Promoting Breast-Feeding

This morning at the Legislature more than 60 women came out to breast-feed their children (top photo). It was part of a challenge to have as many mothers as possible breast-feeding at the same time. It was also part of an effort to promote breast-feeding.

There was a time in the 1950s and 1960s when breast-feeding was often discouraged, and formula feeding was encouraged. But accumulating evidence has shown very clearly that breast milk better protects infants from infections and reduces problems with cow's milk allergies. For a whole variety of reasons it is now very clear that breast milk is incredibly well designed as a food for human infants.

In the 1960s and 1970s my father, a pediatrician, was a strong advocate for breast-feeding. He worked closely with members of the La Leche League to advocate for more breast-feeding. In 1974, he wrote an article entitled "Breast-feeding: Second Thoughts" which appeared in the journal Pediatrics (volume 54 pages 757-764) in which he carefully reviewed the evidence which showed that breast feeding is optimum for almost all mothers. It was an important influence in changing the view that was often being promoted at the time - that formula was as good as breast milk. In the years since, there has been a substantial increase in the proportion of mothers in Canada who breast feed and this is good.