Breast feeding has become a heated and divisive topic lately and, quite frankly, the messages are confusing.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all mothers breastfeed for a full year or longer if the mother is willing and able.

Mothers are getting mixed messages and little support for their parenting decisions.

Dr. Bill Sears, the father of a child-rearing philosophy called attachment parenting and author of the well-known parenting manual, The Baby Book, is credited with redefining motherhood.

It turns out that he and his wife Martha had written a lot of earlier books about attachment parenting before The Baby Book, including one with an evangelical approach. I also came across a book the Searses wrote in 1982 based on another book called The Continuum Concept, which I traced back to a college dropout who had become fascinated by child care in the Venezuelan jungle. “We read the book and thought, Well, this is neat,” says Sears.

Where do you weigh in on the debate?

Breastfeeding rates in the U.S. are very low compared to the rest of the world.

Even supermodels like Gisele Bundchen have been outspoken advocates for breastfeeding, risking the backlash of mothers everywhere.

The benefits to baby and mother are indisputable yet hospitals seem ill-equipped to advocate and support breastfeeding for new mothers.

U.S. hospitals are not doing enough to encourage mothers to breast-feed their newborns, raising the risk of childhood obesity, diabetes and other conditions, according to a federal study released on Tuesday.

Less than 4 percent of the country’s hospitals fully support breast-feeding, said a report issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.