot of scientist, pediatricians and the World Health Organization say, so im not apologizing for telling the truth.

You really don't fucking get it, do you? :angry-banghead:

You can look at breastfeeding rates in different regions and get a sense of what percentage of women could, hypothetically, breastfeed if they had the proper support and information. That's fine for policy discussions.

It's totally obnoxious, though, to be utterly dismissive of women who say that they could not breastfeed, and to suggest that nature makes women so perfectly that problems are just so rare. There is no way that you could know every woman's story. It also totally sucks to be judged when doing something the "natural" way doesn't happen naturally, and it seems to be something that we mostly do with women. So, you didn't mean to be hurtful to people with REAL problems, but you then suggest that most of these folks don't really exist since you rush to add that this is just so rare.

There's also a large group of "breastfeeding was just not a practical solution for us" moms. A big part of the reason that I was able to feed my kids nothing but breastmilk for the first 6 months was that I wasn't also trying to work. Pumping doesn't work for everyone. Many American women don't have the luxury of longer maternity leaves, and women who are too poor to take unpaid leaves, who are working part-time or contract or who are students will have fewer options and protections. There are other situations where a lactation consultant may feel that breastfeeding is theoretically possible - but it would require nursing and/or pumping around the clock, enduring the screaming pain of bleeding nipples, going off medication, etc. It's perfectly legitimate for a mother to decide that breastfeeding may not be the #1 priority, if it means sacrificing her ability to provide for her family or to be a reasonably sane mother to her children.

[Chowder Head]

Although extremely rare I was born with an allergy to my mothers milk. I was in the hospital with in the first month of my life . Within another month I had thrush. As my mom put it they tried everybrand under the sun and finely had to use soy milk formula. She tried with my brother and her supply just wont come in. With my sister it was formula all the way, just because of work. I do not have kids but already know i will not be able to breast feed , due to medication. Should my mom had tried harder? Should I stop taking medicince thats helps me control issue?

[Rescinded and Mended]

I am another who had massive problems with nursing. Low milk supply, my son couldn't latch on due to inverted nipples, and when he actually was able to eat, my milk seemed to make him sick to the point where he'd vomit. If I was lucky, I'd be able to pump an ounce of milk a day. That was all. Every time I asked anyone for help, I didn't get any answers that would help solve any of my nursing problems.

This, after spending most of my pregnancy reading The Very Best Breastfeeding Book Ever. The author went on and on about how I'd be able to pump copious amounts of milk for my child, and how a real woman throws away the samples of formula the hospital sends home for the newborn.

During the two months I tried to nurse my son, we were both miserable and exhausted. He actually started to lose weight, and when I finally threw in the towel and put him on formula (after discovering he was allergic to dairy), he was able to thrive and we were both a lot happier. It took some time for me to get over my guilt and not feel like such a failure, though.

The absolute worst part of my overall experience was the fact that even though I talked to doctors and lactation consultants, not a single one of them could tell me why I was having problems with breastfeeding. Not. One. I don't really think this is as uncommon a problem as some might think. The worst part was having no real solutions to work with.

P.S. - I STILL have days when I want to slap that author, and this is years after the fact.

[OkToBeTakei]

You really don't fucking get it, do you? :angry-banghead:

You can look at breastfeeding rates in different regions and get a sense of what percentage of women could, hypothetically, breastfeed if they had the proper support and information. That's fine for policy discussions.

It's totally obnoxious, though, to be utterly dismissive of women who say that they could not breastfeed, and to suggest that nature makes women so perfectly that problems are just so rare. There is no way that you could know every woman's story. It also totally sucks to be judged when doing something the "natural" way doesn't happen naturally, and it seems to be something that we mostly do with women. So, you didn't mean to be hurtful to people with REAL problems, but you then suggest that most of these folks don't really exist since you rush to add that this is just so rare.

