Let’s agree on simple most basic fact that humans are mammals, they give birth to live young and have mammary glands in which to feed those young until they reach an age of being able to eat by themselves with without major risk of life. The natural act of breastfeeding has both physical and emotional benefits to both mother and child. While there are alternatives to feeding infants, none provide the same benefits as nursing. Yet with this knowledge so readily available the breastfeeding rates of western society are staggering when compared to developing countries, why is this, when did breastfeeding your child become some taboo it needs a movement to support a mothers choice? Sex and money, is just a drop in the bucket of the variety of things that have turned a biological norm into a taboo. Marketing has a saying that has become ingrained in commercialized society, ‘sex sells’. France is a perfect example of this, "Your breasts are for your husband, not your baby,” (Gibbons, Gardian.co.uk). This in only enforced within the same article when, “France has the lowest breastfeeding rate in the western world, a statistic that doesn't look like it is going to change any time soon if its health system or its most-read feminist philosophers have anything to do with it. One of this year's biggest bestsellers, The Conflict: The Woman and the Mother, warns that breastfeeding is a trojan horse rolling back the gains of the women's movement and shackling women to "despotic, gluttonous babies who devour their mothers", (Gibbons, Gardian.co.uk). Because as we all know, infants, for hundreds no thousands of years are able to eat what their adult counterparts can eat. (Insert sarcasm here, of course they cant, babies are born with the ability to “suck, swallow, breath” but not to bite and chew till later in development.)
As for the money formula companies while by law must encourage mothers to breastfeed their babies, and will give them a ‘Breastfeeding success bag’ home with them from the hospital which includes bottles, coupons and above all samples of formula. Formula is a billion dollar a year industry. They have to be to be able to convince able bodied mothers that they are inadequate to perform a natural and biological function of feeding their child.
So how do they the formula industries do this? Why did the World Health Organization have to make an ‘International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes’ in 1981, simple, because the formula industries are successful in marketing. Looking back at the advertisements, by law they must all agree that breastfeeding is best but that is normally pushed down in a corner away from how amazing ‘they say’ their product is. Really infant formula is just an imitation, a substitute, and unable to truly compete against the gold standard that breast milk is. “Breast milk is the nutritional equivalent of a magic bullet for a developing baby. It has important salts and even more important vitamins. Its immune-friendly properties prevent ear, respiratory and gastrointestinal infections,” (Medina, J., Huffingtonpost.com). Maybe if Breastfeeding could compete in this marketing blitz used to bombard new mothers this wouldn’t be an issue, but because no one can profit off of a naturally occurring food source for infants, it is.
In a culture that rewards instant gratification this plays to a new moms psyche, most are unsure and scared, even more than that they might expect nursing their new baby to be as easy as all the books claim it to be few are willing to invest the time that breastfeeding takes in the beginning. “Breastfeeding is a process that takes time to master. Babies and mothers need to practice. Keep in mind that you make milk in response to your baby sucking at the breast. The more milk your baby removes from the breasts, the more milk you will make,” (Womenshealth.gov/breastfeeding, ND). In other words breast feeding is about supply and demand. The demand will not be there if the infant is given formula as a supplement, the supply will not be there if the baby is given formula as a supplement. A new mother is most vulnerable to the formula industry when they are not supported at home, when they are being told their baby isn’t growing fast enough, or when they are tired and stressed out. That first bottle of formula robs the baby and mother of the time at the breast that helps regulate her milk supply. The first pacifier given to the baby to just make them be quite robs the mother and baby of time at the breast where the breast is stimulated to produce more milk. The artificial devices used to calm or feed an infant can have instant effects called nipple confusion where a baby who is still new and just learning to nurse suckle incorrectly at the breast causing the mother pain. A new mother is vulnerable, and without the support and encouragement of those around her she will most likely not continue to breastfeed her baby.
