Breast is Best

Breasts. Boobs. Tits. Knockers. Melons. Hooters. Fun bags. Gazongas. Shirt potatoes. Mammalian protuberances. Personal floatation device. Breasticles. Chesticles. The girls. The twins. Bert and Ernie. Mary-Kate & Ashley… Jugs. Milk shakes. Milk shooters. Milk factories… Personally, I call them “Milkies”, at least I do when I’m talking to my daughter who sucked on them for two years.

Breasts are here to produce milk, and not just any old milk, the perfect milk. The perfect milk for the perfect little person who will be drinking it. But why am I talking about breasts in a skeptical journal (other than everyone likes to think about breasts)? A skeptical issue can sometimes be simplified like this: A misconception exists or is propagated in the public and for various reasons it does not dissolve, ie. I see many misconceptions, held by women, men, children, and health professionals, revolving around the act of breastfeeding.

Breast is Best
The alternative to breastfeeding is bottlefeeding with infant formula, a substance designed to taste and act like breast milk but which is derived from cow, goat or soy milk. Breastfeeding has repeatedly been shown to be more beneficial than feeding with infant formula, in a continually growing number of ways. These include protecting baby from illness and infections, providing hundreds of ingredients necessary for a growing baby, aiding in baby’s development of eyesight, speech, cognitive development, and promoting a special bond between mum and bub . Not to mention the benefits to mum if she breastfeeds, such as getting her body back in shape quicker, reduced risk of ovarian and breast cancer, and (this is my favourite) delayed return of menstruation which can act as a natural contraceptive. To put it simply: “Breast is best”. On the other hand, babies who are not breastfed have a higher risk of cot death, have a higher likelihood of allergies, and may have an increased risk of juvenile diabetes and heart disease later in life .

The number of breastfed infants has changed dramatically over the last century. Although most Australian newborns were breastfed at the beginning of last century, by the 1970’s the number of breastfed babies had dwindled to less than 50%. I imagine this was due to the development of infant formula which replaced straight cow’s milk, though I doubt that anyone in their right mind could convince themselves that formula was better than breastmilk. The number of breastfed babies has risen since the 70’s, with 2004-05 showing 83% of infants being breastfed when they were discharged from the hospital . Ok, so that seems better, but in reality many of those children will only be fed exclusively on breast milk for less than the recommended minimum length of time. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, and breastfeeding supplemented by solid food for up to two years or beyond . These recommendations take into account all the scientific research and long term studies. There is no doubt in any scientific or pseudo-scientific communities, or even infant formula companies, that breastfeeding is the best option. So why were only 32% of infants aged up to six months, the minimum recommended age for exclusive breastfeeding, breastfed in 2001 ?

In a modern world where we are obsessed with what is best for our health, how is it so many women do what is worst for their children? My answer to this question is education, education at home, in the hospital, through the media, and at schools.

Before I continue about the education of breastfeeding (or lack thereof), let me first explain why there needs to be any education at all about how and why to breastfeed. Breastfeeding is a lovely and natural act, but it is a learned behaviour, and can be difficult to do. And I mean painfully difficult. Think cracked nipples, infected milk ducts, screaming and sleepless babies… and that’s on top of the mother’s sleep deprivation, exhaustion, and pain after giving birth. If a mother doesn’t feed her baby for the right length of time, at the right frequency, in the right position, or if she gets too stressed, gets too hormonal, doesn’t get enough sleep, or even eats the wrong things, all sorts of problems can occur with the supply of milk . Many mothers find they are in too much pain or have too little milk and resort to formula, but a large number of these mothers could have avoided those problems if they had been given the right information about breastfeeding in the first place.

Education at Home and in the Community
With 1.3 average children in Australian households (in 2001 and reducing as we speak) , it’s obvious that most children aren’t learning about breastfeeding from their own mothers. Back in the day when humans lived in tribes and communities, children would have been around breastfeeding women all the time and picked up techniques without effort, and even if children paid no attention to nursing mothers in their own household they would be sure to get all the help they needed when the time came for them to feed their own baby. With families increasingly moving and living away from their parents, the likelihood that breastfeeding will be learnt from home slides away into the distance. Not only that, but breastfeeding women often report that some people in their community find the act of breastfeeding offensive and give the mothers rude looks or comments. In these cases it is the ignorant strangers and family members who need to be educated rather than the mother.

Education in the Hospital
There is usually one voluntary information night that expecting mothers can attend, but at that stage the information is almost useless because absorbing information on something you’ve never even tried to do before is terribly inefficient. When a woman feeds her baby in the hospital, or goes home after the birth, she gets one-on-one advice from a trained nurse, midwife, or even lactation consultant. WHO launched the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative in 1991, which aims at improving maternity services to increase the liklihood that mothers will exclusively breastfeed their babies. It is fantastic to see this implemented, but the system still tends to breaks down on the individual level, with nurses and midwives not being trained correctly or having their own agendas. I have come across many cases (if not all, with the exception of my own) in which women have received very bad advice, from trained professionals, which is seriously outdated, biased by the nurse or midwife’s personal opinions, or not explained with enough care. The upshot of this is that new mothers are walking into breastfeeding practically blind, and are likely to make the mistakes that will result in the use of formula.

Education through the Media
Groan… When has the media ever taught us anything accurate? Ok, The Simpsons taught me half of what I know, but even that brilliant show fails terribly when it comes to breastfeeding. Over the two years of breastfeeding my own child I kept a keen eye out for the boob on the tube, but I only noticed a few cases where the breast was used instead of the bottle. Look in any children’s book and you’ll find a baby in their cot or pram with a bottle in their mouth. There are many celebrities hailing the wonder of the breast, but there are just as many seen filling up the bottle. The media is certainly not the place to turn for an accurate portrayal of reality, and why should it be? A large proportion of the content in the media is advertising. The regulations of the advertising of infant formula have been tightened in recent years but before that, they managed to create false ideas such as infant formula is easier for mothers, helps babies sleep longer, and prevents colic.

Education in Schools
Is there? In biology I learnt that mammals breastfed their young. In Health Ed I learnt that you might be pregnant if you miss your period. I don’t remember anything about human breastfeeding. Do you?

I’ll end with what prompted me to write this article in the first place, excerpts from a letter from my old friends, The Australian Breastfeeding Association, requesting a donation for their “Teaching Our Kids” cause:

“Dear Dahliyani,
‘Breastfeeding is rude’ commented 9 year old Olivia in a class discussion.
‘Can’t she afford bottles?’ added her friend when looking at a picture of a breastfeeding mum.
Please help us to show Olivia, and all Australian school children, about the importance of breastfeeding by donating now to ABA's Teaching Our Kids Appeal.
Throughout Olivia's school years breastfeeding could be touched upon in a unit on mammals (breast milk is the normal food for human babies), Renaissance art (many examples of breastfeeding), science (growth and immune factors in human milk), and economics (cost of artificial milk feeding to the Australian economy). At the same time her peers, including her future partner, would also be learning these and other aspects of breastfeeding, making it the natural choice when they have their own children.”