Category: Baby-Friendly Protocol Complications: Starvation, Jaundice, Hypoglycemia, Dehydration, Newborn Falls

Fed is Best Foundation receives stories from mothers who have been led to harm their infants in the pursuit of increasing exclusive breastfeeding rates. Learn about the dangers of insufficient feeding in breastfed infants caused by Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative.

Is Formula More Dangerous than Irreversible Brain Damage?

Is that some kind of sick joke? Infant formula is safe nutrition—scientifically created to replace human milk and thus consists of fluids and nutrients necessary to nourish a baby. Brain damage is irreversible.  That should be glaringly obvious, but it looks like the AAP Breastfeeding Section responsible for the recently released “Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk” (June 2022) has lost sight of this critical fact.

Let’s focus on this appalling statement:

“The need for phototherapy in an otherwise healthy infant without signs of dehydration and/or insufficient intake is not an indication for supplementation with formula unless the levels are approaching exchange transfusion levels.”

Hyperbilirubinemia (excessive jaundice) and Phototherapy

To explain why we are horrified, let’s look carefully at what the statement means. Jaundice is a common and usually benign condition experienced by about 60% of healthy newborns. It is caused by a substance called bilirubin, a breakdown product of fetal red blood cells after birth to transition to mature red blood cells. However, if a baby’s bilirubin levels are greater than a certain level and continue to climb, the risk for brain damage increases.

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A Nurse Speaks Out About The Emotional Distress Parents Endure From Mandated Exclusive Breastfeeding Policies

“The sight and sound of babies crying out for food and fluids are why I decided to speak out. Babies are denied food and fluids to promote exclusive breastfeeding.”

As a mother-baby nurse, I’ve seen many preventable episodes of emotional distress for families in my thirty-year career. Unfortunately, The emotional distress increased significantly when the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative was implemented at my hospital. Some episodes of emotional distress are unforgettable, so I felt compelled to speak out about them, hoping to bring about the much-needed change to protect newborns from hunger and maternal mental health.

Mothers are incredibly vulnerable after giving birth, as their bodies transition physically and hormonally. They have a new life to take care of while recovering from birth and require compassionate, respectful, and individualized care. However, the Baby-Friendly breastfeeding protocol is one-size-fits-all and does not allow individualized care. Mothers must follow the BFHI protocol regardless of how they feed their baby or how complicated their birth was. We know as health care professionals that no protocol can be safe and effective without individualized care.

 Evidence based medicine cannot replace clinical judgment or account sufficiently for the complexity of individual cases. The limitations of EBM must be acknowledged and addressed so that it can be used effectively and without compromising patient care. -Mark R. Tonelli, MD, MA

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Listen to Fed is Best Co-Founder Talk About Her Son’s Breastfeeding Complications

Come tune in and listen to a podcast where Fed is Best Co-Founder, Christie del Castillo-Hegyi talks with Hayley Zimak of “Growing Up: Baby” about her breastfeeding story, the birth of the #FedisBest movement, and what needs to change in parent-infant feeding education to ensure the safety of every child.

Listen to the Co-Founder's story and why Fed is Best

Belgian Mother Shares How Her Babies Became Lethargic After Being Denied Supplemental Milk by Hospital Staff

A Letter from Karlyne C. from Belgium

I would like to share my experience in hopes that it can be useful. My name is Karlyne, I am the mother of 3 children and live in Belgium. 

My first daughter, Moïra, was born in 2018. I had not looked up any information about breastfeeding during my pregnancy, I thought that since it is a natural process, it would be easy and that there was nothing more to know than the fact that I should put the baby on breast when she showed signs of hunger. When she was born, that is what I did, I put her on my breast.

But she could not manage to latch on, she would systematically let go of the breast. I asked the midwives who worked in the maternity ward for help. They would crumple my nipples while firmly holding her head to try to shove them in her mouth despite her cries. Hours went by without her being able to feed, and I could tell she was getting weaker; all the while the midwives told me everything was normal. In response to my insistence, I was told to express colostrum in a small spoon and to give it to her if it could reassure me. I produced at most a few drops of colostrum, yet the midwives kept telling me that I had enormous quantities, and that a baby’s stomach is minuscule, that some five halves of those small spoons every 2 to 3 hours would be more than enough. Those few drops, Moïra refused because the spoon in her mouth made her nauseous, so she would not take it.  The midwives refused to bring me a clean spoon for me to try again, telling me that supplementing once was enough. 

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Mother Speaks Out About Her Baby’s Death After Exclusive Breastfeeding: What She Wants Human Rights Organizations to Know

Josephine contacted us after reading Dr. Christie del Castilo-Hegyi’s letter to health care professionals about the dangers of insufficient breastfeeding and the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative. Josephine is from Lagos, Nigeria, and wants to tell her story, because she believes every mother should know how to supplement her baby safely until her milk is flowing, no matter what country she lives in, to prevent brain damage and death from insufficient breastfeeding. 

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