Sir.—I used to be a full-time pediatrician; now I am a full-time mother and a part-time pediatrician. As a member of the "mommy club" (viz, the "old boys' network"), I chuckle at (and am embarrassed by) the advice I used to offer. For example, I used to believe that breast-feeding is, or should be, compatible with full-time maternal employment. Why not, you ask? Everyone does it. Articles and books are filled with advice on pumping and freezing milk, on avoiding "role overload," on the joys of "having it all" and of "quality time," and on the nutritional and immunologic benefits of breast milk. Success is measured by "duration of nursing." What could be missing?
Discussion of the infant's point of view and of the emotional side of the nursing relationship is usually missing. In fact, the entire mother-child relationship is usually tactfully ignored or relegated to a final paragraph