World Breastfeeding Week

It's World Breastfeeding Week! This year the theme is a very activist one, Code Watch: 25 Years of Protecting Breastfeeding.

"The Code" is the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. (Here's some information.) That's just what formula is, a breastmilk substitute, meant for those rather rare cases when a mother can't breastfeed. But have you looked at a baby magazine lately? They are all stuffed with formula ads. Doesn't look as though formula is rarely used, but instead as though every baby has to have it. Here are some ways breastfeeding is undermined by marketing.

Today, most women in this country are sent home from the hospital with a bag full of formula samples "in case breastfeeding doesn't work out." The message is that formula is just as good as breastmilk, and also that it's fairly likely breastfeeding won't work out. With encouragement like that, it's no wonder that breastfeeding rates drop off quickly. Because it CAN be very tough at first. You're exhausted. You just produced a new human being! You and your baby both have a lot of learning to do in those early weeks.

Call La Leche League! (1-800-LALECHE to find a Leader near you in the United States, or check out this list to find groups and Leaders around the world.) There's also lots of great breastfeeding information on the web now. Here are some of my favorite links. Talk to someone who breastfed successfully and ignore the horror stories. Why do people want to tell you their terrible labor tales right before you give birth and regale you with dreadful breastfeeding anecdotes when you're desperately trying to latch on your newborn? Surround yourself with encouraging people!

Tulip Girl posted a list of people blogging about WBW yesterday. I'm a day late and a dollar short on this one.