Are We Conditioned to Formula Feed Our Infants?

Breastfeeding is gaining in popularity. New moms are being educated on the benefits of breastfeeding and on breastfeeding techniques and the majority are making the smart decision to at least give breastfeeding a try. Over 70% of mothers breastfeed their newborn infants when they leave the hospital. By the time those infants are six months old, only 36.2% of them are still being breastfed. And, by the time the babies are a year old, only 17.2% of them are breastfed.

These statistics are troubling, especially since the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for approximately the first six months and continued breastfeeding support for up to a year and beyond, or for as long as the mother and baby choose to continue.

Why are mothers choosing to not continue breastfeeding? I believe that in our society, we are conditioned to formula feed our babies. From the time we are children, we are bombarded with images of bottle-fed babies. We grow into women and men that think this is normal. Babies and bottles go hand in hand.

Most women that are now of child-bearing age were bottle fed formula when they were babies. They, along with their husbands, grew up in a formula feeding culture. It takes a tremendous amount of courage and strength for a new mother who came from a formula-feeding background to step outside of her comfort zone to breastfeed her baby. And to breastfeed her baby for longer than a few months takes even more courage as many women are not surrounded with a breastfeeding support system.

To ensure that our children grow up to see breastfeeding as the normal, natural thing to do, there are some changes that we should make.

Baby dolls should not be sold with toy bottles.