Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. was a physician who became a well-regarded American poet in the 19th century. I can tell he was a smart man just by this quote from one of his books:
We are willing to give Liebig’s artificial milk when we cannot do better, but we watch the child anxiously whose wet-nurse is a chemist’s pipkin. A pair of substantial mammary glands has the advantage over the two hemispheres of the most learned Professor’s brain, in the art of compounding a nutritious fluid for infants.

– Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809-1894), p. 276 of Medical Essays
A “pipkin” is a …read more

This rather shocking quote affirms everything I have always felt about breastfeeding. You can’t replace breastfeeding with formula, or even breast milk with formula; they simply aren’t equivalent. That doesn’t make formula “bad” nor should it make formula-feeding mothers feel guilty. It acknowledges that breastfeeding is part of an intimate relationship between mother and child.
To reduce breastfeeding to milk is like reducing sex to semen.
– Rachel Myr, Lactnet list facilitator, named “Midwife of the Year 2008″ in Norway, as quoted in Lactnet

The Pregnancy Journal: A Day-to-Day Guide to a Healthy and Happy Pregnancy is the journal I have used to document each of my three pregnancies. I love the daily bits of information it shares and how easy it is to write short journal entries as my pregnancy progresses. Many of the daily tips pertain to breastfeeding. Here is one fun fact:
The calcium-to-phosphorus ratio of breast milk is ideal for moving calcium into the baby’s skeleton and promoting growth. In addition, breast milk is low in sodium, and iron and zinc from breast milk is absorbed better than from cow’s milk.
- …read more

Breastmilk: 100% nutrition in a handy little package.
– as seen on a CafePress.com bumper sticker for sale (no affiliation to Breastfeeding 1-2-3)

Breastmilk: It’s not a choice. It’s a birthright!
– as seen on a CafePress.com button for sale (no affiliation to Breastfeeding 1-2-3)

While breastfeeding may not seem the right choice for every parent, it is the best choice for every baby.
– Amy Spangler, author of Breastfeeding: A Parent’s Guide

“…the idea of bottle feeding just to ‘involve the father’ is one more instance of preserving the status quo at a price to the baby.”
—Marni Jackson, The Mother Zone. p. 78.