There's also a large group of "breastfeeding was just not a practical solution for us" moms. A big part of the reason that I was able to feed my kids nothing but breastmilk for the first 6 months was that I wasn't also trying to work. Pumping doesn't work for everyone. Many American women don't have the luxury of longer maternity leaves, and women who are too poor to take unpaid leaves, who are working part-time or contract or who are students will have fewer options and protections. There are other situations where a lactation consultant may feel that breastfeeding is theoretically possible - but it would require nursing and/or pumping around the clock, enduring the screaming pain of bleeding nipples, going off medication, etc. It's perfectly legitimate for a mother to decide that breastfeeding may not be the #1 priority, if it means sacrificing her ability to provide for her family or to be a reasonably sane mother to her children.

A quick google of the percentage of woman who are genuinely physically unable to breastfeed shows a 1% to 3% max. So whilst the op may not have a popular view of the situation don't slam her for accuracy. Many choose or are forced into other options as evidenced by 2xx's example. Cultural/economical/medical/personal choice.

That being said it is shameful any society does not positively support breastfeeding in every way possible and whilst I went back to work for just a short period the law dictated I could pump whenever I saw fit. That is fine. The option back then was 6 months max maternity leave whereas now it is 12. (paid.) This should be for parents wether they breast bottle or spoon feed. For me the issue is as long as the baby and Mum are happy healthy and thriving nobody gets to point fingers.

Where I live it is quite funny they just assume you will breastfeed and when you choose not to they just pop off and get you free formula on the ward. Sure some midwifes are probably personally judgy but it is their duty of care to ensure both Mum and baby are healthy.

[CelticGoddess]

i dindt read the comments(the facebook link isnt working to me) but that quote that you post here sounds perfectly normal to me, what she is saying is the true, breastfeeding is as good as babyformula if not better and is free.

Except when there are problems My son was born with a cleft lip and palate. He was never able to latch. I was unable to pump enough to meet his needs. It's NOT perfectly normal for some mom/baby pairs.

BTW: I nursed my oldest for 3 years. And I would have nursed my son if he hadn't been born with the cleft.

[Mama Mia]

Seriously I don't understand why people get so incredibly bent out of shape if people say breastfeeding is better for the health of the baby, in the vast majority of cases. It just factually, statistically IS.

Does that mean every mom can breast feed? No. A small minority can't at all for a variety of physical reasons.

Does that mean that every mom should exclusively breastfeeding and never supplement with formula ? No. Often it's going to help the mom and the baby if there's formula when moms at work and then breastfeeds at home, or if mom wants a night off or whatever. Or if breastfeeding just until she returns to work is what she can manage, great , it gives the baby a good start.

Should the vast majority of moms at least give it a try if there's not some health issue ? Yeah, they should. Just like I should put my baby in a car seat and don't leave them screaming for hours or a hundred other things yOu do that might not be convenient but you do it.

I might have a kid ( and did) who would only eat waffles, bananas, Mac and cheese and bread and string cheese ..refused to eat anytHing else for about a year and a half. Should I have gotten incredibly hurt and riddled with guilt because the school kept promoting fruits and vegetables and eating only the right foods ? No. I knew it wasn't the healthiest thing, because it wasn't. The school and society shouldn't have to tell me all ways to eat are equally healthy just to spare my feelings because my own particular kid ( and by extension me) weren't getting with the program.

Promoting breastfeeding isn't a bad thing. Just like promoting healthy eating isn't a bad thing. Sometimes it won't work for someone for some reason. So what ?

Of course the breastfeeding zealots can go overboard ( just like the food police ) but denying that the majority of the time breast milk is healthier for babies is just objectively wrong.

[Feberin]

I think comparing formula feeding to a baby screaming for hours isn't really a fair comparison. I do agree that in my opinion breastfeeding is somewhat healthier BUT I don't think it's a huge difference and I don't think formula in any way damages a baby like I feel about letting a baby scream for hours. I do think breastfeeding should be promoted especially among low income families since it is cheaper especially in cases when the mother is at home with the baby. However none of that really matters with WIC being shut down. WIC benefits mostly children eating solid foods and NURSING MOTHERS! And re-lactating because of the government shutdown isn't really any options so you're talking about a tiny percentage of WIC recipients who have just had a new baby and are actually making the choice right now to breast or formula feed.

[August]

A quick google of the percentage of woman who are genuinely physically unable to breastfeed shows a 1% to 3% max. So whilst the op may not have a popular view of the situation don't slam her for accuracy. Many choose or are forced into other options as evidenced by 2xx's example. Cultural/economical/medical/personal choice.

