[charleen2008]

Readers Respond:

Promotion of breast feeding goes too far

Once again the official promotion of breast feeding as the only choice is being touted by my friend Fran Phillips at the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene ("Maryland seeks to improve support for mothers to breast-feed," Feb. 11).

No one disputes some of the advantages of breast feeding, but many claims for benefits in health care cost savings are way off. No one has looked at the cost of the number of extra visits to my office to reassure distraught parents with children who are doing poorly with the nursing process. No one adds the cost of post-partum depression on the rise due to the pressure on mothers to succeed in nursing promoted by some of the fanatics involved in lactation promotion.

Nursing is simply a good method of feeding your newborn, but it is not the only safe or best way for all. The word is choice, and it is a big mistake to force one method for everyone. When some children fail to thrive on breast milk, there is, and should always be, an alternative feeding method, and it does not include the guilt be placed on these equally caring parents. Formula, despite the claims of some, is not poison and is in fact life-saving at times.

Dr. Kenneth Hoffman, Annapolis

Source: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bs-ed-breastfeeding-article-20120214,0,33859...

[charleen2008]

Readers Respond:

Promotion of breast feeding goes too far

Once again the official promotion of breast feeding as the only choice is being touted by my friend Fran Phillips at the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene ("Maryland seeks to improve support for mothers to breast-feed," Feb. 11).

No one disputes some of the advantages of breast feeding, but many claims for benefits in health care cost savings are way off. No one has looked at the cost of the number of extra visits to my office to reassure distraught parents with children who are doing poorly with the nursing process. No one adds the cost of post-partum depression on the rise due to the pressure on mothers to succeed in nursing promoted by some of the fanatics involved in lactation promotion.

Nursing is simply a good method of feeding your newborn, but it is not the only safe or best way for all. The word is choice, and it is a big mistake to force one method for everyone. When some children fail to thrive on breast milk, there is, and should always be, an alternative feeding method, and it does not include the guilt be placed on these equally caring parents. Formula, despite the claims of some, is not poison and is in fact life-saving at times.

Dr. Kenneth Hoffman, Annapolis

Source: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bs-ed-breastfeeding-article-20120214,0,33859...

[charleen2008]

No one disputes some of the advantages of breast feeding, but many claims for benefits in health care cost savings are way off.

Sorry it's simply not true that there is no one who disagree with the all the advantages of BF'ing. As far as the cost savings claims are concerned, I believe their is good evidence to support the idea of significant cost savings even if an exact number may require more research to pin down better.

No one has looked at the cost of the number of extra visits to my office to reassure distraught parents with children who are doing poorly with the nursing process.

I don't think the cost of these increased doctor visits really adds up to enough to outweigh the cost of both the formula and the increased medical cost associated with the health-risks that come with formula. I have a sneaking suspicition that this doctor is really not the well informed about BF support as he should be and that contributes to the problem. Nursing moms should be getting help from better sources such as a IBCLC or even free resources such LLL and other BF support groups or BF support boards and websites on the net which would save some moms from the cost of getting bad BF advice from doctors that only makes their BF issues worse repeat visits.

No one adds the cost of post-partum depression on the rise due to the pressure on mothers to succeed in nursing promoted by some of the fanatics involved in lactation promotion.

PPD is not caused by BF not going well though it may be made worse due to these issues. The solution though is not switching to formula but getting proper help in resolving the BF issues and in some cases moms being better prepared to avoid these issue before they arise. This doctor doesn't seem to recognize the role he and many other medical proffesionals play in contributing to the problem. PPD treatment is generally compatible with BF'ing.

Nursing is simply a good method of feeding your newborn, but it is not the only safe or best way for all.

No, it's not simply a "good method of feeding your newborn" as this implies it's close-enough to BM health-wise when 6 decades of research has shown the the health risks of formula are far more significant that. Yes, it is safe enough for the most part that it should remain an option for when BM is not an option or when moms choose not to BF. This does not mean we should support claims that it is close enough to BM health-wise and hardly risky at all. It may indeed not be the best way for all in some limited circumstances but it still is the best way for most even if many refuse to accept this. I may not advocate forcing any moms to BF but I am not going to endorse their choice to FF when I don't agree with there reason and contrary to the implication of critics likes this doctor that does no in anyway infringe of your right to FF. It does however infringe on my free speech right to try and prevent me from expressing any disagreement with any others mothers choice to FF.

The word is choice, and it is a big mistake to force one method for everyone.

Where has this doctor read or heard anyone of significance say that every mom can and should BF? While you may ind a rare individual on the internet who really believes every mom is capable of BF'ing, BF advocates realize that not every mom can BF and thus don't advocate that. What we do advocate is every mom who can should BF and that those who wish to BF should be supported properly on doing so. But most BF advocates are also pragmatic and realize that some will never BF by choice and the use of commercial infant formula is better then the home-made, black-market formula, or other risky BM substitutes they might turn too if prevented from buying commercial infant formula in stores. 

When some children fail to thrive on breast milk, there is, and should always be, an alternative feeding method, and it does not include the guilt be placed on these equally caring parents.

Contrary to what this doctor seems to think, no one is arguing that babies who don't have access to safe BM  for whatever reason should be denied access to formula. In fact, most BF advocates, myself included,  support the right of moms to choose formula even if we may not always agree with mothers who choose to use formula when safe BM is an option. The issue of guilt being placed of mothers who FF is a red herring. The real issue is a lack of support for BF'ing mothers, especially in the medical community which leads mothers to feel guilty becuase they want to BF but can't. What doctors like this propose is wrongheaded as toning down the promotion of BF'ing is not the solution since formula is a lot more risky health-wise then this and many others doctors want to recognize as shown by at least six decades of research. The solution is to improve support for BF'ing and pumping among doctors, hospitals, workplaces, etc. This doctor sounds like he could use some education of BF support himself. 

