Hello
I think doctor apathy about breast feeding is multi-factoral. From a cultural point of view, in western society the majority of humans have not breast fed their children beyond 6 or 8 weeks and this trend has occured probably since around the 1930's and 40's. Commercialised baby milk was invented in 1867 but it wasn't until later on that it began to be pushed heavily by milk companies. It was marketed as something that rich mothers did (breast milk being for poor babies because it was free) and women's breasts began to be portrayed in the media as sexual objects, which of course they can be, but it moved the public perception of them away from the intended function. At the end of the day, they are there to feed a baby. However, by the 30's, 40's, 50's breasts were seen as purely sexual and when la Leche League set up in the 50's they called themselves that (from the Spanish for milk) so that they could advertise group meetings in the newspaper without using the word 'breast' and causing offence.
Many doctors weren't breast fed themselves, didn't see their mother feeding their siblings, etc. When I had my now 8 year old daughter (who was breast fed till 3 years and 7 months), myself and my best friend were the only two people I knew who breast fed their children. I was advised by a nurse to add formula milk when my daughter was only 3 months old to 'give me a break' and because she was 'getting big' - yes, she was getting big on wholesome, natural human milk!
It is not seen anymore in our society in virtually any industrial country so even though it is the norm, it is not thought of as the norm.
The fact that we as a culture have grown used to knowing how many ounces our babies are drinking has led to fears around breast feeding because you can't 'see' how much breast milk a baby is drinking. This leads some people, even misguided medical professionals, to want to add formula so they can measure how much baby is getting.
Another issue is that doctors are busy and a lot of them don't have time to sit there and read research articles. They have too many patients to see so even though there are many articles out there showing benefit for older babies and toddlers who are allowed to continue to breast feed, they aren't aware of them. The WHO for instance recommend that all children should be breast fed for a MIMIMUM of 2 years for their health (and that is the bare mimimum recommendation), yet despite this most health professionals say six months to a year of breast feeding is fine. They acknowledge a baby needs at least 1 year of some type of infant milk so if the baby is weaned from the breast at six months it would still require formula after that, so that logic really makes no sense.
Another reason I think they don't highlight breast milk immunity is that they obviously want people to have vaccines and some mothers, such as your wife, may choose not to if they read the studies showing protection against hib, whooping cough etc. Studies saying that breast milk prevents chest infections etc are readily announced in the press and by doctors yet the ones indicating protection from childhood diseases are never mentioned by either. They want you to take their product and at the end of the day, you're not going to if you realise there's something better and free on tap from the mother's own body.
There are some good doctors out there who support breast feeding and have read the research and my own GP has been supportive of me breast feeding (after the health visitor told me I would give my son tooth decay by breast feeding!), but I think they are rather the exception than the rule.
Your wife sounds like she's doing an excellent job in continuing to breast feed your son and you are being a great advocate for them both.
Best Wishes,
Joanna (whose breast feeding 3 year and 8 month old is just starting to self-wean by his own accord as nature intended).
Comment Reply
Hello
I think doctor apathy about breast feeding is multi-factoral. From a cultural point of view, in western society the majority of humans have not breast fed their children beyond 6 or 8 weeks and this trend has occured probably since around the 1930's and 40's. Commercialised baby milk was invented in 1867 but it wasn't until later on that it began to be pushed heavily by milk companies. It was marketed as something that rich mothers did (breast milk being for poor babies because it was free) and women's breasts began to be portrayed in the media as sexual objects, which of course they can be, but it moved the public perception of them away from the intended function. At the end of the day, they are there to feed a baby. However, by the 30's, 40's, 50's breasts were seen as purely sexual and when la Leche League set up in the 50's they called themselves that (from the Spanish for milk) so that they could advertise group meetings in the newspaper without using the word 'breast' and causing offence.
Many doctors weren't breast fed themselves, didn't see their mother feeding their siblings, etc. When I had my now 8 year old daughter (who was breast fed till 3 years and 7 months), myself and my best friend were the only two people I knew who breast fed their children. I was advised by a nurse to add formula milk when my daughter was only 3 months old to 'give me a break' and because she was 'getting big' - yes, she was getting big on wholesome, natural human milk!
It is not seen anymore in our society in virtually any industrial country so even though it is the norm, it is not thought of as the norm.
The fact that we as a culture have grown used to knowing how many ounces our babies are drinking has led to fears around breast feeding because you can't 'see' how much breast milk a baby is drinking. This leads some people, even misguided medical professionals, to want to add formula so they can measure how much baby is getting.
Another issue is that doctors are busy and a lot of them don't have time to sit there and read research articles. They have too many patients to see so even though there are many articles out there showing benefit for older babies and toddlers who are allowed to continue to breast feed, they aren't aware of them. The WHO for instance recommend that all children should be breast fed for a MIMIMUM of 2 years for their health (and that is the bare mimimum recommendation), yet despite this most health professionals say six months to a year of breast feeding is fine. They acknowledge a baby needs at least 1 year of some type of infant milk so if the baby is weaned from the breast at six months it would still require formula after that, so that logic really makes no sense.
Another reason I think they don't highlight breast milk immunity is that they obviously want people to have vaccines and some mothers, such as your wife, may choose not to if they read the studies showing protection against hib, whooping cough etc. Studies saying that breast milk prevents chest infections etc are readily announced in the press and by doctors yet the ones indicating protection from childhood diseases are never mentioned by either. They want you to take their product and at the end of the day, you're not going to if you realise there's something better and free on tap from the mother's own body.
There are some good doctors out there who support breast feeding and have read the research and my own GP has been supportive of me breast feeding (after the health visitor told me I would give my son tooth decay by breast feeding!), but I think they are rather the exception than the rule.
Your wife sounds like she's doing an excellent job in continuing to breast feed your son and you are being a great advocate for them both.
Best Wishes,
Joanna (whose breast feeding 3 year and 8 month old is just starting to self-wean by his own accord as nature intended).
February 10, 2011 - 8:27amThis Comment
Reply