Keef - I found when raising both my kids, who are still very little, that there was a real pressure to breast feed, and you were made to feel guilty and under pressure to explain yourself if you decided you just didn't want to, for whatever reason. I did breast feed my children but not for as long as many people expected, and even that caused me to feel some pressure. Maybe you are finding that women in the family room who agree with you are choosing not to speak up because they feel that it isn't really a socially acceptable point of view to say that one is entitled to choose not to breast feed. Maybe that is what Helena Handbasket might be getting at? Also people who are breast feeding by definition have very young children. My experience is that mother's with kids that young still feel things very keenly, very strongly, and can be quite forceful in their views of how to raise children. I've come under (very polite) fire more than once for suggesting that controlled crying isn't always a terrible thing, for example. I may get shot down for saying this but I think it is partly to do with the fact the they are still very hormonal!