The Mommies Network (www.themommiesnetwork.org) runs a network of online discussion forums that extend across the United States and into Canada. The focus of the Mommies Network is to connect local mothers through restricted, local online discussion forum communities.

The Mommies Network sites place an image beneath every username in every post to indicate how many posts a member has made. This image changes from time to time. One of the images in regular rotation is that of a baby's bottle. The more posts a member makes, the more bottles that appear under that member's name.

Whereas many mothers never make use of baby bottles;

Whereas many mothers feel that a row of baby bottles beneath her name is not appropriate;

Whereas there are many alternative icons to use instead of baby bottles;

Whereas breastfeeding is not represented by any of the images in regular rotation;

Whereas the images of baby bottles can be construed to be glamorizing of bottle-feeding and promoting a certain method of infant feeding;

Whereas using a bottle as a symbol of motherhood or babyhood reinforces the mistaken cultural idea that all babies need bottles;

Whereas mothers who wish to connect to other mothers in their community should not be made to feel uncomfortable by an unnecessarily controversial symbol being placed under their name;

THEREFORE, we, the undersigned, do petition The Mommies Network to remove the baby bottle from the rotation of images to appear under members' usernames.