Lactnuts- I apologize if I already sent this to lactnet. I encourage others
to write as well. LW
Ms. Whyte,
Thanks for soliciting feedback on the Medicinenet.com Doctor's Office part
of your website. In December I read the piece "Breast Feeding and Formula
Feeding." Being a maternity nurse and a board certified lactation
consultant, I was very disappointed in the site. It is extremely lukewarm,
if not downright apologetic, about breastfeeding, and (against current
medical and public health advice) advocates breast and formula feeding
combined as the best feeding option.
Bringing up the "guilt issue" is not valid either, as parents will make
their own decisions when given factual information. For example, I would not
expect to see advice like "combining car seat use when you can, with holding
the child on your lap when you're hurried, may be the best choice for your
family."
Several inaccuracies were also found. The statement, "the ability of the
breasts to produce milk diminishes soon after childbirth without the
stimulation of breastfeeding" is misleading. While it is optimal to begin
breastfeeding or milk expression soon after birth, mothers who (for various
reasons) do not get started right away can certainly breastfeed. Formula
feeding mothers who never put their baby to breast still experience their
milk "coming in." Mothers who get off to a "slow start" should be put in
contact with a lactation consultant who will know how to help her achieve
her breastfeeding goals.
This next statement is really a breastfeeding myth: "The mother must
maintain good nutrition and continue taking any vitamin/mineral supplements
her doctor recommended during the pregnancy." Most women erroneously believe
they must eat a "perfect" diet and take their prenatal vitamins to make good
breastmilk. This is absolutely not true.
Fathers and sibs feel left out with breastfeeding precisely because the
culture (and your website) tells them to. I believe that family members
would feel no more left out than during the pregnancy and birth, if
breastfeeding were acknowledged as being the normal, next step in the
reproductive cycle. Mommy has the uterus and Mommy has the breasts.
Breastfed babies do usually eat more often than formula fed ones. However,
time that would have been spent shopping for, preparing, cleaning, and
sterilizing bottles and teats, and time spent caring for a sick baby, seeing
the doctor, and getting the medications, is time that will be saved and can
be spent blissfully nursing. Be realistic - with formula feeding, the moms
are usually the ones doing most of the feedings anyway, after the initial
few days of help from dad or grandma.
This statement is exceptionally egregious! "The disadvantages of formulas
are ... the lack of maternal infection-fighting antibodies that are in
breast milk. However, it should be noted that the baby receives a four to
six month supply of antibodies through the maternal bloodstream prior to
delivery." Well, mothers reading this will think their babies are protected
from infection for 6 months! Any maternity text will tell you that IgG
antibodies are transferred via placental circulation, but may be deficient
if the baby is born before 36 wks, and that IgA (acquired via breastfeeding)
is of CRITICAL importance in protecting the newborn from infection.
Please revise your website to reflect current information - or acknowledge
prominently if you are a formula marketing site.
Laurie Wheeler, RN, MN, IBCLC
Coordinator of Louisiana BF Mediawatch
Violet LA
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