Why would so many health organisations around the world strongly recommend breastfeeding if there were not substantial research to indicate benefit?
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Good question. For the "why" part, I'd suggest that you ask your local MP to bring this up. I can offer a couple of suggestions.
Firstly, research costs money. It's expensive to do (properly) so if someone comes to these organisations and says "Oh look, I've done a study, it fits right in with what you're trying to do (see below for why they're trying to do it) and it's all sealed up in a nice package. No cost to you." So, they take it on board, because hey, it's free. Someone will probably cast their eye over the research, and go "Yup, that'll do." Do I sound cynical? I probably am. You see, I've done some research into other areas (cancer pain as an example) where the very guidelines being issued at Government level are using outdated research. In some cases, there are Cochrane Reviews (Gold Standard) which directly contradict the suggestions made in these guidelines. But they are published anyway. So really, I don't always see a lot to support your view that they aren't lazy or ill-informed.
Then researchers themselves aren't daft. They see what way the wind is blowing, and so you get more and more studies on the "benefits" of breastfeeding, as hey, they're almost certain to get grants. There are a handful of good studies (such as one recently into the proliferation of good bacteria in breastmilk vs cow's milk vs formula) but these are swallowed up by the media hype over every other dubious study out there. And by dubious, I mean the ones who don't control for confounding factors, don't disclose the fact that some of the researchers have vested/financial interest in BF'ing organisations, and generally misrepresent correlation as causation.
As for the WHO, people tend to forget that the "W" part stands for "WORLD", which means they issue advice which covers every country on this planet. Which includes areas where there are no safe supplies of drinking water, at which point, using formula probably wouldn't be a great idea. At that point, where there is probably a distinct shortage of nutritious food on top of the water problem, the calories from breastmilk are going to be the best thing a child can get, so by all means, keep giving it for as long as possible. In the developed world, where we have access to clean, safe drinking water? Not so much.
At the end of the day, what I get angry about is the fact that meaningful support is being replaced by rhetoric. Chanting "breast is best" throughout pregnancy is helping no-one. Mums should be getting screened for IGT antenatally. Midwives and lactation consultants should be realistic with Mums about the difficulties some women encounter, without brushing them under the carpet as "booby traps." Mums should be able to go into a breastfeeding relationship
if that is what they want with the backing of professionals who can help them to achieve their own goals. And if it's
not what they want, then they should be supported in how to safely prepare formula, or store expressed breastmilk and use it safely. And they should be given emotional support if a Mum is upset that breastfeeding didn't go the way she wanted it to, rather than being castigated and chastised by healthcare professionals and internet heroes alike.
It's only when the rhetoric is cut out, will we see an end to this debate. To illustrate my point - I went to a meeting of a well-known Breastfeeding organisation when I was pregnant with Moomin. I was looking for advice on: breastfeeding post ELCS, breastfeeding after sexual abuse, positions to help with larger breasts, minimising nipple damage, etc. Now, I got some of that support. But to get it? I had to sit through people referring to formula as "chemical crap" and telling me how lucky my second baby was going to be that it would get breastmilk and not that "rubbish" which my first baby got. I had to sit through little "games" where people listed the benefits of breastfeeding as "My child won't be fat, stupid and sickly" (I'm not paraphrasing). All the while I sat and thought of my delightful, petite, intelligent, healthy 2 year-old, and wanted to cry. Why couldn't I just get the support I was after, without the cruelty? I turned to this organisation as my local midwives were less than useless - how is that helping Mums?
So the rhetoric, which is supported by this bad science, over-blown by the media and re-spouted by lazy health organisations... That's what needs to go.
(This popped up on my new posts as well. I don't come into the FF section often because I don't FF). To be honest, I feel like this is just fanning the flames of a long running debate.
