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New Moms: Don’t feel guilty if you’re not breastfeeding

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

If you’re pregnant or have recently had a baby, you’ve probably heard that breastfeeding is one of the best things you can do for your baby. Other mothers will tell you so. Books extol breastfeeding’s virtues. Even the government gives mothers a nudge in this direction.

But what if your schedule doesn’t make breastfeeding a viable option?

Don’t let anyone make you feel like you’re an inadequate parent if you give your baby a bottle instead. There are no randomized clinical trials that prove the virtues of breast milk over formula feeding. And most working mothers simply don’t have the opportunity to breastfeed in our society, at least not exclusively.

When public lactation stations become the norm, and when most workplaces have specifically designated areas for breastfeeding, then it will make sense for more women to consider the breastfeeding-only option.

Until then, in a society where many women are either single parents or are the primary family breadwinners, exclusive breastfeeding must be seen as an unrealistic – and maybe even a chauvinistic — recommendation.

– Yvonne S. Thornton, MD, MPH