Photo of the Day, November 25, 2009: Boston as seen from the harbor
Cheap Eats: Burtons Grill
Sports Redux: Every Minute Counts
Photo of the Day, November 26, 2009: Long Wharf
Drinking in Boston: Pairing Beer
Today we flipped on the radio for a bit of a dose of news. First thing we hear is about breastfeeding. The issue of the day was the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's approval of the "gift basket" with infant formula distributed to mothers in state maternity wards. Pro-breastfeeding groups had pushed for a ban on the distribution of free infant formula – before the Govnah stepped in and according to the Boston Globe " Romney objected to the ban, saying it deprived women of the right to decide whether they wanted to breast-feed their babies or give them formula." Wait. So Romney's pro-choice on breast feeding – but abstinence only for sex education? The result of the proposed prohibition was a Romney shake up of the Public Health Council (who oversees the Department of Public Health), removing several pro-formula-ban members.
We don't quite fully understand the political issues, or Mitt's morals behind the movement on this issue in Massachusetts – perhaps the liberals are feeling that Nestle is out to target new mothers in the Bay State rather than in developing countries. The State Department of Public Health does promote breastfeeding as best practice for the infant, even if the potential health fall out of improper bottle feeding is much less here than, say, Ethiopia. Oh, and, they'll continue to do so from the same office space they've inhabited since 1995 – 250 Washington St. They just re-upped their lease for another 10 years of the 120,000 square foot office space on floors two through 10 in the building. Final numbers haven't been disclosed but the rental is reported to run around $30/sq.ft. certainly better that you'll find in Back Bay.
Photo of real-life breastfeeding woman from Flickr user: seaniz
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PROPER breastfeeding is healthiest, but bottle-feeding is better than improper breastfeeding.
breastfeeding has definite drawbacks: if the mom isn't eating right, neither is the baby; also, some women don't produce enough milk and their babies end up malnourished from breastfeeding. furthermore, just because breastfeeding is natural doesn't mean it's easy. it can be very painful (think chapped lips x20), and it takes work learning when the baby needs to be fed for how long - it's not like you can tell automatically how much is in there.
breastfeeding has repercussions for the mom's lifestyle, as well - whether it's someone who needs to be on medication that prevents her from breastfeeding, someone using illegal drugs, someone with HIV/AIDS, or someone who can't afford to be home with the baby all day. and clearing an office for breastpumping is not cool in every biz, even if it is in some.
the point is, inform women of both options, and if a company wants to provide them with formula, great. to condemn bottle-feeding is dangerous for the babies for whom bottles are the healthiest choice in a non-ideal world.
Setting aside how annoying Romney's interference w/the public health department is, the upshot is that most major Boston-area hospitals either already have or soon will stop the formula gift bags anyway. A statewide ban would have been a great way to disseminate this practice beyond the local area, but I imagine breastfeeding advocates & thought-leading practitioners in Mass can be just as successful & push bag bans through continued grassroots efforts.
"not necessarily" has it all wrong. The whole POINT of lactation is so that the baby is insulated from the ebbs and flows of an unpredictable food supply. It's why mammals make milk in the first place. Mom will make perfect milk for her baby even if she herself is not eating very well. Even severely malnourished moms make milk that is almost identical to milk made by a well-nourished one.
More than 95% of women are capable of breastfeeding their babies with no milk supply problems. Massachussetts can and should do all it can to protect its most vulnerable citizens and the banning of the "gift bag" was a big step in the right direction. The bags are not about choice. If they didn't, ultimately, make money for the formula makers, they wouldn't give them out. Unfortunately, Romney has kowtowed to the formula lobby and the babies are not better off for it.
The biggest barriers to breastfeeding are ill-informed opinions like the one above.