In some cases, the pressure to breastfeed can do more harm than good. If the parent is feeling stressed, as it can be an extremely intense and also painful experience, the bonding process can suffer. More importantly, some mothers just cannot produce enough milk. The father of my adopted son forced my wife to breastfeed. Over a 3 month period, the poor boy lost a dangerous amount of weight and needed a stay in hospital, where he had strict, formula-based feeding schedule. If my wife was asleep, the nurses wouldn't even bother waking her up, they'd just feed him.

The result, and not to say this is a cause but a potential contributing factor, is that this unfortunate boy has major developmental delays, is unable to speak properly and what he can say he often doesn't understand. I personally have had my past investigated by social services to ensure I won't have a negative impact on his development (I suffered from psychosis in my teenage years, likely due to stress from attention deficit disorder and a traumatic event). Teachers and myself have noticed, for example, he regularly speaks well out of context, which is notably worse than his peers. There's a tough road ahead.

With articles like this, we are looking at individual, specific factors when the reality is much more complicated and results from an interplay of thousands of microscopic to large and obvious factors. With children and their development, it is just not simple. We are, whether we like it or not, complex systems.

Parents of healthy body and mind want the best for their children. The pressure of this alone is fantastically great. The results of additional, external, pressure could do more harm than good.