Big Brother and the Breast

That is the title of a chapter in a new book by Jennifer Grayson, Unlatched: The Evolution of Breastfeeding and the Making of a Controversy. Grayson is a Los Angeles writer, and her book includes endorsements from film stars Anne Hathaway and Alyssa Milano. Jennifer is a breastfeeding advocate, and she explores the science, history, and cultural practices surrounding breastfeeding. While breastfeeding is now known to be superior for child development than infant formula, apparently too few moms follow through with it for the recommended period of time. Jennifer is a champion of “Breast is Best.”    Jennifer contacted me when she was writing her book because she had come across my essay criticizing the federal government’s $6 billion Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. I found that while WIC administrators are supposed to encourage moms to breastfeed, the program actually incentivizes moms to use formula because WIC provides it to them for free. WIC accounts for half of all infant formula used in the nation. About 90 percent of WIC infants use some formula, and the share of moms on WIC who breastfeed is substantially less than the share of moms not on WIC who breastfeed. WIC makes no sense. American pediatricians universally recommend breastfeeding, as do government health officials. Yet the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) runs a $6 billion subsidy program that induces mothers to use manufactured baby formula. Jennifer explores this conundrum in Unlatched...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs