WOW....what a wonderful thread.

I am from a family of 7 and my Mum desperately tried to feed her forst 3 children but she never produced milk. We were all fed boiled cows milk (we lived on a dairy farm) and I think we turned out OK.

I have 2 children who were BF but i had to stop at 9 & 7 months due to losing to much weight, they then went onto cows milk.

DD1 has 2 children and she fed longer than I did.

I never bought formula as it was not encouraged as much as it is now.

I think breast feeding should be part of the classes you have before the baby is born. Yes, you think about BF before the baby is born but there is not much taught. By the time you have the baby bf is another thing you have to get your head around but if you had a bit of knowledge before hand maybe it would not be so daunting to a new mother.

I would never condone a mum for not feeding her child, that is her choice and rightly so but I think there needs to be more support before and after the birth and not just for a few days.
Everyone is different, so is their milk supply.