Another dirty trick the formula industries use against mothers is to make them believe their child isn’t growing properly. Almost all growth charts used in doctor’s offices are provided by the formula industry, and even with the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control coming up with a chart for breastfed infants, parents who decide to have their growth plotted on these charts will normally have to bring them in. (Kellymom.com, ND) One of the reasons why breastfed infants grow differently than their formula feed counterparts is due to bio-availably and the confusion on what is really meant by the term ‘failure to thrive’ Dr. Sears an attachment parenting and breastfeeding advocate clarifies with, “One of our concerns is that even though formula-fed infants appear to grow normally, are they really thriving? Thriving means more than just getting bigger. It means developing to the child's fullest physical, emotional, and intellectual potential. We just don't know about all the long-term effects of tampering with Mother Nature – though we do know that there are significant health differences between formula-fed and breastfed infants. Human milk is a live substance containing live white blood cells and immune-fighting substances, and is a dynamic, changing nutritional source, which daily (sometimes hourly) adjusts to meet the individual needs of a growing baby. Formulas are nothing more than a collection of dead nutrients. They do not contain living white cells, digestive enzymes, or immune factors. In terms of human history, they are a new experiment,” (www.askdrsears.com, ND). The ingredients of formula are constantly changing to be more like breast milk, proteins, fatty acids, vitamins, and potentially deadly ingredients like melamine (a plastic that is linked to the deaths of infants in China), perchlorate (a chemical found in rocket fuel), Bisphenol-A (affecting brain and reproductive organs in humans). (Livestrong.com, Infant Formula Ingredients 2010). (See chart, attached)
Culture plays a vital role in the acceptance or alienation a mother feels when she nurses her child. In Western Society, nursing covers are a staple baby shower gift if the new mother makes it know she has decided to nurse her baby. Yet in other countries of the world breastfeeding is normal and mothers are encouraged. A mothers firsthand experience from Canada to Mongolia can be read in this except, bringing to light the taboo that was felt in the West; “A certain amount of mystique still surrounds breastfeeding. But really, we’re just not very used to it. Breastfeeding happens at home, in baby groups, occasionally in cafes – you seldom see it in public, and we certainly don’t have conscious memories of having been breastfed ourselves. This private activity between mother and child is greeted with a hush and politely averted eyes, and regarded almost in the same way as public displays of intimacy between couples: not taboo, but slightly discomfiting and politely ignored. And when that quiet, angelic newborn grows into an active toddler intent on letting the world know exactly what he’s doing, well, those eyes are averted a bit more quickly and intently, sometimes under frowning brows. In Mongolia, instead of relegating me to a “Mothers Only” section, breastfeeding in public brought me firmly to center stage. Their universal practice of breastfeeding anywhere, anytime, and the close quarters in which most Mongolians live, mean that everyone is pretty familiar with the sight of a working boob. They were happy to see I was doing things their way (which was, of course, the right way). When I breastfed in the park, grandmothers would regale me with tales of the dozen children they had fed. When I breastfed in the back of taxis, drivers would give me the thumbs-up in the rearview mirror and assure me that Calum(authors son) would grow up to be a great wrestler. When I walked through the market cradling my feeding son in my arms, vendors would make a space for me at their stalls and tell him to drink up. Instead of looking away, people would lean right in and kiss Calum on the cheek. If he popped off in response to the attention and left my streaming breast completely exposed, not a beat was missed. No one stared, no one looked away – they just laughed and wiped the milk off their noses. “Breastfeeding is the best thing for your baby, the best thing for you.” The constant approval made me feel that I was doing something important that mattered to everyone – exactly the kind of public applause every new mother needs”, (Kamnitzer, R. , Breastfeeding in the Land of Genghis Kahn). Such simple acceptance for a natural act, encouraged this mother to nurse her child, yet not all mothers encounter this, most encounter the exact opposite.