Formula, despite the claims of some, not poison and is in fact life-saving at times.

Who are these people this doctor claims are calling formula poison? I have never seen anyone call it that in the mainstream media or in medical literature. The rare cases of someone actually calling it poison I have seen happened on the internet and IMO are not significant enough to qualify as some. Just about any claim you can think of has been claimed some someone somewhere but a few fringe people doies not qualify as "some" which implies a significant number of people.

[teresagem]

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charleen2008 wrote:

Formula, despite the claims of some, not poison and is in fact life-saving at times.

Who are these people this doctor claims are calling formula poison? I have never seen anyone call it that in the mainstream media or in medical literature. The rare cases of someone actually calling it poison I have seen happened on the internet and IMO are not significant enough to qualify as some. Just about any claim you can think of has been claimed some someone somewhere but a few fringe people doies not qualify as "some" which implies a significant number of people.

Well said, all of the above.

It is rather strange actually, but the only time I seem to hear formula and poison in the same sentence is when a formula supporter is saying that formula is not poison. I have never actually seen any breastfeeding supporter make the claim that it was poison. Even when I and other mothers say how strongly determined we were not to ever use formula for our own children, that is not an implication that we think it is poison.

But if people keep saying 'formula isn't poison you know' then by implication it sounds as though someone is claiming that it is poison.

Teresa

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[witch_power]

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teresagem wrote:

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It is rather strange actually, but the only time I seem to hear formula and poison in the same sentence is when a formula supporter is saying that formula is not poison. I have never actually seen any breastfeeding supporter make the claim that it was poison.

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In the past, I have found and posted comments from breastfeeding moms and supporters who have called formula poison. I will have a look and see if I can find those posts again.

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[witch_power]

Here's what I found with a quick search:

Who said "Formula is evil"?

http://forums.ivillage.com/t5/The-Debate/Who-said-Formula-is-evil/m-p/87695327

Breastfeeding is poison and sexual abuse

forums.ivillage.com/t5/The-Debate/Breastfeeding-is-poison-and-sexual-abuse/m-p/87689491/

Hey, look! A formula is poison link.

forums.ivillage.com/t5/The-Debate/Hey-look-A-formula-is-poison-link/m-p/87716404/

And doing a Google Search:

Infant formula warning: The poisoning of infants with formula products ...

Infant Formula is Poison, Breast is Best

Formula is poison! | CafeMom Answers

• Jen But Never Jenn

  http://www.jenbutneverjenn.com/
  FORMULAISPOISON. DON'T QUIT - IT'S ABOUT BABY'S HEALTH - NOT YOUR COMFORT LEVEL! BABY COMES FIRST. SIDS! SIDS! Your baby is likely to die at any given moment unless you ...

• Formula feeding is child abuse! - Hot Topics - What to Expect.com

  www.whattoexpect.com/forums/hot-topics-1/topic/formula-feeding-is...
  Yawn... obviously formulaispoison >:-( Any mother FFing her child should just blend up the McDonald's and potato chips, it would be better than the poisonformula.

• TODAYMoms - Meet the newest TODAY Moms blogger: Mayim Bialik

  moms.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/01/18/5839973-meet-the-newest...
  Our kids in our bed has rarely interfered wiyh our sex life, we go other places. Formulaispoison, have you not seen all the recent recalls b/c of the poison ...

• Rules of Newborn Care - The Debate Team - BabyCenter

  http://community.babycenter.com/post/a31686077/rules_of_newborn_care
  I'm going to start TTC #1 soon after a miscarriage, and I am honestly ... YOU MUST BREASTFEED AND ONLY BREASTFEED! Formulaispoison!!!!!

• Shame And The Mom: A Boob Story

  http://herbadmother.com/2009/10/shame-and-the-mom-a-boob-story/
  ... feed myself on even more inadequate 1970?s formula and went on to get a law degree and represent my state in tennis, I might actually start to believe formulaispoison ...

• My choices = values judgments? - The Debate Team - BabyCenter

  community.babycenter.com/post/a28597777/my_choices_values_judgments
  ... breastfed my baby for 9 months', isn't perceived as a judgement, but saying 'I breastfed my baby for 9 months because it is the superior choice and formulaispoison that ...

• Do NOT answer National Opinion Network survey

  http://www.mothering.com/community/t/244075/do-not-answer-national-opinion-network-survey
  I answered it honestly, and then I wrote, "formulaispoison" in the margins of all of the pages just to get my point across that I would not use any of the crap.

• Why did Annika give her baby Raw Goat Milk Formula? « Food For Kids ...

  http://foodforkidshealth.com/why-did-annika-give-her-baby-raw-goat-milk-formula/
  All infant formulas are cow dairy based, and soy formulaispoison to babies (read more about dangers of soy formula here), so soy was not an option.

Baby Formula Taste Test - Daddy Types

daddytypes.com/2004/06/20/baby_formula_taste_test.php Formula is POISON. Do your kids a favor that will last a lifetime and breastfeed.

• Essential Baby > Best Formula for occasional use?

  http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t774810.html
  My daughter is currently exclusively BF. I do express and am working hard ... Yes, because formulaispoison.

• Vent about pregnant friend (and BRU coupons!) - November 2010 Babies ...

  http://www.whattoexpect.com/forums/november-2010-babies/topic/vent-about-pregnant-friend-and-bru-cou...
  She is also a lactation consultant and has said dumb things on that front - such as that formulaispoison. Again, I bite my tongue...but it kills me.

and many more!