I'm curious to know if there is any anecdotal evidence that the pressure to breastfeed in some communities can actually lessen the satisfaction a mother gets from sharing this event with her child. I've noticed that in affluent, educated circles, there are a lot of community enforced norms of the "proper" way to rear a child. Women or couples who stray from these norms (everything from breastfeed - which I favor by the way - to when to apply to preschool or whether to feed your kids organic food or whether the baby sleeps with you or when you go back to work or whether you hire a nanny, etc. etc. ad nauseum ad infinitum) can basically be shunned by their peers. I've known women who attempted to breastfeed but were stymied by a range of difficulties (some were related to breastfeeding, like sore nipples or difficulty latching on, but some were related to marital issues or post-partum depression that made it hard to focus on an activity that can be more difficult than some make it out to be), but were embarrassed to admit that they gave up or even that they were having problems.

I raise this because I think there is a big difference between my mother's experience, who headed her local La Leche league and helped pioneer efforts in the 1970s to make breastfeeding common practice, and my own. Even as I support breastfeeding and recognize its advantages, I resent the fact that so many strangers and acquaintances think they should have some say in this choice. I wonder if this resentment carries over to the act itself, like the difference between giving to charity or paying taxes that are used for welfare programs. Or the difference between volunteering and doing court mandated community service?