Breastfeeding Support Home Visits, Amanda Stuart

 New  Rochelle, NY, September 25, 2008 – The number of infants  in China who have fallen ill as a result of formula tainted by  melamine, has reached 53,000 and is responsible for the deaths  of at least three infants. (New  York Times,  September 24, 2008)

 A report released by the Xinhua News Agency indicates the Sanlu Group,  the producer of the tainted formula, had received consumer complaints  about their product as early as December 2007, and repeatedly made  efforts to hide information about possible contamination. Melamine,  a chemical compound used mainly as a fire retardant, has been identified  as the contaminant in the formula which has now led to the recall of  Chinese-made dairy products in China and other parts of Asia as well.

 In  response to these continuing reports of tainted Chinese baby formula,  the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (www.bfmed.org) urges  public agencies worldwide to renew education and support for breastfeeding.  The tragic and unnecessary deaths of infants in China , and the sickening  of thousands of others, remind us of a truth health experts have long  understood: with extremely rare exceptions, breastmilk is unquestionably  the safest method of infant feeding.   Much attention has  been focused lately on ways in which food and other supply chains in  China should be more carefully monitored and regulated, a problem which  has proven to be ubiquitous, deeply engrained in the Chinese economy,  and thus far highly unmanageable.

 In  the case of infant feeding, however, very little has been said about  what would appear to be the most effective long-term strategy to  protect infants against future feeding catastrophes, namely, the  promotion of breastfeeding.  The melamine scandal,  together with the terribly catastrophic earthquake that ravaged so  many Chinese communities last May, should have demonstrated to China  and to the entire world that breastfeeding is a practice that all societies  should cherish, safeguard, and promote. This stark reminder of the  potential dangers of artificial milk, underscores the importance of promoting, protecting, and supporting breastfeeding worldwide.

 Dr.  Caroline Chantry, President of the Academy of Breastfeeding  Medicine, pointed out “ China is not the first, or only country to fall prey to contaminated baby formula. But we must make  it the last. And we do know how.”

 According  to the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), a recent decline  in funding world-wide for public education and training of health  professionals to support breastfeeding, has resulted in a decline  of hospitals implementing the WHO/UNICEF Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative.  The Initiative incorporates ten steps for successful breastfeeding,  and forbids the unethical promotion of beastmilk substitutes in health  facilities. And the  Academy of Breastfeeding  Medicine continues to promote professional education through its  conferences, publications, and its peer-reviewed journal Breastfeeding Medicine (www.liebertpub.com/bfm).