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like "if the nipple or any identifyable portion thereof is shown in any form and any context, then it needs to go .xxx".

Great, your task is to explain that rule to http://www.lalecheleague.org/ .

Says YOU. Tell me, what is it that babies were supposed to drink 6000 years ago? Formula? Diet Coke?

Breast milk, either from their mother or from another woman. A quote from the History of Breastfeeding:

"In the early years of the human species, breastfeeding was as common as it was for other mammals feeding their young. There were no alternative foods for the infants, and the mother, along with other lactating females, would have no choice but to breastfeed the children. This process is still seen in many developing countries and is known as shared breastfeeding."

It's very rare for a baby to be intolerant to the lactose in its mother's milk (see Myth 21 at this page), and as another poster pointed out, babies that couldn't digest human milk didn't live very long.

The leading cause of death for infants less than 100 years ago in developed nations (and STILL the leading killer today in underdeveloped countries) was diarrhea. How do you get diarrhea? Hmm, lactose intolerance causes - guess? Diarrhea. Baby can't drink breast milk, so you give it something else - something more likely to be contaminated with diarrhea causing viruses. Net result? More diarrhea.

Until fairly recently in the history of human beings, if babies didn't get breast milk from their mothers, they were usually nursed by another lactating woman (see wet nurse). Although breast milk substitutes were already available in the mid-1800s (see a history of baby formula here) it was only about in the 1940s, when women were needed in the workforce, that the use of baby formula really became widespread. Incidentally, one major way babies get diarrhea in developing countries today is from drinking formula mixed with contaminated water. Breast milk is definitely a safer alternative.

Humans have recently (in the evolutionary time scale) started doing something that few (if any) other mammals do: drinking the milk of another animal. The fact that adult humans are developing a better tolerance for lactose is quite significant.

A response from someone who knows more than me. [...] Any tips would be apriciated. Greatly.

My wife is heavily involved (and trained) with la lechce league which is a breastfeeding charity, so I've picked up a bit of knowledge along the way...

They are international, so there may be a group near you, and if not they have a lot of info on the web: http://www.lalecheleague.org/

They may be your best chance on getting advice for your wife's particular situation - because they are specialists, concentrating just on breastfeeding (very few health professionals are in that position) they see far wider range of cases. Local leaders can get info from the wider organisation and I expect there will be people there with first hand experience of helping people in your wife's position.

Also, because they are a charity mostly run by volunteers, it shouldn't cost you anything to see what advice you can get from them.

I used to have a friend who did volunteer work for La Leche League:

http://www.lalecheleague.org/

One of the cases they were dealing with was the local Child Protection Services placing a child in a foster home because the mother was breast feeding it and "mouth to nipple contact" is sexual abuse.

We can be far worse than idiots.

KFG

"usually" seems to be wrong: "The scientific community tells us that HIV passes to the infant before or during delivery in 20 percent of infants born to HIV-infected women. "

But the scope of the problem is massive.

... and the shopping mall owners can be sued for it. Your local La Leche League - a breastfeeding information organization - can provide you with information to help combat the practice of stigmatizing breastfeeding.

Sean

You may want to read Media Releases on the subject from La Leche League International. The organization claims that the dangers of artificial feeding and the benefits of breastfeeding still outweight the danger of pollutants in mother's milk. On the page, there is also a list of (rather obvious) ten steps you can take to reduce the level of dangerous chemicals in your body, such as stopping smoking, or avoiding eating contaminated fish.

You may want to read Media Releases on the subject from La Leche League International. The organization claims that the dangers of artificial feeding and the benefits of breastfeeding still outweight the danger of pollutants in mother's milk. On the page, there is also a list of (rather obvious) ten steps you can take to reduce the level of dangerous chemicals in your body, such as stopping smoking, or avoiding eating contaminated fish.

Problems with nursing are entirely possible, as well as with any other bodily function. There are a lot of people who use artificial kidneys because their own do not work. These people would die if they tried to use their own kidneys.

Usually, the same organizations that support breastfeeding, such as La Leche League, can also advise parents in case there are problems. Statistically, that is, for large numbers of people, breastfeeding is safer than artificial feeding.

According to La Leche League International, which conducts and disseminates research on the subject, breastfeeding still remains the best choice even in a poisoned worlds. See their Media Release on the topic. Their conclusion, based on reviews of studies on the subject, is that at this point benefits of breastfeeding and dangers of artificial feeding outweight the risks from pollutants.

It is understandable that babies' health can be used as a strong argument in politics. However, one should be careful not to harm the babies in the process. If families switch to artificial feeding as a result of such an environmental compain, babies will be hurt, and some will even die as a result (it's documented that artificial feeding leads to such dire consequences in a small percent of babies). So I suggest a balancing act between discussing danger to children, and yet not encouraging artificial feeding.

According to La Leche League International, which conducts and disseminates research on the subject, breastfeeding still remains the best choice even in a poisoned worlds. See their Media Release on the topic. Their conclusion, based on reviews of studies on the subject, is that at this point benefits of breastfeeding and dangers of artificial feeding outweight the risks from pollutants.

It is understandable that babies' health can be used as a strong argument in politics. However, one should be careful not to harm the babies in the process. If families switch to artificial feeding as a result of such an environmental compain, babies will be hurt, and some will even die as a result (it's documented that artificial feeding leads to such dire consequences in a small percent of babies). So I suggest a balancing act between discussing danger to children, and yet not encouraging artificial feeding.

Sadly, that sort of thing is all too common. It varies by state, though-- for example, it's explicitly legal in Florida.

IANAL.

Sadly, that sort of thing is all too common. It varies by state, though-- for example, it's explicitly legal in Florida.

IANAL.

Well, some fun things and activities for the baby... Thing number one is called a sling, or "over the shoulder carrier". With a baby in the sling, you can type your dissertation (as I did), walk around and participate in some of your regular activities, such as cleaning, reading :-) or giving talk at seminars (as I also did) - all without bothering the baby. It is much easier to travel, to calm the baby during troubled night times, etc. if the baby is nursing... Log onto La Leche League for info on how to prepare for that and how to support your wife's nursing.

A computer is a great baby toy. Put some pretty pictures into PowerPoint - the baby will bang on keyboard and each bang will produce a new slide. It helps a lot with those colics at three or four month of age and later too. When the baby is about nine or ten month, you can get a touchscreen - the one that is clapped onto your regular computer screen. It costs around one hundred dollars... But then the baby can play computer games meaningfully, while with the mouse it will take about another year until the coordination catches up... Reader Rabbit Baby and Reader Rabbit Toddler are good beginner games.