Breast vs bottle - must it always be one or t’other?

Make no mistake - I’m a passionate breastfeeding advocate, and particularly passionate about prolonged breast-feeding and infant-led weaning. I say “ask the experts, only 3 year olds need apply!”

But I’m also a pragmatist. In Australia, the baby-friendly initiative in hospitals has meant a big increase in the number of women who are confidently and securely breastfeeding on discharge.  But twelve months down the track, the number still breastfeeding remains static at around ten percent - despite the fact that WHO recommends a minimum period of at least two years. The number remains static despite better adherence by formula manufacturers to the MAIF Code. The number remains static despite the mass of material suggesting that there is no substitute for breastmilk, that breastfed babies are healthier, brighter, more secure and that their mothers enjoy a whole host of physical, mental and emotional benefits that continue long after the breastfeeding period is over. 

So as a very practical woman, with 45 years in both orthodox and complementary medicine, with a variety of educational roles and as a spokesperson for numerous health-promoting products and services, I’ve come to the conclusion that women need to hear a different message. We need to tell them that whatever their reason for initiating formula feeds and whatever their timing, they shouldn’t make it an either/or decision. The benefits of “nursing” (and I deliberately choose that instead of the more prescriptive “breastfeeding”) go far beyond the delivery of food and drink to a baby. 

But the reality? A Mexican stand-off between infant formula manufacturers and breastfeeding associations. Cowboy companies who capitalise on ignorance and fear in emerging markets. Mums who for a multitude of real or spurious reasons choose a supplemental product. The biggest loser in all of this is the baby. I believe that breastfeeding is a child’s birthright. Encouraging mothers to provide at least some of that birthright is better than providing none at all. Meanwhile formula manufacturers must work towards a product that is as close as possible to Nature's design. Some examples include strains of probiotic isolated from breastmilk (not from the gut), fatty acid content closer to breastmilk and staged levels of protein that is more akin to the real thing. Or human milk banks? Now there's an opportunity for an enterprising company...

On a slightly different note, this video is almost 30 years old, in about 5 minutes a good way to explain to children about breastfeeding. 

Infant-led weaning? The when and the why...

While in touch with my old school mates over our impending 50-year reunion, I exchanged an email with lo-and-behold, another mother who defied the odds and let her daughter wean in her own time. Nothing like birds of a feather flocking together...

Then later that day a Mercola article and advice from a “Darwinian dentist” who explains how a child’s teeth and palate develop optimally, without occlusion when the child is exclusively breastfed for at least six months, then introduced to pre-masticated food (in lieu of processed baby foods) prior to finger foods of the whole, unrefined, organic variety. Breastfeeding should continue until the child decides he’s had enough. When might that be you ask? Anthropologists validate what the West perversely terms “prolonged” with the breastfeeding period for all species of primates equivalent to six times (x6) the period of gestation. That means 54 months = 4.5 years for humans! 

Or you can simply ask another sort of expert - and only three year olds need apply. More on the subject in Healthy Parents, Healthy Toddler.

Breastfeeding, not BEST, just NORMAL

I had dinner with an old friend recently. I met Margaret Grove way back when I was a brand new mum and attending Nursing Mothers meetings. Margaret now holds a key post at Australian Breastfeeding Association and as you might expect, our conversation turned to the current breastfeeding rates. In Australia, these are static at around 30 percent at 6 months, falling to a very disappointing 10 percent at 12 months. This despite the WHO recommendations for a minimum breastfeeding period of 2 years.

We pondered the many reasons, the failures of so many in the healthcare system, the rise and rise of the commercial 'alternatives', but also reflected on the new approach which is to emphasise the normality of breastfeeding. After all, breast is the default way of feeding mammals so breast or the bottle should never be a simple choice, even though the formula manufacturers have done their best to make it so. We should never have to read nonsense about breastfeeding being ‘better’, nor do we need any more studies showing its ‘benefits’. Infant formula was designed for those rare occasions when Nature fails, but just as IVF and C-secs were designed as similar last-resorts, the man-made, emergency, fall-back positions are embraced far too frequently and as if they were simple equivalents. The fact of the matter is, they are not!

Support and encourage the normality of breastfeeding - lead by example. Nurse your baby or toddler whenever and wherever and so others will see you!