A good friend of mine was lying in her hospital bed with her day-old son with every intention of breastfeeding him.  He couldn't figure out how to latch on, so she asked the nurse to brind her a bottle of formula.  When the lactation "expert" walked in (I was there), she told my friend that she should let her newborn baby boy go hungry rather than give him a bottle.  That ended my friend's association with the lactation expert!  My friend tried repeatedly to breastfeed, but the baby wouldn't latch on properly, her breasts were cracking, and no one was well-fed or happy.  So she turned to formula.  My sister couldn't produce enough milk to feed her son, nor could he properly latch on.  She turned to formula.  I was raised on formula.  Now, years later, I am a fully functioning person with a resonable amount of intelligence and common sense.  My nephew and my friend's son are both bright, affectionate boys with no ill effects from not being breastfed.  My niece, on the other hand, was breastfed and to this day, she is a clingy, whiny mommy's girl.  I don't know if that has anything to do with the breastfeeding or if it is just her personality.  But I don't think that it is right to condemn any woman for choosing formula, regardless of her reason.  To each her own. 

ksandru I want you to know that I didn't mean this as an attack on woman who can't or don't breast feed. I had a premature baby 5 years ago and had to pump, use a shell to be able to nurse, and use forumla. I did this for 7 months, then my son got teeth, started to bite and I was done breast feeding and went to just formula. I now have an 8 month old girl who is still breastfeeding, it also took a lot of work to get to this point, she had a toung thrust reflex but I held on and after 2 months of hard work from both of us and a good lactation conslutant she got the hang of it and is a happy chubby baby now! My point in posting this blog is that dr. lisa is in the public eye, people see her on tv every week day and trust what she has to say. Someone in her position should NOT be making commetns like that. Most women can breast feed their babies and im sorry you couldn't but those that can should be encouraged to do so and they should get the help they need to make it work for them.

ksandru I want you to know that I didn't mean this as an attack on woman who can't or don't breast feed. I had a premature baby 5 years ago and had to pump, use a shell to be able to nurse, and use forumla. I did this for 7 months, then my son got teeth, started to bite and I was done breast feeding and went to just formula. I now have an 8 month old girl who is still breastfeeding, it also took a lot of work to get to this point, she had a toung thrust reflex but I held on and after 2 months of hard work from both of us and a good lactation conslutant she got the hang of it and is a happy chubby baby now! My point in posting this blog is that dr. lisa is in the public eye, people see her on tv every week day and trust what she has to say. Someone in her position should NOT be making commetns like that. Most women can breast feed their babies and im sorry you couldn't but those that can should be encouraged to do so and they should get the help they need to make it work for them.

I agree that Dr. Lisa shouldn't had made this statement as well. This could persuade Women to not even try to breast-feed which is what we're trying to move away from. Ksandru, this blog was not an attack against women who couldn't breast-feed after trying or even women who simply stopped breast-feeding by choice.  This is about an "educated" person with alot of influence who voiced her "very wrong opinion" on a public platform. I love Dr. Lisa, but this is shameful that an M.D. stated this because others could follow suit and cause a great set-back.

KSandru....It is heartbreaking for me to work with a mom who is unable to make enough milk for her baby because she knows breastmilk is best for her baby and she wants so badly to provide this for her child. There are many reasons why women don't produce enough milk in the united states and a lot has to do with our obesity rates, birthing practices , hospital practices and returning to work and not having support in the workplace. There are many countries in the world where 99% of their women  breastfeed because they have good birth practices, good breastfeeding hospital practices, good family leave practices....if you are one of the 1% of women who have done all the right things and don't make milk, then absolutely you should not feel guilty about needing to use formula and i am so thankful that formula is better than it was years ago. But donor milk should be more available for moms who medically are unable to provide breastmilk for their children because human milk is best for humans....It is  not that you chose not to breastfeed..you were unable to breastfeed and the reason you feel defensive is because part of you feels sad about this....that is normal and you need to know that  did everything you could and it is not something you had control over. but you can't attack people that support breastfeeding because you couldn't ...we are on the same team and want what is best for our babies....if anything, you should want better breastfeeding education and support so that other women don't have to struggle like you did...we all are struggling to be the best moms we can be and we need to come together as women...     

Sorry, but I don't totally agree with you because alot of women (such as myself) could not produce enough milk for their babies to feed them properly. I had the same problem with both my boys, and my former co-worker's daughter had to supplement her milk with formula because she couldn't produce enough milk (she eventually went 100% formula) and the baby wasn't gaining enough weight. The problem is that lactation groups & experts tend to make women feel that they are not doing the best they can for their child, and are less than good mothers if they use formula. That has to STOP!  We are doing the best we can for our babies & how dare anyone say anything different!  Also, lactation specialists & doctors need to respect our choice if we choose not to breastfeed. The lactation specialist at the hospital tried very hard to get my son to feed. He couldn't latch on & eventually was frustrated & I was in pain (recovering from C-Section).  We as mothers should be more respectful towards those who make choices for their children because you never know what a person's circumstance is until you've been in their situation.  The formula has been very good for my boys, and they are healthy,

As a lactation consultant, i was shocked that they allowed the airing of that segment. Lisa should be encouraging all mothers to breastfeed their babies ....formula should only be used for the 1% of women who do not produce breastmilk and those women's insurance should pay for donor milk....many countries have 99% breastfeeding rates and you would never hear an OB saying formula was just as good as breastmilk...shame on you dr. lisa for letting our mothers think that. I am suprised that dr. sears did not correct her more thoroughly  ...his parents are some of the most positive breastfeeding role models....look at ACOG, AAP,baby friendly, healthy people 2010 guidelines lisa.... you need to not give your personal opinions as an MD....research based..... we need to do better!!!