Bottle feeding

This is a new revelation: baby bottle is not supposed to be advertised to the general public. And labeling on the packaging should follow certain rules.
I found this here: http://www.ibfan.org/english/codewatch/btr98/btr98bib.html

It is similar with new-born baby formula. Strict wording and no advertising. The reason is this: natural breast feeding is superior to all kind of substitute. It is backed by UNICEF, at least. But business is business, and no advertising means little business.

I am personnaly irked by the fact that the hospital where my daughters were born (and my soon to be out there baby would be delivered) are bottle-feeding the babies. It is unethical, to say the least. Babies should be given to their mothers within one hour of delivery. One hour - that's the golden window of a baby learning naturally on how to suck her mother's breasts. Close that window, and there bound to be problems regarding breast feeding. Mothers are naturally equiped with breast, ladden with milk, to do just that: breas feed their babies. It's God given, it's natural, and it's how things are supposed to be. Unless for a really small number of unfortunate women with certain defect, or severely malnurished women, every woman can have ample production of breast milk. There's some tricks to keep the production running, though. We'll talk about that later. Back to bottle. And formula.

The hospital even give 'sent away' give that includes sample of formula, the remaining of the formula given to the baby, and two bottles. I wanted to scream at them and throw the things away, trully. Okay, I was having caesarian delivery, which put me in the disadvantage of not being able to use that golden window (1 hour after operation, believe me... your brain is still nowhere inside your head). But that doesn't mean that all opportunity is lost. I read somewhere that baby can be left un-fed for almost 24 hours. Or was it 10 hours? Now.. that's ample time to give that baby to me and for me to stick her to my breast. Just don't give that goddamned formula in the bottle. Her bottle is here on my chest. Her formula is here in my breasts.

And as for the bottle when you are away from your baby (working mother, this is for you....), bottle should not be used. So said the advocate of breast feeding movement. Use spoon to feed the baby, or even cup (make sure you do it slowly and ever carefully as not to flood the baby with milk). Bottle and man-made nipples can make 'nipple confusion' which will make natural breast feeding a problem.

But then again, for us poor working mom with only 3 months of maternity leave, it's seems too much a burden to have our baby's caretaker do that, doesn't it? The amount of patience and time spent to apply those techniques would surely look discouraging compared to feeding with bottle.

Anyway, in short: go breastfeed your babies. It's the best start a baby can have in her life. And you know what? It's actually practical: no hoarding bottles, formula, warmer, sterilizer and so on and so on when you are travelling with your baby. Because all those are contained in those two things attached there by mother nature to your chest: your breast.

Love you all, mothers of babies on earth (and far beyond that, should there be life in other planets).