Disco Knitter

There has been quite a bit of negative feedback in the media about the new breastfeeding strategy in the past few days. Many “opinion pieces” have attacked the strategy for “making mums feel guilty” for not breastfeeding.

This is a complete crock of shit.

Ask the mother of a child that was killed in a car accident before seatbelt laws if she feels guilty for not knowing about seat belts. Or a man dying of lung cancer if he feels guilty for smoking. The melanoma patient that loved the beach.

We make our decisions based on the evidence that is available at the time. Sometimes new informations has an impact on us, and we change our behavior. Sometimes we get the health message and decide to ignore it, like I did with soft cheese while I was pregnant – I did some research and found that there had been one case of listeria in pregnancy in Australia in the past two decades, and I decided to take the risk.

I would never tell another woman what to do, but I think it is fair to give them the information so that she can make up her own mind. It is my opinion that most mothers think a lot about what is best for their babies, and most mothers make conservative choices. And yet many women choose to artificially feed their babies. If I was doing a PHD in anthropology I think I would choose study this question. Since I’m not, I have to guess that most women don’t know how risky it is not to breastfeed their babies.

Of course, there are some women who can’t breastfeed. Some women have to have treatment that is incompatible with breastfeeding, or surgery, or there are other, valid reasons for not breastfeeding. Or they simply choose not to, and that is ok.

What is not OK with me is hiding the facts about the risks of artificial feeding in order to spare the feelings of a non-breastfeeding woman.

Below is what I wrote as a comment to a newspaper article that I read today – a new mum that “couldn’t” breastfeed because of poor advice, attacking the ABA, the one organisation that could have helped her if she had chosen to reach out.

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The new strategy is about supporting new mums, so they don’t get this stupid advice. If Rebecca had good advice and support when she was trying to get breastfeeding established (or even before the baby was born), her story might have been a lot different.

I too struggled to get breastfeeding established, and suffered for nearly three months. Before my baby was born, I attended a Breastfeeding Education Class run by the Australian Breastfeeding Association, and when things got hard, I turned to them for support and advice. My baby is just about to turn two, and he is still breastfeeding. It is my intention to follow World Health Organisation guidelines, and feed him at least until his second birthday.

This new strategy has looked at the “hard evidence”, and has come to the conclusion that formula use places an unnecessary strain on health services. Artificially fed babies do have worse health outcomes (and so do their mothers) – so of course the government wants to encourage and support women to breastfeed.

And if you’re after scientific evidence that formula feeding carries risks, read this article – www.onemillioncampaign.org/doc/RisksofFormulaFeeding.pdf The information is easy to read, but each point is referenced with the research papers so you can look up the results for yourself.

As for the ABA using emotive language, that is a no brainer. In my opinion, saying that breastmilk is a gift that a mother can give her baby is much nicer than saying giving formula to your baby increases his risk of diabetes, obesity, asthma, SIDS, hospitalisation for upper respiratory illness, childhood cancer, reduced cognitive development, allergies, infection from contaminated formula, altered occlusion, nutrient deficiency, etc, etc.

It is interesting to note that Cuba, which has strong government support for breastfeeding, has a lower infant mortality rate than the USA, where breastfeeding rates are even lower than they are in Australia. Breastfeeding saves lives, and I think that it is time we stopped pretending that artificial feeding is “just as good”. Hiding these facts from women who are making a choice to artificially feed their babies is patronising, and dangerous.

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That was Inigo’s post for yesterday, but silly me forgot to post it.

I was at an ABA conference (training) all weekend, so I neglected to blog except for the scheduled posts. On the upside, I did get signed off on 2 and a half units, so it was a really worthwhile weekend. Not to mention catching up with a whole lot of amazing and inspiring women! I had been feeling really down about my training, and even considered giving up.

But now I am re-energised (emotionally, physically I am still a wreck), and keen to power along to the finish line

The World Health Organisation International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, article 5.5 prohibits seeking direct and indirect contact with mothers of infants and young children, that is children up to 3 years of age. UNICEF has previously stated that: “any form of contact with mothers of children under 3 years is prohibited, irrespective of the motivation behind the contact.”

If you get a free sample of an artificial baby milk, or are invited to join a branded “club” (as is being widely advertised with prize giveaways at the moment), you are witnessing a violation of an international code that is designed to save lives.

