Do you know what, I am waking up on the 7th day of the six month of breast feeding my son. Yes I am one of those loyal protagonists that fed my son on breast milk alone for half a year only to read in the news that new 'research' could mean its harmful or can lead to allergies or iron deficiencies in young babies in later life.
Do you know what! I have a rather spontaneous and happy V sign to throw up at the 'Dr hillary 's' on day time TV and Guardian reader debates on 'Am I harming my child after all?' how dare you! how could you! tally! with such a sometimes laborious and natural process (not for all granted) as breast feeding! which they reassure us! us women that is, that only ten percent of women ever make it the full nine yards, six months of solo breast milk anyway? (see the Guardian article)
Thanks! yes thanks..thank's a lot mate, after all the tiring nights lack of sleep, staying in doing my duty my duty as a mother following the National Baby Feeding Guidlines thank you so much. I will look forward to letting you know if my son grows up to be a vitamin deficient moron of society, a walking allergies nutcase. 'Oh thats the Paton-cox boy! they will say..'did you know' as he drags his feet up, clambering the steps to my front door, (he is still living at home as he has an unnecessary mother dependency due to all those lone nights by my side..) 'did you know' they will say with a sigh, 'he could have been so different, had a better chance in life, if only he had had a little Cowgate/Aptemil fortified with iron, only £8.99 for a 1000 grames when he was four months instead of six, a little parsnip and mashed sweet potato and maybe pees..?. could have changed everything, made him.. a better citizen maybe a little fatter..but better none the less.
Somewhere enmeshed in the final paragraphs of that guardian article was the possibility that this research was funded by the big baby booming food conglomerates..oh no! Who? W.H.O they said we are qualified they cried, we are your voice! the voice of reason, your guiding light towards the perfect Mother/Consumer.