A Class Divide and a Moral Divide
by Kate Kahn - 28th January 2008
In England, it's illegal to advertise formula milk for babies under the age of six months. And if lactation activists,or lactivists, get their way, it will be illegal to advertise all types of formula including infant formula ( for babies under six months) and follow-on formula ( for those older than six months). There's a great commentary in the British newspaper, The Guardian, today that, I think, articulates how absurd the situation can get.
You might say, "well, that's over there. In the U.S. we're not as radical." But think again. It's already started here with the militant lactivists ( their words, not mine) pursuing a campaign to ban formula samples from the "take home" bags that hospitals provide new moms when they leave. The lactivists are concerned that the practice encourages new moms to give up on breastfeeding before the recommended six months.
Here's what I want to know. Do the lactivists take into account societal and environmental reasons that women give up breastfeeding? It's called the class divide. It's not exactly news that the majority of women who stop breastfeeding do so because they have to go back to work. If any one needs proof, one has only to read or watch the daily deathwatch chronicled in print and broadcast as our economy heads south. Perhaps they don't realize that average American family is a two income household these days. Or, it might just be that the mother doesn't have limitless funds to hire a nanny to watch the other children in the household, and so bottlefeeding is a good solution for her family. Is that a crime?
There are also mothers who, dare I say it, opt not to breastfeed right from the start. Does that make them bad mothers? I don't think so. But the lactivists seem to. I'm annoyed. Can you tell? I'm just so sick of others passing judgment where it doesn't belong. Please, just spare me the moral diatribe.
The lactivists maintain that in order to be a good mother we need to breastfeed for the sake of our baby's health. But study after study comes out with contradictions left and right. So what's the truth? We don't know yet. In the aforementioned commentary the author quotes, Sydney Spiesel, an associate clinical professor of pediatrics from Yale University's School of Medicine. When talking about breastfeeding studies, Spiesel says, "untangling the observed effects is a nearly impossible exercise in subjective judgement. That's especially the case for evaluating subtle effects like IQ level, or the much later development of childhood cancer, allergies or tooth decay". He adds, "Breastfed babies may on average have higher IQ scores ... but is the difference because of the breastfeeding or some other factor, like coming from a family with a higher income level or more education or fewer siblings?"
It begins with banning the bags in hospitals. But where does it end? With a situation like that which is happening in England, where allowing mothers to make informed choices as to what's best for their families, is off the table?
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