I've found that it is dangerous to worry about causing guilt in formula-feeding mothers.
I currently live in a country where breatfeeding (after having a dip in the early seventies, when very few breastfed), increased in the eighties and was the norm in the nineties. In the last 10 years breast-feeding bashing has become the norm in media, anyone promoting breastfeeding, or plain is breastfeeding or just not formula-feeding is accused of being a breastfeeding fanatic, and causing guilt in the formula-feeding mums.
The result is, breastfeeding rates are on the decrease, sharply. BUT, mums-to-be still want to breastfeed! When question, almost all pregnant women indicate they would very much LIKE to breastfeed. Most of them will fail. The reason? They feel there is a lot of pressure to breastfeed, but get no assistance whatsoever. Lactation consultants are almost unheard of, the medical establishment assumes it comes by itself. And mothers fail, and give up. The anger they should be directing at the lack of assistance is the directed at anyone suggesting breast-feeding is good thing., and media loves the angry, disappointed parents, who scream: "I failed because you told me to breastfeed! My baby's fine on formula, look, formula must be better!".
And in the very act of breastfeeding my daughter, I risk guilt-tripping a formula-feeding mother. As a result, breastfeeding mothers feel guilty, stay at home more, start using formula when out...
And breastfeeding advocates are publicly accused of being fanatics, it is not ever ok to say that there is anything better about breastmilk than formula (although a major newspaper recently had an article titled "Bottle just as good as breast"). The new idea here is that "Breastfeeding fanatics are telling us that breastfeeding prevents allergies, and this is proven wrong, that means all breastfeeding advocates are lying, and formula actually prevents allergies, so formula-feeding is better". (While the breastfeeding advocates are shaking there heads in amazement, as they are more aware than anyone, and have been for a while, that the allergy-argument, well it is too complicated to use as argument for either side).
I get so frustrated. The biggest problem isn't the plummeting breast-feeding rates, it is the growing number of women who feel like failures because their breast-feeding experience didn't work out. But when breastfeeding rates decrease, there are fewer women to look to for help, there are fewer women breastfeeding in public (for example at play group, story time, mum's groups), so mums lack role models. Swedish women hate doing something different, they want to do what everyone else is doing. More women will fail, and more women will decide to formula-feed when out.
CIO has had a rennaisance here, unfortunately, which doesn't help either. In Scandinavia co-sleeping is very common, and most health professionals promote it (because research proves it is very safe). Sleep-training is a bit of a "new", cool thing, the whole idea making babies sleep 12 hours at a stretch in their own room. Nope, that doesn't promote breast-feeding, or attatchment at all.
I fear, if nothing radically happens to change the course, that in another 10 years time, breastfeeding will be a really weird thing here, like not vaccinating (practically unheard of, and considered abusive by even the most openminded baby-wearers, organic everything, cloth-diapers etc). I find it sad, and frustrating. But a climate were it is almost impossible to do anything to change it.
