More on the “Breast Is Best” Message
February 19, 2008 by Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor
Filed under activism, breastfeeding, quotes and literature
An article newly published in Maternal and Child Nutrition discusses the flaws of the “breast is best” promotional message that many of us favored in a recent poll. According to a ScienceAlert piece, one of the article authors, doctoral student Nina Berry, argues that the “breast is best” message is misleading and fails to communicate the importance of breastfeeding:
“In fact, these messages may have obscured the importance of breastfeeding to infant and maternal health and the well-established risks associated with early weaning from breastfeeding,” Ms Berry said. “To say that ‘breast is best’ is to suggest that what breastfeeding offers is a handful of optional bonuses and that formula-fed infants are the normal standard for comparison. In fact, human babies were designed to be fed human milk.”
“Research has found that while most people accept that breastfed babies are healthier, they do not understand that this means that formula-fed babies are likely to be sicker. Because formula feeding is viewed as harmless, women are not getting the support they need to continue breastfeeding and to make informed choices about infant feeding. This misunderstanding demonstrates the failure of the ‘breast is best’ message and the need to rethink breastfeeding promotion”, she said.
I would like to read the whole journal article sometime and learn more about how a “breastfeeding is the norm” promotional campaign would work. Is such a campaign all about the dangers of formula? How does it address the complaints formula-feeding mothers make about such messages making them feel guilty or bad?
I’m not sure that a “breastfeeding is the norm” campaign should necessarily be centered around the dangers of formula. I think to go about treating breastfeeding as the norm in any sort of promotional way would be not to say that formula-fed babies aren’t as healthy or aren’t as… well anything as breastfed babies… But to actually say something like, “THESE are the benefits of breastmilk and without these extra precautions that our children’s bodies need then THESE are the possible issues children can face growing up.”
Whether they want to look at it from the medical, mental or developmental aspect the only way to not make mothers of formula fed babies feel bad is to not mention them at all. Instead they need to keep it positive and not say breastmilk has antibodies for whatever sickness your child is fighting off and formula doesn’t offer this. Leaving off any mention of formula keeps the message positive and informative without making anyone feel bad for their choices.
I think that’s alot of the problem with promotional campaigns, instead of just praising the benefits of whatever they’re trying to sell or make people aware of as an option they instead decide to compare their option to others as “better”… that may be why the “breast is best” seems like it has flaws because for it to be best then something has to be worst.
I’m not a mother yet but I’m hoping to be one someday soon and I think this blog is wonderful for getting information to people who want it.