I believe mothers should do what's best for them. Try to breastfeed if you want, stop if it doesn't work, or even decide not to start at all. In my case, my daughter starved, I was totally overwhelmed, and it was best for everyone that I started her on formula.

Breastfeeding is perfectly normal. But so are formula and bottle-feeding.

Conversations among friends and between strangers fueled my pumping obsession. Every time I thought I was ready to skip a session or wean my son, I felt this peculiar sense of failure. "Not yet..." nagged a little voice. I'd ask other people how their feeding was going and then persist with my own despite my frustration and annoyance. I also made the crucial mistake of reading popular parenting blogs where I'd see talk of only weaning well past the 12-month mark. I feel like I passed the first parenting test and when people converse about infant nourishment, I feel proud stating that I did whatever it took to give him the "best" start.

Food trends are constantly changing be it: Paleo, vegan, low fat, low carb, raw and alkaline, there are many options to choose from. Adults may be jumping on the band-wagon, but are these food fads safe for children?

Breastfeeding should be promoted and supported, but what passes for "support" often leaves parents who either choose not to, or prove unable to, bereft. In this context, is it any wonder that those who "fail" at breastfeeding have double the risk of postnatal depression?

Some things I remember clearly about the first days after my sons were born. I was zapped, emotional and incredibly vulnerable. So I can't imagine having a document thrust at me that essentially guilt-trips me into swearing that I will breastfeed my newborns or else risk exposing them to "significant illness and disease."