It is probably an even better sales pitch because it now carries very clear hospital endorsement. If there were an important difference, surely the health profession would make a point of saying so, rather than making a point of staying out of the decision-making process. It is the parents' choice to make. If she says she is going to bottlefeed, I nod and say OK, and I move on to my next questions. Yet, if a woman announced to her doctor, midway through a routine physical examination, that she took up smoking a few days earlier, the physician would make sure she understood the hazards, reasoning that now was the easiest time for her to change her mind.
Life choices are always the individual's to make.
That does not mean his or her information sources should be mute, nor that the parents who opt for bottlefeeding should be denied information that might prompt a different decision with a subsequent child. Nursing quiets her young and no doubt feels good. All of us within the profession want breastfeeding to be our biological reference point. A vital first step toward achieving those goals is within immediate reach of every one of us.