That being said it is shameful any society does not positively support breastfeeding in every way possible and whilst I went back to work for just a short period the law dictated I could pump whenever I saw fit. That is fine. The option back then was 6 months max maternity leave whereas now it is 12. (paid.) This should be for parents wether they breast bottle or spoon feed. For me the issue is as long as the baby and Mum are happy healthy and thriving nobody gets to point fingers.

Where I live it is quite funny they just assume you will breastfeed and when you choose not to they just pop off and get you free formula on the ward. Sure some midwifes are probably personally judgy but it is their duty of care to ensure both Mum and baby are healthy.

Look, Takei, 100% unable and crying and bleeding and suffering to provide 10% of your baby's total nutrition may technically be two different things, but functionally they're not. We all know selfish bints who just couldn't be bothered, but there are huge huge numbers of women for whom breastfeeding was close to torture, or just really unpleasant (ever heard of D-MER? I'm guessing not), and they made a decision to be better mothers by not nursing.

[OkToBeTakei]

Look, Takei, 100% unable and crying and bleeding and suffering to provide 10% of your baby's total nutrition may technically be two different things, but functionally they're not. We all know selfish bints who just couldn't be bothered, but there are huge huge numbers of women for whom breastfeeding was close to torture, or just really unpleasant (ever heard of D-MER? I'm guessing not), and they made a decision to be better mothers by not nursing.

Fuck sake calm down.

The OP merely pointed out that (naively possibly ) the percentage of women physically unable to do so worldwide was small. As I SAID there are many reasons both physical/medical/economic/ why breastfeeding may not happen. She then apologised for offending anybody by posting an accurate statistic before being 'educated' so nicely.

Fact is there is a small percent of women who are physically unable to breastfeed. There is a small percentage of babies who will not be able to breastfeed.

In 2013 the UK breastfeeding rate dropped to it's lowest rate in a decade. Was this because more women who could not feed birthed that year? Was it because more babies with complex health issues were born that year? No. It was because for the first time in a decade the NHS pulled funding from the support services. Sure Start and de-funded National Breastfeeding Week. The lack of first point support, education and ongoing support adversely affected the uptake at birth of breastfeeding.

The statistic for 2010 breastfeeding at birth in the UK was 83%.

In Australia for the same year it was 96%.

77% in the US.

28% in China.

Although that does not reflect those who encounter issues as mentioned above (the rates at 6months vary) Australia and Norway having the highest exclusive breastfeeding statistics.

Statistics need to be looked at wholly not just on a 'my experience was' basis but also take into account global trends, why some countries have better uptake and continuity and as the OP pointed out to such derision a huge fact remains that many are not supported in breastfeeding educationally and or culturally. Hence the disparities.

Again though, my personal view is a well nourished thriving happy baby and Mother trumps any debate.

I don't see why though somebody who chooses to formula feed is a 'selfish bint.' That is a really lovely turn of phrase, not. It is that type of comment which finger points and really does nothing to support anybody.

[Aurora rising]

I was born in the 70ies (Europa) and neither my Mum nor her friends breast-fed, it was totally "out" because formula was "the" thing. My mum was very relieved because this meant for her that she could start smoking immediately after having me. Was it selfish? Yeah, maybe. Did it hurt me in any way? Not that I´m aware of. I´m healthy and I´m taller than her - no harm done.

Honestly: If I ever happened to get pregnant I will breastfeed if we both (baby and me) are able to. But what other mothers are doing with their boobs is - as always - none of my business.

[2xx1xy1JD]

Where did the 1-3% figure come from?

In this study, women who had been selected because they were highly motivated to exclusively breastfeed had suboptimal infant breastfeeding behavior in 14% of cases on Day 7 after birth, and 12% of the babies had excess weight loss.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1294 ... stractPlus

This study, again involving women highly motivated to breastfeed exclusively, found that 15% had persistent milk insufficiency despite intense intervention.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2288 ... d_RVDocSum

Now, let's talk about other legitimate, real-world factors.

Not all babies can live with their mothers. Some mothers die, some are in jail, some babies are in the foster care system, some are placed for adoption or cared for by relatives.

