Breastfeeding and Guilt
One of the most powerful arguments many health professionals, government 
agencies and formula company manufacturers make for not promoting and 
supporting breastfeeding is that we should "not make the mother feel guilty 
for not breastfeeding". Even some strong breastfeeding advocates are 
disarmed by this "not making mothers feel guilty" ploy.
Because, indeed, it is nothing more than a ploy. It is an argument which 
deflects attention from the lack of knowledge and understanding of most 
health professionals about breastfeeding. This allows them not to feel 
guilty for their ignorance of how to help women overcome difficulties with 
breastfeeding, which could have been overcome and usually which could have 
been prevented in the first place if mothers were not so undermined in 
their attempts to breastfeed. This argument also seems to allow formula 
companies and health professionals to pass out formula company literature 
and free samples of formula to pregnant women and new mothers without pangs 
of guilt, though it has been well demonstrated that this literature and the 
free samples decrease the rate and duration of breastfeeding.
Let's look at real life. If a pregnant woman went to her physician and 
admitted she smoked a pack of cigarettes, is there not a strong chance that 
she would leave the office feeling guilty for endangering her developing 
baby? If she admitted to drinking a couple of beers every so often, is 
there not a strong chance that she would leave the office feeling guilty? 
If a mother admitted to sleeping in the same bed with her baby, would most 
physicians not make her feel guilty for this even though it is the best 
thing for her and the baby? If she went to the office with her one week old 
baby and told the physician that she was feeding her baby homogenized milk, 
what would be the reaction of her physician? Most would practically 
collapse and have a fit. And they would have no problem at all making that 
mother feel guilty for feeding her baby cow's milk, and then pressuring her 
to feed the baby formula. (Not pressuring her to breastfeed, it should be 
noted, because "you wouldn't want to make a woman feel guilty for not 
breastfeeding".)
Why such indulgence for formula? The reason of course, is that the formula 
companies have succeeded so brilliantly with their advertising to convince 
most of the world that formula feeding is just about as good as 
breastfeeding, and therefore there is no need to make such a big deal about 
women not breastfeeding. As a vice president of Nestle here in Toronto was 
quoted as saying "Obviously, advertising works". It is also a balm for the 
consciences of many health professionals who, themselves, did not 
breastfeed, or their wives did not breastfeed. "I will not make women feel 
guilty for not breastfeeding, because I don't want to feel guilty for my 
child not being breastfed".
Let's look at this a little more closely. Formula is certainly 
theoretically more appropriate for babies than cow's milk. But, in fact, 
there are no clinical studies which show that there is any difference 
between babies fed cow's milk and those fed formula. Not one. Breastmilk, 
and breastfeeding, which is not the same as breastmilk feeding, has many 
more theoretical advantages over formula than formula has over cow's milk 
(or other animal milk). And we are just learning about many of these 
advantages. Almost every day there are more studies telling us about these 
theoretical advantages. But there is also a wealth of clinical data showing 
that, even in affluent societies, breastfed babies, and their mothers 
incidentally, are much better off than formula fed babies. They have fewer 
ear infections, fewer gut infections, a lesser chance of developing 
juvenile diabetes and many other illnesses. The mother has a lesser chance 
of developing breast and ovarian cancer, and is probably protected against 
osteoporosis. And these are just a few examples.
So how should we approach support for breastfeeding? All pregnant women and 
their families need to know the risks of formula feeding. All should be 
encouraged to breastfeed, and all should get the best support available for 
starting breastfeeding once the baby is born. Because all the good 
intentions in the world will not help a mother who has developed terribly 
sore nipples because of the baby's poor latch at the breast. Or a mother 
who has been told, almost always inappropriately, that she must stop 
breastfeeding because of some medication or illness in her or her baby. Or 
a mother whose supply has not built up properly because she was given wrong 
information. Make no mistake about it—health professionals' advice is often 
the single most common reason for mothers' failing at breastfeeding!
If mothers get the information about the risks of formula feeding and 
decide to formula feed, they will have made an informed decision. This 
information must not come from the formula companies themselves, as it 
often does. Their pamphlets give some advantages of breastfeeding and then 
go on to imply that their formula is almost, actually just as good. If 
mothers get the best help possible with breastfeeding, and find 
breastfeeding is not for them, they will get no grief from me. It is 
important to know that a woman can easily switch from breastfeeding to 
bottle feeding. In the first days or weeks—no big problem. But the same is 
not true for switching from bottle feeding to breastfeeding. It is often 
very difficult or impossible, though not always.
Finally, who does feel guilty about breastfeeding? Not the women who make 
an informed choice to bottle feed. It is the woman who wanted to 
breastfeed, who tried, but was unable to breastfeed. In order to prevent 
women feeling guilty about not breastfeeding what is required is not 
avoiding promotion of breastfeeding, but promotion of breastfeeding coupled 
with good, knowledgeable and skillful support. This is not happening in 
most North American or European societies.
Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC August 1997
May be copied and distributed without further permission
http://www. BreastfeedingOnline.com


Kathleen B. Bruce, BSN, IBCLC co-owner Lactnet, Indep. Consultant
http://together.net/~kbruce/kbbspin.html
LACTNET Archives http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/lactnet.html


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