The Breastfeeding Conspiracy
Believe it or not, formula isn't poison.
by Marjorie Ingall
December 11, 2006
Those dismissive attitudes may be changing. According to Lisa Marasco, MA, IBCLC, a Professional Liaison for La Leche League of Southern California/Nevada, reasons for low milk supply can include polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), hypothyroidism, diabetes, severe postpartum bleeding, and insulin resistance. Environmental contaminants may also play a role; preliminary research indicates that they can cause endocrine problems. Interestingly, Marasco points out that the increase in fertility treatments may also be a factor. "Women who in the past might not have been able to get pregnant or give birth now can. But it may be that just because science can get you pregnant, it can't make you able to nurse a child. Your body just may not be designed for it. But doctors aren't really interested in answers; they just say 'Oh, she must be at fault.'"
Of course, the mom may be suffering from postpartum depression or stress. Her baby may be latching incorrectly, causing agonizing pain for her and poor nutrition for her baby. She may be too exhausted to make enough milk. "Mismanagement" seems like an awfully judgmental word for someone who is trying her hardest.
And is formula really so horrid? Dr. Minkin has a succinct answer for the lactivists, mamabloggers and playground experts who say that formula is "poison": "Bullshit!" She elaborates, "The major advantage of breastfeeding is that formula just can't provide the antibodies a mother's milk can. But at around two months, the baby's immune system picks up and it's far less of a concern. So don't let Great Aunt Tillie with pneumonia cuddle your newborn!" If I bottle-feed, will I fail to bond with my daughter? Will she end up in a biker gang?
And formula is closer to breast milk now than it used to be. In 2002, two essential fatty acids in breast milk, DHA and ARA, were added to formula. Says Dr. Allan N. Schore, a developmental neuroscientist at the Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA who studies attachment and bonding and is a major proponent of breastfeeding, says, "I do think that before these formulas were available, the potential differential in long-term development between breastfed and formula-fed infants was significant. But now that these essential fatty acids are in formula, I think the differential will be less significant." (Wight, on the other hand, says, "Formulas are better than they used to be, but they don't act like breast milk, even with DHA and RHA added. Breast milk has hundreds of factors and we haven't yet discovered all of them, let alone their interactions.")
But what of the poster in my ultrasound doctor's office, which says flatly that one of the top twelve reasons to breastfeed is: "You will forge a stronger bond with your baby"? Does this mean that if I bottle-feed, I'll fail to bond with my daughter and she'll end up in a biker gang? With all those unbonded, bottle-fed children of moms who've had breast cancer? Schore assures me, "If breastfeeding were painful or filled with distress on the part of the mother for whatever physiological reason, then bottle-feeding, which is comfortable and relaxed, would be a better option." Whew. Because what a foul insult to fathers and adoptive parents, to say that they simply can't have as strong a bond with their baby as breastfeeding moms.
It's hard not to sound defensive when you're defending formula. Just look at the customer reviews of Peggy Robin's book on Amazon.com, where users call formula-feeding "stupid," "selfish," and "lazy"; attribute thousands of annual deaths in America to "withholding breastmilk"; refer to the "one percent" of women who truly can't breastfeed as "born handicap" [sic]; call formula "junk food" and dismiss women who bottle-feed as "the nanny crowd."
How about this? Let's agree that breastfeeding is ideal. Let's agree that public policies and workplaces should support it better. But let's also acknowledge that bottle-feeding moms need encouragement too. Cruelty helps no one — not babies, not moms. Imagine if we took half the energy we spend sniping at the formula crowd and turned it, instead, toward making it easier for women who breastfeed to keep their jobs, and for women who formula-feed to keep their dignity.
©2006 Marjorie Ingall and Nerve Media
About the Author
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Marjorie Ingall is a contributing writer at Self and a columnist for The Forward. She's written for Glamour, The New York Times, Food & Wine and Sassy. |
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