Some mothers are struggling with addiction.

Some mothers are HIV positive in places where safe formula exists as an alternative (breastfeeding is still encouraged for HIV+ moms in 3rd world countries where unsafe water or insufficient formula would be likely to be more deadly than the HIV risk).

Some babies have cleft palate.

Some babies are premature, or otherwise have issues which land them in the NICU.

Some babies have serious allergies and react to their mothers' milk, or things in the mother's diet.

Some mothers have serious health issues of their own.

Some mothers require medication which is not safe for breastfeeding.

Some mothers have other children, and cannot simply put their entire lives on hold while spending endless hours pumping, using a supplemental nursing system and having constant appointments with lactation consultants. Some of these mothers may also require something called sleep.

Some babies have tongue-tie or other problems with poor latch.

Some mothers have bleeding nipples or other conditions that produce insane levels of pain. [Let's just say that my c-section was a walk in the park, but breastfeeding pain had me screaming. It got better with help, but didn't disappear entirely for several weeks.]

...In short, problems with breastfeeding really aren't "very rare" at all. They exist. Misguided breastfeeding advocacy that serves to doubt women when they say that they NEEDED to use formula will backfire, because nobody wants to be cross-examined and feel that they are being accused of depriving their child.

Yes, support is essential to getting breastfeeding numbers up, and factors leading to breastfeeding success do need to be discussed at a health policy level. At the level of breastfeeding advocacy to women and individual counseling, however, being dismissive of the idea of problems existing is a problem.

[August]

Where did the 1-3% figure come from?

In this study, women who had been selected because they were highly motivated to exclusively breastfeed had suboptimal infant breastfeeding behavior in 14% of cases on Day 7 after birth, and 12% of the babies had excess weight loss.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1294 ... stractPlus

This study, again involving women highly motivated to breastfeed exclusively, found that 15% had persistent milk insufficiency despite intense intervention.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2288 ... d_RVDocSum

Now, let's talk about other legitimate, real-world factors.

Not all babies can live with their mothers. Some mothers die, some are in jail, some babies are in the foster care system, some are placed for adoption or cared for by relatives.

Some mothers are struggling with addiction.

Some mothers are HIV positive in places where safe formula exists as an alternative (breastfeeding is still encouraged for HIV+ moms in 3rd world countries where unsafe water or insufficient formula would be likely to be more deadly than the HIV risk).

Some babies have cleft palate.

Some babies are premature, or otherwise have issues which land them in the NICU.

Some babies have serious allergies and react to their mothers' milk, or things in the mother's diet.

Some mothers have serious health issues of their own.

Some mothers require medication which is not safe for breastfeeding.

Some mothers have other children, and cannot simply put their entire lives on hold while spending endless hours pumping, using a supplemental nursing system and having constant appointments with lactation consultants. Some of these mothers may also require something called sleep.

Some babies have tongue-tie or other problems with poor latch.

Some mothers have bleeding nipples or other conditions that produce insane levels of pain. [Let's just say that my c-section was a walk in the park, but breastfeeding pain had me screaming. It got better with help, but didn't disappear entirely for several weeks.]

...In short, problems with breastfeeding really aren't "very rare" at all. They exist. Misguided breastfeeding advocacy that serves to doubt women when they say that they NEEDED to use formula will backfire, because nobody wants to be cross-examined and feel that they are being accused of depriving their child.

Yes, support is essential to getting breastfeeding numbers up, and factors leading to breastfeeding success do need to be discussed at a health policy level. At the level of breastfeeding advocacy to women and individual counseling, however, being dismissive of the idea of problems existing is a problem.

1-3% is the utterly unable to give the child even a drop of milk (no breasts, medication, galactosemia, etc). Takei and Diana think that anyone else could be guilted into 'trying harder'. Whereas the sane majority know that there's a continuum of ease of breastfeeding and there is a huge gray area in the middle independent of support and information where each mother is going to make a decision about how much pain+ time+tears are worth however much breastmilk her child is getting.

