No worries, herpy, I'll never begrudge the sharing of information. :) The people I think of as "judgmental" are the ones who make assumptions and actively give women shit (and they can get pretty nasty about it), as well as the folks who treat women who can't breastfeed as if they're freaks.
In any case, part of the reason for me saying what I did is that I'd recently come across some studies whose results posed a bit of a challenge. One of them found that, when one controls for socioeconomic factors, almost all of the apparent protective benefits of breastfeeding disappear (IIRC, the only benefit that seemed to hold related to rates of asthma). Another found that breastfeeding conferred substantially greater benefits when compared to formula based on cow's milk, but not when compared to other types of formula.
It's a bit of a moot point, anyway, because I plan to breastfeed if I'm able. But if, for some reason, I'm not able to, I don't intend to let anyone make me feel lesser for it.
Re: Good news thread!
In any case, part of the reason for me saying what I did is that I'd recently come across some studies whose results posed a bit of a challenge. One of them found that, when one controls for socioeconomic factors, almost all of the apparent protective benefits of breastfeeding disappear (IIRC, the only benefit that seemed to hold related to rates of asthma). Another found that breastfeeding conferred substantially greater benefits when compared to formula based on cow's milk, but not when compared to other types of formula.
It's a bit of a moot point, anyway, because I plan to breastfeed if I'm able. But if, for some reason, I'm not able to, I don't intend to let anyone make me feel lesser for it.