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What's a New Mother to Do?
WHO: Moms Should Exclusively Breast-Feed for Six Months; Less Than 30
Percent Do

By Robin Eisner


June 7 - More than 70 percent of American women don't follow new
recommendations that they exclusively breast-feed their babies for the first
six months.


Should they?
Lactation experts say marketing pressure by infant formula companies, lack
of social support and workplaces that don't encourage the behavior make it
difficult for American mothers to meet the recommendations by the World
Health Organization.

But formula companies, which have a $1 billion revenue market in the United
States, disagree, saying they do recommend breast-feeding.

WHO last month called on countries to "protect, promote and support
exclusive breast-feeding for six months" and to continue breast-feeding for
children with supplemental foods "up to 2 years of age or beyond."

Breast Milk Is a Complete Food

Research WHO commissioned showed exclusive breast-feeding for six months,
without supplemental formula, decreases diarrhea and respiratory and ear
infections, and improves brain growth.

Yet only 29 percent of American women either breast-feed or give formula to
their babies by the age of 6 months. The number of exclusive breast-feeders
is even smaller since data in the United States is only kept on both
activities, not each one separately.

While the American Academy of Pediatrics agrees with the WHO guidelines, the
U.S. surgeon general says four months might be good enough.

Healthy People 2010 goals, an initiative of the U.S. Public Health Service,
say the proportion of women who breast-feed for six months should increase
to 50 percent by 2010, but the guidelines don't specifically define
breast-feeding as exclusive or not.


Formula Pressures


La Leche League International, a mothers' advocacy group, says moms should
do what they want to.

"We tell mothers that six months is what the American Academy of Pediatrics
recommends for those mothers who can breast-feed, but they should do what
feels right for them," says Kim Cavaliero, spokeswoman for La Leche
International.

"We're happy as long as breast-feeding is an important element in the baby's
life."

But exclusive breast-feeding advocates say aggressive marketing by infant
formula manufacturers and social pressures make it difficult for women to
give their babies what they need.

Barbara Heiser, executive director of the National Alliance of Breastfeeding
Advocacy in Ellicott City, Md., says it is not surprising American mothers
don't exclusively breast-feed, given how formula companies bombard them.

She says formula companies target new mothers before and after they deliver
their babies. They buy lists from maternity stores and send coupons for
formula to homes, she says.


Aggressive Marketing

Then they provide free so-called starter samples, bottles, nipples, tape
measures, pens and posters to hospitals to give to the mothers, she says.
After the mothers leave, the firms do follow-up surveys at home.

"These are unfair marketing techniques," says Heiser. "How can a message of
exclusive breast-feeding compete against that when a mother's hormones are
raging and a health-care professional offers her a product? Hospitals should
not accept these products for free and should pay for formula as they do
medicine and food."

The formula industry says it supports breast-feeding and that alleged
pressure by the firms is not responsible for mothers using formula.

"Studies show that providing a formula sample does not alter a mother's
practice," says Mardi Mountford, executive director of the International
Formula Council, a trade organization for formula manufacturers in Atlanta.
"Moms make up their mind to breast-feed, use formula or do both before they
have a baby."

Mountford says the firms she represents discuss breast-feeding in
educational material and says product labels say breast-feeding offers the
best nutrition for infants.

One Area of Agreement


While they disagree on formula issues, breast-feeding advocates and
Mountford agree our society is not accommodating toward breast-feeding.

"Social support is very important," Mountford says, adding that it varies
among cultures. "Breast-feeding when a woman goes back to work is still very
difficult in this country."

"Mothers are still embarrassed to breast-feed in public places," says Marcia
Walker, a certified lactation consultant who works in the Boston area, "and
most workplaces are not supportive of breast-feeding." Walker says fewer
than 30 states have laws protecting women from harassment for breast-feeding
and says companies could benefit economically if they were more
breast-feeding friendly, letting moms pump their milk when they need to, not
when companies say it's OK.

"Firms could save money on health insurance claims and absenteeism since
breast-fed babies are healthier," Walker says. "We are trying to help remove
barriers to help women make the best decision for their babies."

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