The idea of breastfeeding made me very uncomfortable. Before I had children I was a nanny. On many occasions I have had to feed expressed breast milk to babies I have looked after and I've always found the whole thing a bit icky. I'm also quite modest, and would have found it very difficult to breastfeed in public.

I was wary of Plunket and midwife opinions so when my first son was born I simply stated that I couldn't breastfeed due to a previous operation on my breasts. I was never put under any pressure to breastfeed from Plunket or the hospital midwives, probably because I had an 'excuse', but I have certainly felt very out of place on many occasions. When my partner and I asked questions about bottle feeding in our antenatal class we were told they weren't allowed to talk about it.

In the hospital I was very aware of all the 'breastfeeding art' on the walls as well as the endless 'breast is best' posters and signs and probably the most disturbing thing was a notice in the bottle preparation area which listed 'Acceptable Excuses for Supplementation'. I was a bit horrified and possibly a bit smug when I looked down at my peaceful baby all full up on the formula while most of the other babies in the ward seemed to scream their heads off night and day.

Bottle feeding has been absolutely wonderful for our family. My partner and I have split the care of our babies 50/50 from the day they were born. I believe my two sons are incredibly lucky to have had this. And when I see the state of new mothers around me I know that I am indeed very lucky also. Both our boys have thrived from day one and were sleeping through the night by 6 weeks.

I have become increasingly annoyed at the propaganda surrounding breastfeeding. I understand why breastfeeding should be encouraged in the third world but nearly all the claimed benefits of breastfeeding do not hold up to inspection. I get very angry when I read information put out to the public claiming that bottle fed babies are more likely to be beaten, to die of cot death, to be overweight and most offensive of all is the statement that breastfed babies have higher intelligence. Not only are these statements scientifically incorrect they are incredibly damaging to those women who, by choice or necessity, are bottle feeding their children. In these modern times we rely on many modern conveniences to improve our lives. If a woman wishes to bottle feed her baby it should be hailed as a legitimate choice.  I have been told by both an obstetrician and a pediatrician that formula is nutritionally equal to breast milk.

Bottle fed babies are as loved and cherished as breastfed babies. The only difference is that the bottle feeding mother will probably look less tired than the breastfeeding mother!