Breast or bottle - how did you decide?
Guilt, disappointment, anger and frustration - passions were aroused in the iVillage debate on feeding your baby
'I desperately wanted to breast feed my first baby, but only managed it for three months because I was given bad advice. In tears, I put her on formula and hated not being able to feed her myself. When I was expecting my second baby, I was determined to breastfeed and, I'm happy to say, I did it for 14 months. Now I'm feeding my third who's three months old. I never have to worry about bottles, sterilising or running out of milk. I don't have to go downstairs in the middle of the night and, best of it all, it's free, healthy and meets all my baby's needs.'
'Being vegan made me more determined to feed my own baby with my own milk. My toddler is still breastfeeding at 13 months, and shows no signs of wanting to give up - she absolutely loves feeding from her mummy and, at times, even prefers breast milk to her meals. Breastfeeding is a very personal choice, but I would urge all mothers to give it a go, and to persevere if they can, because it is a beautiful experience. Breast really is best - cow's milk is designed for calves.'
I chose to bottle feed my son
'It really, really made me mad that I was constantly under pressure to change my mind and breastfeed him. People implied that I wasn't a good mother because I'd taken this option. This particularly annoyed me because, when I found out I was pregnant, my partner wanted me to have a termination and when I refused, he left me. I had enough guilty feelings and plenty of extra pressures, without any extra burden from every Tom, Dick and midwife who crossed my path. I am an intelligent woman with a good career and I resented being treated like a child who didn't know her own mind. If a mother knows all the facts and then makes her choice, she should never be made to feel guilty about it.'
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