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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
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 OPINION 
21

Enough Already: Breastfeeding Is Overrated

Ambivalent research hasn't stopped the bullying of formula moms

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(Newser) – Breast milk isn’t a magical elixir that boosts IQ and thwarts illness, but it may be the residue of women’s subjugation, Hanna Rosin writes in the Atlantic. Science has never handily declared breastfeeding better than bottled formula, says Rosin. At best, it prevents gastrointestinal illness in some children, and at worst, wreaks havoc on a woman’s life, she adds.

In the 1960s the vacuum cleaner symbolized housewives’ oppression, but now it’s “another sucking sound” that’s “keeping me and my 21st-Century sisters down,” writes Rosin, who breastfed her three children, but cautions mothers against feeling pressured. “Overall, yes, breast is probably best,” she writes. “But not so much better that formula deserves the label of ‘public health menace’ alongside smoking.”

More than 500 mothers breastfeed their children of different ages during the Second Synchronized Breastfeeding Worldwide event last year in Marikina City, east of Manila, the Philippines.
More than 500 mothers breastfeed their children of different ages during the Second Synchronized Breastfeeding Worldwide event last year in Marikina City, east of Manila, the Philippines.   (AP Photo/Pat Roque)
Hanna Rosin challenges the notion that 'breast is always best' in the 'Atlantic.'
Hanna Rosin challenges the notion that 'breast is always best' in the 'Atlantic.'   (Shutter Stock)
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Hanna Rosin tells NBC's "Today" show why breastfeeding isn't always best for infants.   (MSNBC)

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Breast-feeding does not belong in the realm of facts and hard numbers; it is much too intimate and elemental. It contains all of my awe about motherhood, and also my ambivalence.
- Hanna Rosin, the Atlantic

When people say that breast-feeding is 'free,' I want to hit them with a two-by-four. It’s only free if a woman’s time is worth nothing. - Hanna Rosin, the Atlantic

The debate about breast-feeding takes place without any reference to its actual context in women’s lives. It is a serious time commitment that pretty much guarantees that you will not work in any meaningful way. - Hanna Rosin, the Atlantic

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21 comments
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Mad
Mar 20, 09 2:14 AM CDT
If breast milk is best, why is it lacking vitamin D? Just sayin' Reply
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TerrifiedCitizen
Mar 20, 09 2:23 AM CDT
Ms Rosin needs to research a bit more and tell the rest of the story; "One of the best-kept secrets in the breast cancer and infant formula industries is--breastfeeding prevents breast cancer. Yale School of Medicine Professor W. Douglas Thompson admits, "Aside from breastfeeding, there is not much researchers can recommend to prevent breast cancers.'' And Dr. Nancy Lee, epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, has said, women who breastfeed have significantly lower rates of breast and ovarian cancer than mothers who don't. Population studies reveal longer nursing is associated with fewer breast cancers. Countries with low rates practice prolonged breastfeeding, and the rise in breast cancer correlates internationally with the rise in bottle feeding. Canadian Eskimo women have large families, generally nurse for two or three years, and have the lowest rate of breast cancer of any group studied. The few reported cases have occurred in the unused breast among women who nursed only on one side. A 1977 study found that Tanka boat women, who traditionally nurse only on the right side, have a higher incidence of breast cancer in the left breast. Moreover, epidemiological studies suggest protection increases with longer periods of nursing. One 1986 study found women who nursed had half the risk of pre-menopausal breast cancer--the type with fastest-increasing incidence--compared to women who had never nursed. And women who nursed for two years cut their risk of breast cancer by a third. Hippocrates said in the 5th century, B.C.: "Use leads to health and disuse to disease." Breasts are for feeding--use them or lose them." Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
Laugh
Mar 20, 09 4:25 AM CDT
Good comment. Thanks.
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riffran
Mar 20, 09 3:37 AM CDT
wow terrified...you got the better highlights before I did.....but I'll give it a try.........with a bit of sarcasm.....lets see....aside for the initial production of colostrum, which is highly suited to supply the initial energy demands of the neonate, along with conferring some initial immunity, breast milk is exactly what the baby needs at first nutritionaly. In addition, there is no need to warm up the bottle, it promotes mother child bonding, promotes infant security, promotes uterine involution, (return of uterus to a pre pregnancy state), also helps the fundus from becoming "boggy" (it's an OB thing, a soft uterus tends to bleed more after the delivery, and you have to massage it to get it to firm up), promotes the release of extra fluid accumulated during the pregnancy, in addition to utilizing the fat stores built up during the pregnancy, which means weight loss ladies and gents.....and they were put there for a reason...thousands of SPECIES OF MAMMALS CAN'T BE WRONG!!!....and did I mention it doesn't cost money(except for the cost of mom to eat..lol)...yeah that stuff is worthless....but it is good that there are alternatives for the mothers that can't or wont breast feed..........being a breastfeeding mother is a very special and unique thing, and doesn't deserve to be denigrated with taints of 60's return feminism Reply
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NutsInNY
Mar 20, 09 4:58 AM CDT
All fantastic info in the two comments above. But then riffran's political slip was showing on his very last line and, ironically, it hit upon a key point: *Feminism* isn't the problem, male chauvinism (or something like it) is the more likely culprit, and/or women's vanity. It's not feminism, but rather the culture of Hugh Hefner (to use 60's references) that views breasts as sex objects, and that encourages young women to forego any long term health benefits of breastfeeding in the interest of preserving their breasts in their youthful state. Because, truth be told, breastfeeding does transform breasts. (Hate to see feminism, which is usually in woefully short supply, take the blame once again.) Reply
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