I had the same thought as Cookie while the remedia scandal was in the news. Israel is sorely lacking in the area of nursing support. Bottles of formula are way too common a sight around here. Tipat chalav (well baby clinic, where shots are given pregnant women go for checkups, etc) nurses are way behind the times in terms of the importance of breastmilk and breastfeeding. Their advice on solids is also off the mark- early introduction of solids is pushed and a mother who says she is waiting on principle is belittled. A friend who was recently in the local tipat chalav office heard the new nurse- this one younger than average, the old one is retiring (I thought younger would mean more modern training, guess not) tell a new mother to add corn starch to the baby's bottle to help her sleep longer stretches. The age of the baby? 2 months! So, yes we have a problem here in Israel in this area.
I agree with Cookie that both the reality of life on the kibbutz at the beginning of the state as well as the askenazi elitist mentality are things that led to today's situation. I think, that to counteract this we need to make it normal to breastfeed, older children- both boys and girls should know that that is the way it should be done. When in the torah it talks about Sarah and the miracle of her being able to nurse her baby, we should make sure they hear that part. This could be a matter of life and death.
Cookie also says that in the states breastfeeding is supported. I do not live in the states now but I have lived there. I also read American websites and magazines. I think in the states, in an effort to be "PC" the message that breastfeeding is superior to formula feeding and that the decision to formula feed is not as simple as the convenience or choice of the mother is routinely quieted. Saying that makes FFing mothers feel bad. Formula is a wonderful invention like dialysis and antibiotics - for the right situation, not for whenever someone feels like it.
The experience of women outside of the frum community and in more rural places of the U.S. contradicts Cookie's informal study. I have heard stories of women in the states similar to those expect to hear about Israel. That the nurses in the hospital pushed bottles and pacifiers, that they were told health problems they were having were because of their nursing. Lactivism is definitely needed in the states. In the frum community nursing is common and since each woman has more kids and there are generally more kids around the message is out there that babies breastfeed. When you are talking about secular society where it is common to have one or two kids and some women reach adulthood without ever caring for a baby (extremely rare in frum circles) the icon of a baby bottle for babies may be so ingrained and nursing such a foreign concept that when they finally do have a baby at thirty something it never occurs to them to breastfeed. Again back to the PC idea and the silenced message, I have read too many "breast vs. bottle" articles in mainstream parenting magazines. The very idea that they put the two possibilities on equal footing in the title undermines the message of the importance of breastfeeding. Simply put, in my communication with women and reading of women's experiences in America who tried to breastfeed but did not have the information and support they needed to continue or did not even think of breastfeeding I feel that there is a need in the U.S. for more information and support. That is Lactivism and I think it is important. :)
