Jamie Wells, M.D.

“These WHO-UNICEF mandates to governments don’t address the fact that there are biological reasons a mother cannot breastfeed (in all parts of the world) or that she can be so poorly nourished herself because of the lack of refrigeration and clean water in the first place. Forcing a woman to breastfeed exclusively under these conditions can be harmful for the baby.”

“Women in countries with reliably clean water also face a lot of shaming with regard to how they feed their infant. The so-called Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative the Global Breastfeeding Collective endorses has contributed to stigma around bottle feeding. It also encourages infants to room-in with mothers 24 hours a day. This has created perverse incentives by hospitals to truncate staff and nurseries. With some mothers recovering from major surgery and on pain medications, the practice can put a baby at risk. One Oregon woman accidentally smothered her own infant to death. She is suing the hospital claiming the Ambien and Vicodin she was on for the C-section made her groggy and unaware when a nurse came in the middle of the night and left the baby beside her unattended to breastfeed. And, she just might have a case.”

Read more at American Council on Science and Health.