[Mrs. Don-o]

I believe that the late-19th and early-20th century was also the era that began to frown furiously at the practice of breast-feeding one's own babies. Babies who are nursed at their mother's breast have to be held. And I mean held A LOT! The pseudo-scientiifc consensus was that holding babies is germy, icky, and in some sense embarrassingly animalistic. So, to minimize all that physical contact: voila, the bottle!

Another instance of the turning away from natural women.

What say ye?

[Retired RN]

It does seem that this mentality is starting again. I remember when breast feeding was frowned upon by physicians in the 1960's. Now this is rearing it's ugly head again, but not with physicians, but media. Refer to the article about Barbara Walters being so offended at a women sitting beside her on a plane, breast feeding her infant. Because of this rampage on the show the "View"... New mother and "View" co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck was wildly applauded by Walters' coterie when she announced she was giving up nursing her newborn daughter and switching to bottle-feeding. These are suppose to be liberated women. Too sad to be funny.

[Retired RN]

Just an extra note, physician's in the 60's changed their tune when they discovered the immunity that can be passed from mother to child.