Norma Ritter posted:


<<<http://www.health.am/ab/more/as-good-as-breast-milk/

A growing number of Americans incorrectly believe that infant formula is as
good as breast milk, white more are becoming increasingly uncomfortable with
mothers breast-feeding their infants in public.

"The findings underscore the need to educate the general public that
breast-feeding is the best method of feeding and nurturing infants," Dr.
Rowe Li and colleagues from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
in Atlanta write in the January issue of the Journal of the American
Dietetic Association.

 Li and her team note that while health experts recommend infants be breast
fed for at least a year, and receive breast milk alone until they reach six
months of age, the percentage of US infants exclusively breast fed at six
months is 14 percent, while just 18 percent continue to receive breast milk
at 12 months of age. The same survey, conducted in 2004, found 71 percent o=
f
children had ever been breast fed.

To investigate public attitudes toward breast-feeding, which play a key rol=
e
in whether a woman decides to initiate and persist with breast-feeding, Li
and her team compared results from two nationwide surveys conducted in 1999
and 2003 by the public relations firm Porter Novelli.

In 1999, 14.3 percent of those surveyed agreed that "infant formula is as
good as breast milk," compared to 25.7 percent in 2003, the researchers
found.

And there was a small increase in the percentage of people who agreed with
the statement that "mothers who breast-feed should do so in private places
only," from 34.8 percent to 37 percent. The percentage who said they were
comfortable being near a mother breast-feeding her infant in public fell
from 49.9 percent to 48.1 percent.

While rates of breast-feeding among US mothers have been on the rise since
1990, Li and her team note, the percentage of women who started
breast-feeding fell for the first time between 2002 and 2003, from about 70
percent to 66 percent.

"The findings imply that despite widespread information on the benefits of
breast-feeding, the trend in national opinion might be that infant formula
is as good as breast milk," Li and her colleagues state.

This may at least in part be due to the introduction of formulas that
contain long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in 2002, the researchers
note, which have been advertised as "mimicking the positive influence of
breast milk" on brain and vision development. Also, the researchers note,
spending on advertising for infant formula rose from $29 million in 1999 to
$46 million in 2004.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Dietetic Association, January 2007.>>>
 
This is how it was reported by our local ABC affiliate yesterday:
<<<Research shows breast feeding rate decline
January 11, 2007 - According to the federal government, a growing number of Americans believe infant formula is just as good as breast milk.
The Centers for Disease Control also says a new survey finds more people are becoming increasingly uncomfortable with mother's breast feeding in public. That may have something to do with declining numbers. 
According to researchers, breast feeding rates had been steadily on the rise since 1990. But, those rates fell from 70 percent to 66 percent for the first time between 2002 and 2003. They suspect increased advertising has more women believing that infant formula is as good as breast milk.>>> 

I was shocked when I heard the report on TV, but now reading the entire article I can't see how they condensed this great article into those few horrible sentences that totally undermine breastfeeding.  Guess I'll have to write a letter tonight now that I have the whole article. 
Linda Anderegg, RNC, BSN, IBCLC, RLC
Lactation Consultant
Silver Cross Hospital
1200 Maple Road
Joliet, IL 60432
[log in to unmask]
(815)740-1234 ext. 7321



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