May 02 2009
Just Clearing it Up……
When I mention “lack of education” I mean breastfeeding education.
When I say this is “whats in formula” I mean this is literally whats in formula. Not my personal opinion but the truth. A surprisingly large number of health care professionals and parents ( I was one of them ) do not know that formula is just these base liquids, modified by water, sugars, oils, vitamins, and other trace substances.
When I say “lack of support” I mean lack of support whether that is family, significant other, society or the workplace.
When I give reasons as to why women stop breastfeeding, I give reasons that come from surveys, statistics & scientific studies. This says to me that these needs must be addressed.
I intend on continuing to write the way I am because its a matter of public health.
The World Health Org. ranks formula as forth in the list of preferred foods for newborns.
- First choice: Mother’s own milk, directly from the breast
- Second choice: Mother’s own milk, pumped and fed to her baby
- Third choice: Banked Breastmilk - from a reliable milk bank
- Fourth choice: Infant Formula
Formula feeding is to Breastfeeding as Neonatal Intensive Care Units are to most babies. I’m glad it is there for the real emergencies but it isn’t an equivalent choice and shouldn’t be so commonly used.
The only way we are going to be able to make milk banks and donor milk widely avilable on a mass scale is to INCREASE breastfeeding rates.
If we continue to use formula instead we will continue to see the marked rise in adult parkinsons, ear infections, bacterial meningitis, respiratory infections and viruses, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), asthma, allergies (nasal and skin), urinary tract infections, gastrointestinal infections, diarrhea, lymphomas, leukemia and Hodgkin’s disease, autoimmune thyroid disease, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, necrotizing enterocolitis, multiple sclerosis, obesity, bacteremia, celiac disease, botulism, pneumonia, lung disease, high blood pressure, anxiety/stress, bed-wetting, nearsightedness, childhood cancers and the list goes on.
When a mother does not breastfeed she increases her risk of breast, uterine & ovarian cancers, thyroid cancer, Type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, lupus, rheumatoid arthiritis & obesity to name a few.
If you couldn’t breastfeed and you had the choice of donor milk or formula could you truly pick formula?
WE NEED TO MAKE A CHANGE!!