[2xx1xy1JD]

As for why anyone would get upset about this discussion:

Breastfeeding advocates, somewhat understandably, know that many women may believe that they can't/shouldn't breastfeed based on really bad advice. This was especially a problem when breastfeeding first started to regain popularity after a couple of generations of formula feeding. If I never had anyone but my MIL give me advice, for example, I could have thought that there was a problem because my MIL thought that babies should be fed exactly 4 oz, exactly every 4 hours, and had no idea how nursing on demand worked. The reaction, though, is sometimes to question every mother to see if she REALLY needs formula.

Some of the advocacy has been harsh and judgmental. I love Toronto Public Health, but cringed a bit when I saw their "every baby deserves to be a breastfed baby" posters. I also have a love/hate relationship with Dr. Jack Newman - I love the fact that he was a pioneer in the field of helping women to breastfeed and was truly dedicated to the cause, but hate the fact that he can sometimes act like a prick.

I'm all in favor of information and support, and think there should be more of it. That's not the problem. The problem is in telling women that we don't really trust them when they say that they need to use formula in their specific circumstances.

There's also a problem with pretending that genuine problems are incredibly rare, since nature works so wonderfully well. Sure, doing things the natural way is often a good starting point. At some points, though, you find some folks who are rather fundie in their "natural is better" beliefs. When you have a body that didn't get the memo that nature created it to be perfect, it can really cause someone to hate their body and feel irrational guilt. [i'm not only talking about breastfeeding here - I had a hate list that includes folks like Laura Stanley and Dr. Christiane Northrup, who basically suggest that your body knows how to gestate and birth perfectly, and that difficulties are caused by your own fears or psychological issues. A big chunk of the deep depression that I had after my first missed miscarriage was related to irrational guilt and hatred of my own body, and part of my recovery was saying "fuck that shit - I don't have total control over medical stuff, bad stuff happens more often than people realize for reasons that have nothing to do anything I did or didn't do."]

Mothers are particularly vulnerable to guilt trips from society. When you fall into that gray zone between completely incapable of producing one drop of milk, and breastfeeding with ease, you face a shitload of guilt and pressure. Sure, you'd love to breastfeed - but it will require your body to do better, or require a ton of work via pumping and supplemental systems, or mean that your child is nursing 24/7 and acting hungry until your supply hopefully increases, or mean that you put up with insane pain, or mean that you can't meet the other obligations in your life.

[Coconut Flan]

...In short, problems with breastfeeding really aren't "very rare" at all. They exist. Misguided breastfeeding advocacy that serves to doubt women when they say that they NEEDED to use formula will backfire, because nobody wants to be cross-examined and feel that they are being accused of depriving their child.

Thank you! I knew that 1 to 3% was way off.

[Verin Sedai]

1-3% is the utterly unable to give the child even a drop of milk (no breasts, medication, galactosemia, etc). Takei and Diana think that anyone else could be guilted into 'trying harder'. Whereas the sane majority know that there's a continuum of ease of breastfeeding and there is a huge gray area in the middle independent of support and information where each mother is going to make a decision about how much pain+ time+tears are worth however much breastmilk her child is getting.

For pete's sake, no one said that women should be guilted into trying harder. I think Diana has some language or cultural barriers impeding this discussion (as well as some naivete) and Takei was saying that statistically, breastfeeding rates suffering have less to do with 100% inability of the mother-baby dyad to breastfeed, but with adequate social and medical support of mothers who wish to breastfeed.

There are in fact two ways of looking at the breastfeeding discussion. From the side of the expectant mom/hopeful breastfeeder, we can encourage and give statistics that her chances of being physically unable to feed at all will be low, and offer support in the trenches to make decisions on how to continue a troubled breastfeeding relationship if she wishes it.

Those statistics and means of support should NOT be an offense to the mothers on the other side, who made their decision to discontinue breastfeeding and stand by it. I KNOW there is a lot of judgment towards formula feeding mothers, but this is not what's going on here. What happens with moms who discontinue breastfeeding is between them, their baby, and possibly their doctor or co-parent, in my book. But systemically, we need to be using all the tools we have to help expectant or troubled breastfeeders make the best, most well-informed decisions they can without moms who have stopped feeling that every statistic about the rarity of physical inability or whatnot to be meant personally against them.