Formula-Fed America

This is on my must-watch list.

http://www.formulafedamerica.com/

Nursing your baby provides the best food, the best medicine, the best comfort for your baby. It's well-nigh free, doesn't take any preparation, and the hormones released during breastfeeding make moms happier parents (a scientifically-documented phenomenon). Your baby gains weight faster, and you lose that baby weight quickly (As of 9.5 months post partum, I'm 25 pounds below my pre-pregnancy weight, all through eating wholesome foods that sound good in the quantities I want them and breastfeeding on demand). You're at a lower risk for developing breast cancer and osteoporosis. Your baby is at lower risk for obesity, allergies, learning disorders, ear infections and colic, among many other things.

So why don't more women do it? Our parents didn't, our friends don't and we've never seen a woman breastfeed. Our doctors don't understand it, and are subject to the wiles of formula companies. We receive no support, no help and in some cases active hostility. We hear

• "I didn't make enough milk" (correctable with general advice--ask!)
  
• "I have blue milk," (utter fallacy, no such thing)
  
• "The baby doesn't like my milk," (could be allergies and fixable with diet)
  
• "It hurt so much I couldn't keep doing it" (preventable and treatable with good advice, a support system and a few inexpensive tools!).
  
• "My baby wasn't growing fast enough" (the growth charts at pediatricians' offices are often based on formula-fed babies, the growth curve is different for breastfed babies)
• "Formula will make my baby sleep through the night" (false--there is no connection between formula feeding and sleeping through the night, which is a brain development issue. If anything, breastfed babies are more likely to go down easier since they are less likely to have gas, reflux and colic).
  

The rate of breastfeeding success in 3rd-world countries where there is no other option approaches 100%. You can breastfeed your baby.