If you are not yet registered for the Gold10 conference, you still have
time.  Here is a summary of the 10 commandments of breastfeeding which Jim
Akre presented in his amazing lecture.  The problem is with a society which
sees artificial feeding as the norm, and does not give the mother enough
help to overcome the challenges she faces in the beginning.  

 

From Jim Akre's lecture on Gold 10
Ten proposals for action    Based on the remarks made in my pre-conference
presentation, here are ten distinct, yet complementary, proposals for
immediate action.
1. We need to stop referring to breastfeeding as 'best feeding' and define
it as 'normal feeding'.
2. We need to stop talking about 'the benefits of breastfeeding' and focus
instead on 'the risks of not breastfeeding'.
3. We need to publicize breast milk's significance for neurocognitive and
visual development.
4. We need to reframe routine artificial feeding for what it is - a
momentous deviation from the biological norm for the young of our species.
5. We need to recall that infant formula was originally developed for
emergency use; it was never intended for routine consumption.
6. We need to identify infant formula for what it is: an inert paediatric
fast food based on the milk of an alien species, and the least-bad
alternative to human milk.
7. We need to track systematically, across the life course, artificial
feeding's adverse health outcomes for both mothers and children.
8. We need to evaluate the global economic implications - in the short,
medium and long term - of child-feeding mode.
9. We need to calculate the amount and value of human milk produced and
consumed worldwide while we make certain that human-milk banks become a
routine component of healthcare infrastructure everywhere.
10. We need to clarify what breastfeeding costs even as we ensure that every
mother can afford to breastfeed.

 

 

Esther Grunis

Tel Aviv, Israel

 


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