In the United States a country founded on freedom, we push it on our children before they are truly able to deal with it. How often bottle fed children encouraged and praised for holding their own bottle, so their care giver doesn’t have to sit and feed them? How often are bottles left propped up so the child can eat and the caregiver does not have to be bothered by the hungry child? How often are sounds of shame and disapproval given when a child asks for mothers milk, yet praised when asking for a nighttime bottle, or a pacifier? Even in the past decade mothers have been kicked off planes, told to leave restaurants, and shamed for feeding their child naturally, and even had their photos and/or profiles deleted from Facebook. There has never been a case of biased prejudice against anyone formula feeding their child. Why the double standard for the natural act of breastfeeding? Have we become desensitized to the sexual aspect of a women’s breasts that we cannot see them for what they are for, to feed her children. Has the art and culture of breastfeeding become lost on Western society that a woman who shows interest in feeding her child naturally has to seek out special groups or professionals. The answer to these questions will only vary if you are lucky enough to be surrounded by those who encourage the loving act of nursing the human infant. IF not then the formula industry wins.
COMPARISON OF BREASTMILK AND FORMULA
| NUTRIENT | BREASTMILK CONTAINS | FORMULA CONTAINS | COMMENT |
| Fats | · Rich in brain-building omega 3's, namely DHA and AA. · Automatically adjusts to infant's needs; levels decline as baby gets older · Rich in cholesterol · Nearly completely absorbed · Contains fat-digesting enzyme, lipase | · No DHA · Doesn't change · No Cholesterol · Not completely absorbed · No lipase | Fat is the most important nutrient in breastmilk; absence of cholesterol and DHA, vital nutrients for growing brains and bodies, may predispose child to adult heart and central nervous system diseases. Leftover unabsorbed fat accounts for unpleasant stools in formula-fed babies. |
| Protein | · Soft, easily-digestible whey · More completely absorbed · Lactoferrin for intestinal health · Lysozyme, an antimicrobial · Rich in brain and body-building protein components · Rich in growth factors · Contains sleep-inducing proteins | · Harder to digest casein curds · Less completely absorbed, more waste, harder on kidneys · None or trace lactoferrin · No lysozyme · Deficient or lower in some · Deficient in growth factors | Automatically adjusts to infant's needs. (e.g., higher in premature infant) |
| Carbohydrates | · Rich in lactose · Rich in oligosaccharides that promote intestinal health | · Some formulas contain no lactose. · Deficient in oligosaccaharides | Lactose is considered an important carbohydrate for brain development. Studies show the level of lactose in the milk of a species correlates with the size of the brain of that species. |
| Immune Boosters | · Rich in living white blood cells, millions per feeding · Rich in immunoglobulins | · No live white blood cells. · Processing kills all cells. Dead food has less immunological benefit. · Few immunoglubulins and mostly the wrong kind. | When mother is exposed to a germ, she makes antibodies to that germ and gives these antibodies to her infant via her milk. |
| Vitamins and minerals | · Better absorbed, especially iron, zinc, and calcium. · Iron is 50-75% absorbed · Contains more selenium (an antioxidant) than formula | · Less absorbed · Iron 5-10 percent absorbed | Vitamins and minerals in breastmilk enjoy a higher bioavailability; a greater percentage is absorbed. To compensate, more is added to formula, which makes it harder to digest. |
| Enzymes and Hormones | · Rich in digestive enzymes, such as lipase and amylase. · Rich in many hormones: thyroid, prolactin, oxytocin, and over fifteen others. | · Processing kills digestive enzymes · Processing kills hormones, which are not human, anyway | Digestive enzymes promote intestinal health. Hormones contribute to the overall biochemical balance and well-being of baby. |
| Taste | Varies with mother's diet | Always tastes the same | By taking on the flavor of mother's diet, breast milk shapes the tastes of the child to family foods. |
| Cost | $600 a year, extra food for mother | Around $1,200 per year for formula; up to $2,500 a year for hypoallergenic formulas; plus cost of bottles, etc.; plus lost income when baby is ill | >Breastfeeding families save $600 to $2,000 a year, and often much more in medical bills since baby stays healthier; and employed breastfeeding mothers miss less work. |
