Are We Conditioned to Formula Feed Our Infants?

Breastfeeding is gaining in popularity. New moms are being educated on the benefits of breastfeeding and on breastfeeding techniques and the majority are making the smart decision to at least give breastfeeding a try. Over 70% of mothers breastfeed their newborn infants when they leave the hospital. By the time those infants are six months old, only 36.2% of them are still being breastfed. And, by the time the babies are a year old, only 17.2% of them are breastfed.

These statistics are troubling, especially since the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for approximately the first six months and continued breastfeeding support for up to a year and beyond, or for as long as the mother and baby choose to continue.

Why are mothers choosing to not continue breastfeeding? I believe that in our society, we are conditioned to formula feed our babies. From the time we are children, we are bombarded with images of bottle-fed babies. We grow into women and men that think this is normal. Babies and bottles go hand in hand.

Most women that are now of child-bearing age were bottle fed formula when they were babies. They, along with their husbands, grew up in a formula feeding culture. It takes a tremendous amount of courage and strength for a new mother who came from a formula-feeding background to step outside of her comfort zone to breastfeed her baby. And to breastfeed her baby for longer than a few months takes even more courage as many women are not surrounded with a breastfeeding support system.

To ensure that our children grow up to see breastfeeding as the normal, natural thing to do, there are some changes that we should make.

Baby dolls should not be sold with toy bottles.

Conditioning to bottle feed starts early. Many baby dolls are sold with toy bottles. Little girls who play with these dolls and pretend to feed them are, in fact, being conditioned to bottle feed their own babies years later. Instead of selling the dolls with bottles, why don't the manufacturers include a picture on the box of a child pretending to breastfeed her baby doll? Many children who have younger, breastfed siblings pretend to breastfeed anyway. But, children who are not in a breastfeeding household are going to take the bottle included with the doll as more reinforcement that formula feeding is the right way to do things.

Formula commercials on TV reinforce the societal norm of formula feeding.

Formula commercials romanticize bottle feeding. They show mothers lovingly bottle feeding their infants. They show happy, healthy babies. They imply that mothers that truly love their babies will choose this particular brand of formula. In reality, formula fed babies have many more health problems than breastfed babies, no matter what brand of formula is used. But, children and young women see these commercials and see the romantic image of the loving mother with the bottle. They don't see the high grocery receipt for the cost of formula or the frantic mother with a sick baby calling her doctor's office in the middle of the night. Formula commercials should be banned from television. Or, better yet, breastfeeding commercials should replace them. I would love to see a commercial showing a mother lovingly breastfeeding her infant.

Formula samples should not be given to new mothers in the hospital.

When my first son was born, almost eight years ago, we got a goody bag from the hospital. This goody bag was a nice diaper bag filled with formula samples and products with formula company advertising splashed all over them. Luckily, I was vehement that I would breastfeed. But, it took my son a few days to learn how to latch. I was a first-time mom and I had a bag full of formula right there, at my disposal. I could have fed my baby and quieted his cries. It would have been easy. But, I would not give up on breastfeeding. My son latched and we enjoyed a long breastfeeding relationship that lasted until he was 21 months old. I am sure that many a new mother has turned to the free formula in those emotional early days after a baby is born.

Five years later, my second son was born at a different hospital. This time, I did not receive a goody bag. Instead I received breastfeeding literature, a visit with a lactation consultant in the hospital room and a phone number for the local La Leche League. I don't know if this hospital does this for every mother or only those that say they are breastfeeding. I hope they do it for everyone. But, I know there are still hospitals that give those dreaded goody bags.

Our personal support systems are not familiar with breastfeeding.

In 1969, just 19% of white women and 9% of black women in the United States were breastfeeding their newborn infants. By 1980, these numbers had increased to 51% and 25%, respectively. While that jump is significant, it still means that there were many babies that were not breastfed. Now, those babies are all grown up and having babies of their own. And, the people that they would traditionally turn to for advice about caring for and feeding their newborns are women who have no experience with breastfeeding.

Young mothers are bombarded with bad advice from the people they love the most, their own mothers and grandmothers. Many mothers often get encouragement to supplement with formula or switch to formula completely because it will be "easier". The elder women, with only their own experience to draw from, do not know that breastfeeding is, in fact, infinitely easier than formula feeding. There is no getting up in the middle of the night to prepare and heat a bottle, no measuring and no sterilizing.

Lisa, a friend of mine, had an experience several years ago, after her son was born, that changed her resolve to breastfeed. Lisa's mother was staying with her to help when Lisa and her baby came home from the hospital. On that first night, Lisa was trying to breastfeed. The baby was crying, quite upset that he couldn't latch. He wasn't even 48 hours old yet. Lisa's mother, who had formula fed her children, panicked. She told Lisa that breastfeeding was too hard and sent Lisa's husband to the store to buy formula and bottles. Lisa was upset and emotional and let her mother take over feeding her newborn on those first critical days. She never tried breastfeeding again.

This story always makes me sad. I wonder how many countless other stories like this are out there. How many young mothers turn to formula because they don't have any breastfeeding support?

Many formula feeding messages come in magazine ads, books and television shows.

Americans are assaulted by the formula feeding message from many sources. Magazines are filled with ads for formula. Children's books show pictures of babies being bottle fed. Even some early reader chapter books mention that the main character's baby sibling is being bottle fed formula. Television shows that write the birth of a baby into the story line often show the baby being bottle fed. Thankfully, I have noticed that some modern shows make it obvious to the viewer that the fictional newborns are being breastfed. Sadly, when the baby is a little older, the bottles still make an appearance.

We can raise the rates of breastfeeding in our country for the better by being aware of what we are exposing our children to. Having conversations with our children when we see a baby being formula fed, either in real life or on television, is a good way to educate our children about how babies are meant to be fed.

Being a positive, supportive role model for young mothers is something that every mother should do, whether you breastfed your babies or not. If you were a mother who chose not to breastfeed for whatever reason, I ask that you please keep quiet when faced with a young mother who is breastfeeding. If you feel you must comment on her breastfeeding, please choose praise and encouragement over criticism. She is, after all, choosing a healthier life for both her baby and herself.

References:
http://www.kellymom.com/writings/bf-numbers.html#usa
http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/feb05breastfeeding.htm
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/42/5/864
http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/525a1b9402141235ca25682000146abc/8e65d6253e10f802ca256da40003a07c!OpenDocument