The Invisible Lobby

This election season, we've heard lots about the importance of healthcare and its impact on the economy. Both candidates have mentioned prevention as a method of bringing down healthcare costs for individuals and as a way of lowering premiums for everyone. I have no expectation of ever hearing breastfeeding mentioned in a presidential election, but low breastfeeding rates do play into the overall health of our children aka future adults. Breastfed babies come down with fewer colds, they are less likely to develop childhood cancers, adult cancers, autism, high blood pressure, obesity, and the list goes on and on. Therefore, I don't think it's a stretch to proclaim that formula contributes to higher rates of those diseases and conditions.

Where are the government pro-breastfeeding campaigns? I've heard of them, but it was mostly in the context of people complaining that they were making formula feeding moms feel bad. Instead, we have campaigns (based on mattress manufacturer's data) to stop co-sleeping, which has been shown to have a positive impact on long term breastfeeding success. Of course no one wants a baby to be accidentally killed by a parent during the night. There should definitely be safety campaigns, but they should focus on ways to co-sleep safely, not on ways to avoid it altogether. Most victims of SIDS die in cribs; should we ban the beds?

When my nephew was born, his mom was in college, and his dad worked at a low wage job. They rented a house and mostly supported themselves. The baby was on Medicaid for his health care and my sister was on WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) to help pay for basic foods. She had to bring her baby in to the WIC office periodically to check on his weight and general health. One day, while my sister was in class, and I was babysitting,I took my nephew in for his appointment. He was six months old. The WIC woman asked me if he could hold his own sippy cup! I pointed out that he'd never had a sippy cup. I said that he was still breastfeeding and took bottles from his grandparents and myself. She would not let it go. According to her, he was behind if he couldn't hold his own cup. I didn't know much about breastfeeding at the time, but I knew that she was way off. I've since figured out how off. Every medical agency recommends nothing but breastmilk for the first six months, followed by the gradual introduction of solid food. Pushing cup use and acting surprised at the fact that a six month old was still nursing are not things that a public official who truly cared about the current and future health of an infant should do. The AAP recommends breastfeeding for at least twelve months. If that's the case, then in my opinion, a bottlefed baby should be allowed to use a bottle for at least that long. The need to suck does not go away just because a mom uses rubber instead of her breast. Furthermore, the World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for at least the first two years. Their goals are to improve the lives and health of infants and children all over the world. An American baby on Medicaid and WIC is exactly the sort of child they want to help. I agree that WIC should help pay for formula but only after a real effort to encourage breastfeeding.

The answer, I believe, lies in the giant industry that is Infant Formula. I've already written about how they "wine and dine" doctors and other hospital employees. Who knows how far they would go to keep breastfeeding off of the official list of ways to improve the health of Americans?