Once again, the benefits of breastfeeding are in the news. A
study recently published in the November Journal of the American
Medical Association claims that breast-feeding may protect
mothers from developing Type II diabetes. Although the study's
findings are somewhat in dispute, everyone agrees that an ounce
of prevention is worth a pound of cure. However, when it comes to
encouraging nature's way to feed babies, our local hospitals and
obstetricians do not seem to be getting the message. Some nursing
advocates are charging that formula manufacturers' intense
marketing of their product to the medical industry is to blame.
Months ago, I received an e-mail containing an article from
Mothering Magazine, "Formula for Profit: How Marketing
Breast milk Substitutes Undermines the Health of Babies." I
relegated this information to the back of my mind because it has
been 20 years since I've personally dealt with the issue. On
November 15, however, my latest grandson was born in St.
Vincent's Hospital at Staten Island, and as I watched the tiny
newborns behind the viewing window I couldn't help but notice the
tiny bottles of Similac in each cot. My daughter was attempting
to nurse her son and I expected to see a water bottle in his cot,
but this was not the case. Apparently, the formula is the
standard fare unless the mother insists on water only. New
mothers do not always know they have that option.
Somehow, I had expected that all hospitals had become more
enlightened since I was a young mother, but that's not always the
case.
My decision to nurse was not made from a heightened sense of
health benefits for my child or a concern for the environment. I
did not consider myself an earth mother, and I was not acting out
my Aquarian nature to be a maverick. I simply did not want to
deal with the mess involved with bottles and sterilizers, or the
cost. If breast-feeding is the best method for nourishing a baby,
why do so many women give up after a short while? What appears to
be second nature to mothers in most undeveloped countries seems
to be too difficult for modern American women. Chauvinist critics
of the women's movement have charged that liberated women are
more self-centered and unable to deal with the inconvenience of
full-time nursing. Speaking from personal experience, I disagree
and say the answer is considerably more complicated.
Most modern women are not surrounded by experienced nursers, as
are the women in undeveloped countries. Unless a mother is
properly prepared for the experience, breast-feeding can be very
- no, make that extremely - painful. Obstetricians should be
advising their patients to begin toughening their nipples months
before delivery, but they rarely even inquire whether their
patients plan to nurse.
Pediatricians always recommend breastfeeding, but by the time
they get to meet the mothers it's too late. Newborns may be
toothless, but the amount of pressure they can exert on tender
tissue can be comparable to the chomp of a crocodile.
Fortunately, my experienced Southern mother-in-law was a godsend
who helped me enormously, as did the nurses at Lenox Hill
Hospital, which was the only institution that I felt supported my
efforts. At Bellevue Hospital and St. Vincent's, the nursing
staff barely acknowledged my choice to breast-feed and did
nothing to encourage other mothers to follow my example.
Nursing babies are difficult to handle in the nursery because
nature increases their hunger in order to stimulate their
mothers' supplies of milk. It's much easier for a nurse to feed a
squalling newborn with a bottle, but this can hamper the baby's
adjustment to the mother's body. Babies have to work harder to
get nourishment from the mother, whose milk doesn't come in until
at least the second day after delivery. What the baby does
receive if put immediately on the breast is colostrum, a wonder
substance that contains antibodies and helps the baby purge any
waste accumulated while in utero. This benefit cannot be
duplicated by man. At the very least, all hospitals should be
encouraging new mothers to give their babies this miracle
safeguard against disease.
The Mothering article says the groups that receive generous
contributions from the formula industry include the American
Medical Association, the American College of Obstetrics and
Gynecology, and the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and
Neonatal Nurses. Whether hospitals and other institutions accept
them is not the issue. They still have the responsibility to
encourage the best care for their youngest patients.
Breast-feeding means healthier babies, healthier children, and
fewer medical expenses, yet we're a society that seems to be
impressed by all that is fake. Untalented starlets have made
whole careers out of their silicone enhancements. What a pity our
hospitals and doctors have also lost respect for the natural
function of the real deal.