Editorial: Careful with breast message

It might be time for breastfeeding advocates at the Department of Health and La Leche to bring in Saatchi and Saatchi to filter the message "Breast is best". So far these agencies' own attempts are turning people off. As for the women who posted breastfeeding poses on Facebook - the end result is the opposite of what they are trying to achieve. Instead of mothers being attracted to breast feeding as a natural activity, it is being conveyed - by its own supporters - as some marginalised mantra of the bushy.

Seeing photos of strangers on Facebook breast feeding - some of them arguably explicit - is not going to turn women on to breast feeding.

Breast milk is the gold standard for feeding new-born babies. Midwives and agencies like Plunket rightly encourage mothers to breastfeed. If you can breast feed your child well, it is hard to argue that breast is not best. It is custom-made for baby, cheap and versatile.

But the breastfeeding brigade has gone so over the top in promoting the message, it can be accused of not treating women fairly and giving mothers an informed choice. There are circumstances in which women are not able to breast feed. Yet in our public health environment these women are often ostracised and made to feel guilty. For vulnerable new mums this can lead to exhaustion or depression trying to persist breastfeeding a hungry baby. Sometimes despite all best efforts, being a cow doesn't happen naturally. If you can't breastfeed, your baby is still going to be alright. Formula, though not a perfect match is a nutritious alternative and ever more sophisticated. Recent analysis of 50 studies found little difference in breast fed and formula fed babies.

Before the breastfeeding brigade attack me with their pumps, let's be clear. If a woman wants to breastfeed, she should be given all support she needs. If a woman wants to breastfeed in public, fine.

This support doesn't require an extreme approach like the Facebook photos or 50 breastfeeding women in a mall. Nor do we need an advocacy group so strident that it alienates women who for whatever reason choose to bottle feed their babies. The bullying approach to removing the image of Piri Weepu bottle feeding from an unrelated advert is reflective of treatment of new mothers in some hospitals.

As a society it is fantastic that we have come a long way from believing breastfeeding should be done behind closed doors. Dads no longer believe they will go blind if they see their wives breastfeeding. But extreme breastfeeding advocates run the risk of being blinded by their own beliefs and not seeing the public backlash.

Health groups should invest in expert advice for a more sophisticated message, than thrusting boobs down our throat.