The World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics both state that exclusive breastfeeding for at least the first six months of a child’s life is the best start. The WHO’s baby-friendly hospital initiative requires hospitals, among other things, to ban formula advertising bags. The “Ten Steps” towards becoming baby friendly create an environment where women feel celebrated and supported as they breastfeed, rather than an inconvenience to staff. You can find a complete listing of all baby friendly hospitals and birth centers on the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative Website here.
Although initiatives such as Baby Friendly are pure in their intent, their has been a backlash in select circles of the feminist community denouncing breastfeeding as the new vacuum cleaner of the fifties, holding American women back from pursuing a satisfying life and career. On her blog, www.PushedBirth.com, Jennifer Block, author of Pushed, published a post bringing these criticisms to light and weighing them against evidence-based research. She focuses heavily on the “shot heard round the world” article by Hannah Rosin published in the Atlantic, “The Case Against Breastfeeding.” Our very own Miriam Labbok, MD, professor of Public Health at UNC is interviewed as the expert on breastfeeding and feminism. Dr. Labbok has over thirty years of experience in the breastfeeding field in her expansive resume. Go NC!!!! You can find the full text of the article here.
