spiked-central | Letter | Bottle-feeding

What's missing from Ellie Lee and Frank Furedi's research is investigation into the larger social picture in which motherhood itself is devalued (Is bottle-feeding a mark of bad motherhood?, 22 July).

Women use formula largely because of the lack of financial and social support for their role as mothers. They need to go back to work early due to lack of maternity pay, and family networks have been broken down so that there's no wise elder for mothers to turn to for physical, emotional and practical support. Rather than motherhood being seen as a powerful and well-respected position in society, most mothers feel isolated and demoralised. Negative feelings related to breastfeeding stem from a disconnection from our natural biology, as well as from years of indoctrination from formula companies and the medical establishment.

Infant health is only one benefit of breastfeeding. Perhaps an even larger benefit is the attachment and bonding that takes place through breastfeeding, as well as health benefits for mothers. In my personal experience with other mothers, those who breastfeed successfully with the help of midwives, lactation consultants, etc experience less postpartum depression.

Maya Charlton, UK

I'm so saddened that an infant food organisation would put its money into a study such as this (Is bottle-feeding a mark of bad motherhood?, 22 July).

Wouldn't it be unethical for healthcare providers to embrace formula? The American Academy of Paediatrics already accepts millions from formula companies. Formula - lack of breastfeeding - kills babies, causes chronic diseases, and begins a cycle of chronic health problems. Formula is always an inferior product, and it should be marketed that way. I'm all for labelling it, and requiring a prescription for it. Ellie Lee's reckless article really diminishes maternal and child health. Congratulations for working towards that diminution. See The deadly influence of formula in America.

Pam Jackson, USA

Ellie Lee's article is fascinating, but its bias is obvious (Is bottle-feeding a mark of bad motherhood?, 22 July).

Here is the final paragraph of the article, with a few words substituted. 'The main recommendation that can be made on the basis of our research is that use of tobacco needs to be depoliticised and treated objectively as a routine aspect of lung care, rather than as a moral issue. Politics need to be taken out of communication with women regarding the health benefits of not smoking. While women need to know the health benefits of not smoking, informing them about this breathing issue needs to be detached from negativity about tobacco use.' This makes the influence of the funders pretty obvious, doesn't it?

Melissa Vickers, certified lactation consultant, USA

Ellie Lee's article is fantastic (Is bottle-feeding a mark of bad motherhood?, 22 July).

There's such a stigma on bottle-feeding mothers, and something needs to be done to turn the tide. I'd like to find out what percentage of postpartum depression is linked to failure to breastfeed. I know that I'm one of those who fell into a deep depression, as a result of my failure to breastfeed. I felt so much pressure, and put so much on myself, that when I had problem after problem, all I could do was sob every time I attempted to nurse my child. I went to four different lactation consultants, I was pumping, I was using nipple shields and syringes to avoid 'nipple confusion', and I was sobbing constantly. It finally took one lactation consultant to say 'feeding your baby should be a positive experience for both of you'. Bless her heart.

It makes me so irate to hear people talk about the bonding you get during nursing. Do you know how many mothers will be on the computer, or talking on the phone, or reading books, while nursing? Where's the bonding? When I was giving my baby a bottle, I held her close and I didn't multitask. I was bonding too. And all that stuff about higher IQs etc - when you look at a bunch of kids playing in the playground, or doing an art project at school, you can't tell which ones had formula milk and which ones didn't. It's ridiculous. And the health benefits? My formula fed babies were healthier than most of the breastfed babies in our social and family circle. Thank you for the article. I hope people can continue making headway with this, because it's important.

Jill Hussong, USA

I found Ellie Lee's article very interesting (Is bottle-feeding a mark of bad motherhood?, 22 July).

I have a one-year-old son. I breastfed him for three weeks, and then I changed to formula because I was exhausted with feeding him myself. He was getting fed every three hours, night and day. I wanted to change from breast to bottle when I was in hospital, because my son wouldn't take to the breast for three days. But the midwives made me feel guilty about it, so I stuck with breastfeeding for three weeks. I felt guilty and anxious about changing to formula. I feel better after reading Lee's article, as I now know that many other mothers have felt the exact same way as myself.

Paula Jane Miller, USA

Everything I have to say is predicated upon the fact that breastfeeding is better for a baby's health than bottle feeding (Is bottle-feeding a mark of bad motherhood?, 22 July).

My wife gave birth one year ago, and as far as we're aware, it's an established fact that antibodies are transmitted to the child when breastfeeding that aren't transmitted during bottlefeeding. My wife had an absolutely dreadful time adapting to breastfeeding. She spent the first month of her postnatal period in tears and pain, and our baby took weeks to learn how to latch on properly. One by one, people at her clinic gave up, until she was the only one who was still breastfeeding, up to around six months when we began to switch to formula.

A key difference between my wife and many others is that she wasn't brought up in a me-first culture. Our baby's health was more important than her comfort, so she bit her lip - literally - and saw it through. Everything I've read and heard on this subject encourages me to believe that mothers who 'can't' cope with breastfeeding are simply putting themselves before the child, like those who drink and smoke during pregnancy. This is unthinkable in my wife's native country, but is commonplace in the UK.

Richard Alan Hamilton, UK

Thank you to Ellie Lee for researching this article, and to spiked for publishing it (Is bottle-feeding a mark of bad motherhood?, 22 July).

I bottle-feed my three-month-old son, and have suffered from the moral indignation of the pro-breastfeeding lobby for most of that time. I daren't go to mother and baby groups, and I bitterly resent the way I often feel attacked and criticised, for making a choice in the best interests of my whole family. I only wish that there were more articles like this out there. Every parenting book or leaflet handed to me has extolled the virtues of breastfeeding, and not one has addressed the issue of what you do if breast isn't best.

In my case it wasn't. I hated it, and I became increasingly upset and resentful of my baby, to the point that I couldn't stand having him near me. It was incredibly painful, and it didn't get better after five days of trying. He lost a lot of weight, and we were very worried about his health and mine. Since bottle-feeding, we've had a happy, healthy little baby, who sleeps and eats well. And we've had a happier, healthier mum!

Ria Broome, UK

The idea that healthcare professionals pressure mothers to breastfeed is laughable (Is bottle-feeding a mark of bad motherhood?, 22 July).

It's a proven fact that the medical industry and formula industry are cosy bedfellows, and it's standard of care for mothers - even those exclusively breastfeding - to be given formula upon leaving the hospital. Paediatricians and obstetricians are extremely undereducated about the mechanics and biology of breastfeeding, and often give erroneous advice. I was actually told by a nurse that exclusively breastfeeding was causing constipation in my child, which is ridiculous, and has no basis in any research. My own gynaecologist looked at me like I had two heads, when I told him I was still breastfeeding my 12 month old, despite the fact that the American Academy of Paediatrics recommends breastfeeding for at least one year, and the World Health Organisation recommends at least two.

But what I find most ridiculous is Ellie Lee's suggestion that healthcare professionals should share the health benefits of breastfeeding with mothers, without negative implications about formula. The only way to accomplish that is to lie, either outright or by omission. The time-proven truth is that breast is best, which by definition means that any other method is not best. In other words, any other method is inferior. In order to skirt that fact, the truth would have to be spun, and that would indeed be politicisation.

Amanda Lyle, Turkey