What do you think is the biggest barrier to breastfeeding In Australia?

[Liz]

I personally don't see FF as more convenient. I was too lazy to express milk, and sterilise bottles etc so DS was on the boob all the time. So there's no way I'd find FF easier, with bottles to wash etc. Much quicker to whip out a boob too rather than mix formula and heat it up, especially at night. Can't think of a faster way to get bub (and mum!) back to sleep than sticking em on the boob

[Bathsheba]

I personally don't see FF as more convenient. I was too lazy to express milk, and sterilise bottles etc so DS was on the boob all the time. So there's no way I'd find FF easier, with bottles to wash etc. Much quicker to whip out a boob too rather than mix formula and heat it up, especially at night. Can't think of a faster way to get bub (and mum!) back to sleep than sticking em on the boob

Exactly!!!

As for ideas in which to effectively educate the general public and new mums: TV commercials at prime time (maybe during the footy Grand Final LOL that would get the guys talking and if they had the hide to see it as a sexual activity hopefully they would be pulled into line by their mates... as my DH has had to do on occassion).

Also, the ABA needs to have big glossy (govt. funded perhaps) ads in popular womens' magazines like the Womans' Weekly, Cosmo, even maybe Dolly magazine... and they would have to be done in a way to appeal to womens' sense of aesthetics because unfortunately, whether we like it or not, sometimes we women place a greater importance on "image" and "branding" than practicality and common sense. If a super model or two could be used in these ads all the better. I loved the idea of having a working mum in business suit BFing in an ad too! Also, maybe they need to place big lit billboards like you see in shopping complexs (that usually advertise Revlon and Oroton etc) it's all about context... it needs to 'out there' and highly visible, not just placed in a little booklet that has been poorly photocopied and shoved in a information pack ammongst all the other stuff you never have time to read. Also, brochures are often thought of as things you hand out discreetly for embarrassing health conditions... once again, I say: make it prominent, and make it appealing. Once again this is NOT meant to make mums who have to FF feel guilty... do advertisers avoid placing ads for shoes incase they make wheelchair users feel bad? (liked that ananlogy earlier in the thread) people, as adults, need to take responsibilty for their own feelings i think and not place the responsibilty onto to others for how they feel...too much of that these days, at the expense of the truth.