Chayn, I could not agree more heartily.
There are so many problems with this it makes you wonder if it's World
Breastfeeding Week, the old joke. In terms of education and social
change, the possibilities of doing harm spreading this story far
outweigh the possibilities of doing good.
The greatest problem is the emphasis on breastfeeding and breast milk
as deficient -- in this case, Vitamin D but the overall idea of
"deficiency" has broader implications. Breastfeeding is also a lousy
cardio workout, but then again, it was never meant to replace a good
brisk walk. Yeah, it burns a few calories for mom and contributes to a
healthier heart down the road for baby but would we bill it as a great
reason to skip a lifetime of balanced nutrition and regular exercise?
Saying breast milk is deficient in Vitamin D is a laughable way to
bypass the primary function of human milk and the ongoing adaptation of
breastfeeding in the mother-child relationship.
Here in the US, African American women have the lowest breastfeeding
rates (and, last I heard, the highest breast cancer rates). How will
this message be heard in circles of African American women? The truth
is more complicated than this message. People with a history in sunny
climates inherit a protective skin pigment that is healthy and adaptive
for that climate. If a dark skinned person moves to a less-sunny area
and is told to stay indoors and use sun screen and eat different
foods... well, let's just say Mother Nature is wise but not as fast as
current technological and social changes. Skin color and the
composition of human milk cannot change as fast as a boat or plane can
move families or as fast as a PSA can change behavior. Breastfeeding
adapts but contemporary migration patterns require super-natural
adaptation.
Blanket recommendations are helpful in some ways but can also be
patronizing to mothers and others making important choices, one child
at a time. The original decision by the AAP to recommend a Vitamin D
supplement for all breastfeeding mothers was in part based on a
reluctance to single out families of color for "special treatment."
How helpful is it for mothers of Swedish descent farming in southern
Utah to receive the same recommendation as Sudanese mothers computer programming in
the heart of Seattle?
There is enough human fallibility to go around the world at least a few
times. Maybe this family's physician failed to communicate the
particular needs of this child. Maybe the local La Leche League Leader
hasn't kept up her breastfeeding education. Or maybe a busy mother
didn't catch the details. Maybe a well-child take-home went unread.
Maybe a new mother heard from a light-skinned friend who attends LLL
meetings that "breastfeeding is complete." Which it is. Breastfeeding
remains the normal springboard for the mother-child relationship,
regardless of how mothers challenge that norm by hopping planes, eating
junk food, and living a technologically mind-bending life.
As in so many areas of life, incomplete information does not lead to truly informed choices.
As for the inclusion of La Leche League among the forces that allegedly
led this mother and family astray, let me cite this from the LLLI
website:
............................
Media Release:
La Leche League International Encourages Mothers to Recognize Importance of
Vitamin D
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Information: Jane Crouse, PRManager at llli.org (847) 519-7730, Ext. 271.
(October 16, 2008) Schaumburg, IL - La Leche League International
encourages all mothers to recognize the importance of vitamin D to the
health of their children. Recent research shows that due to current
lifestyles, breastfeeding mothers may not have enough vitamin D in
their own bodies to pass to their infants through breastmilk.
In October 2008, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that
infants receive 400 IU a day of vitamin D, beginning in the first few
days of life. Children who do not receive enough vitamin D are at risk
for rickets and increased risk for infections, autoimmune diseases,
cancer, diabetes, and osteoporosis.
Vitamin D is mainly acquired through exposure to sunlight and
secondarily through food. Research shows that the adoption of indoor
lifestyles and the use of sunscreen have seriously depleted vitamin D
in most women. The ability to acquire adequate amounts of vitamin D
through sunlight depends on skin color and geographic location.
Dark-skinned people can require up to six times the amount of sunlight
as light-skinned people. People living near the equator can obtain
vitamin D for 12 months of the year while those living in northern and
southern climates may only absorb vitamin D for six or fewer months of
the year.
For many years, La Leche League International has offered the
research-based recommendation that exclusively breastfed babies
received all the vitamin D necessary through mother’s milk. Health care
professionals now have a better understanding of the function of
vitamin D and the amounts required, and the newest research shows this
is only true when mothers themselves have enough vitamin D. Statistics
indicate that a large percentage of women do not have adequate amounts
of vitamin D in their bodies.
La Leche League International acknowledges that breastfeeding
mothers who have adequate amounts of vitamin D in their bodies can
successfully provide enough vitamin D to their children through
breastmilk. It is recommended that pregnant and nursing mothers obtain
adequate vitamin D or supplement as necessary. Health care providers
may recommend that women who are unsure of their vitamin D status
undergo a simple blood test before choosing not to supplement.
Parents or health care providers who want more information on
rickets, vitamin D in human milk, or other information on breastfeeding
issues may call La Leche League International at (847) 519-7730 or
visit our Web site at www.llli.org.
............................
Searching the LLLI website you will see a number of
articles and references to the issues surrounding the importance of
Vitamin D, and the particulars of acquiring adequate levels for both
mothers and children. I have volunteered my time with La Leche League
International since 1993. In my capacity as a local Leader and as the
Area Professional Liaison for Utah, I continually address Vitamin D
(and many other issues) as areas in which it is important to consider
the individual case, keep up with the research, and consult with the
family's health care providers.
La Leche League is the birthplace of the lactation profession. Ask
Linda Smith, a grand midwife guiding that birth. I've been singing for
years that breastfeeding happens in that place where biology and
culture come together. The ways of biology and culture continue to
fascinate us as they play upon the breastfeeding relationship. We
can't isolate "the milk" or any one "breastfeeding law" as the secret
be-all or end-all. The reason Coach Smith's rules and Diane
Weissinger's common sense breastfeeding and the truths so many of us on
this list re-discover have such resonance is that they all come back to
one thing. Breastfeeding is a fluid everchanging relationship, We
call it a mothering journey, a dance, a bio-cultural process, and
everything we say and will say is true. From the beginning to the
present, La Leche League has revolved around a basic premise of giving
the baby back to the mother. It is her life, her baby, her biology and
philosophy and music, and it is her choices that comprise her unique
mothering path. I am quite aware that LLL gets the shaft in popular
culture. I think all of us should watch our language in this area as
well. Just as LLL has taken a lot of misplaced hits from some with no
personal experience with the organization, in recent years the
lactation profession is dodging the same arrows. At one point LLL was
the only target. Now as the lactation profession grows more circles
around that bullseye, IBCLCs find themselves increasingly in the center.
We need to draw together as women and men, mothers and fathers,
citizens, lactation professionals, organizations, and coalitions for an
ever-stronger lactation community. In this heartbreaking case of a
breastfeeding child with rickets, a family was abused. Several factors
led to the situation. I hate to see attention paid to this case in a
way that pits us against one another. It isn't the fault of the mother
or the doctor or the LLLL. If there was failure, it was a failure of
community.
Susan Johnson MFA, IBCLC
Professional Liaison for La Leche League of Utah
http://www.llli.org/
Leader, La Leche League of Salt Lake City
http://lllofslc.wordpress.com/
Community Nonprofit Representative, Utah Breastfeeding Coalition
http://www.utahbreastfeeding.org/
_______________
I am not sure what we are supposed to do with this. Reading this would
leave you with several conclusions, the most obvious one being that
breastfeeding puts your child at risk for rickets. I would not want to be
posting this all over the place with out some breastfeeding friendly
suggestions to go with it.
I'm interested in what others think of this (besides how unspeakably awful
it is to both the baby and parents that they have been seperated)
Thanks,
Chayn IBCLC in Israel**********************************
***********************************************
Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome
|