The APMAIF is a regulatory body that is designed to oversee the marketing of artificial baby milks in Australia. If you see a breach of the code, you should report it to the APMAIF, and they should follow up and stop the breach, and punish the offender.

But the APMAIF is an industry body. It is made up of all the companies themselves, and they have absolutely no desire to follow up on breaches of the code. The lunatics have taken over they asylum, and are handing out happy pills.

So next time you see formula on special, or grab a parenting magazine with a formula sample in it, complain to your local member. The APMAIF won’t do anything about it.

From Hoyden About Town. Which, incidentally, everyone should read.

It makes you smarter.

Or does that only work on me?

There’s been a bit of hoo ha on the internets recently about Nestle, (see here and here for some background), and I was reminded of something I saw in an Indonesian supermarket.

Yup – chocolate milk, marketed for infants, with a free sippy cup.

The government has commissioned a research company to do research on a national breastfeeding strategy. Now is your chance to have your say.  The survey closes on the 14th, so you don’t have much time!

If you can’t be bothered reading the link – email the answers to the following questions to nbs@allenconsult.com.au

• Do you think that support and the promotion of breastfeeding should be provided consistently to all mothers and women across Australia?
• In your experience, did promotion of breastfeeding while you (or your partner) was pregnant encourage starting and/or continuing breastfeeding? What things seemed to help the most? Why?
• Do you think that there is enough breastfeeding support provided to new mothers?
• Have you or your partner ever sought or been referred to a breastfeeding support service or lactation consultant? What sort of service? Did it make a difference in you/your partner’s ability to continue breastfeeding?
• How do you think breastfeeding promotion and / or support could be better provided?
• Do you think that information such as the rates of breastfeeding (number of babies breastfed as a percentage of the total population of babies of particular ages) and other similar information should be collected on a national level?

At the risk of sounding like a breast feeding single issue party, I’m posting this to make myself feel better about all the formula advertising I saw at the baby expo last week while I was there volunteering for the Australian Breastfeeding Association. Watching pregnant women walking around with tins of formula was dispiriting, I think it’s important to keep this information circulating. If you know a pregnant woman, your support in her breastfeeding relationship is important, especially if you are her partner, or her close family. This is not about bullying people into doing something they don’t want to do – it’s about supporting them if they do want to do it.

Blatantly stolen from PhD in Parenting, much more info here.

Benefits to the child

• Acute otitis media ( middle ear infections): Babies that were ever breastfed had a 23 percent lower incidence of acute otitis media than exclusively formula fed babies.
• Atopic dermatitis (type of eczema): In families with a history of atopy, exclusive breastfeeding for at least 3 months was found to have a 42 percent reduction in atopic dermatitis compared with breastfeeding for less than 3 months.
• Gastrointestinal infections: Infants who were breastfeeding had a 64 percent reduction in the risk of non-specific
• Lower respiratory tract diseases: There is a 72 percent reduction in the risk of hospitalization due to lower respiratory tract diseases in infants less than 1 year of age who were exclusively breastfed for 4 months or more.
• Asthma: Breastfeeding for at least 3 months was associated with a 27 percent reduction in the risk of asthma for those without a family history of asthma and a 40 percent reduction for those with a family history of asthma.
• Type 1 Diabetes: Breastfeeding for at least 3 months results in between a 19 and 27 percent reduction in incidence of childhood Type 1 Diabetes compared with breastfeeding for less than 3 months (findings confirmed through multiple studies, but some cause for caution in interpreting results).
• Type 2 Diabetes: Found a 39 percent reduction in risk of Type 2 diabetes later in life for people that were breastfed as infants (some cause for caution in interpreting results).
• Childhood Leukemia: Breastfeeding for at least 6 months associated with 19 percent decrease in risk of childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia and a 15 percent decrease in the risk of acute myelogenous leukemia.
• Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS): The meta-analysis found that breastfeeding was associated with a 36 percent reduction in the risk of SIDS compared to not breastfeeding. Another study completed since the meta-anlaysis was done found a 50 percent reduction in the risk of SIDS as a result of breastfeeding.

PS. Daisy is sitting closer to me than he has in months, purring like a lawnmower. I am sure he knows something…