Breastfeeding Support

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ADA Breastfeeding

In response to questions about the American Dietetic Association’s Position Statement, Promoting and Supporting Breastfeeding, the International Formula Council offers the following statement:

The International Formula Council (IFC)* agrees that breast-feeding http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/advocacy_1728_ENU_HTML.htm is the ideal method of feeding and nurturing infants.

The IFC strongly supports the positive promotion of breast-feeding, and agrees that the barriers to breast-feeding for women in society, especially those in the workforce, should be addressed.

The IFC commends the ADA for acknowledging those special considerations that prevent infants from being breast-fed, as it is important to support those women who cannot or choose not to exclusively breast-feed their babies for six months. The IFC underscores the statement made by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): “HHS strongly recommends and encourages women to breast-feed exclusively for six months. But it understands that there are mothers who are unable to breast-feed or shouldn’t breast-feed. Infant formula is safe and nutritious for those women who are not able to breast-feed.” This position is consistent with that of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, WIC, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. The critical health risk of infant feeding choices, which is not noted in the ADA Position Statement, arises when neither breast milk nor infant formula is chosen.

The IFC disagrees with the ADA including statements, within its list of health benefits to infants associated with breast-feeding, noting that breast-feeding decreases the incidence and severity of (or that evidence continues to accumulate confirming the benefits of breast-feeding in reducing risk of) several serious, chronic diseases, without acknowledging that the overall weight of scientific evidence indicates no such association. Chronic diseases have complex etiologies and multiple postulated causative factors, so risk for each chronic disease will differ among children and adults within, and between, each infant feeding group (breastfed vs. not breastfed).

Cato Research (CATO) – an independent research organization of physicians and Ph.D.-level scientists who have contributed significant medical expertise to the successful development of many therapeutic areas, including those related to women’s health – recently conducted a comprehensive review of the clinical literature regarding the impact of infant feeding practices on specific health outcomes and disease states. Contrary to the statements included in the ADA’s Position Statement, CATO concluded the scientific literature does not suggest that breast-feeding prevents chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, leukemia, obesity or type-1 diabetes.

June 2005

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*IFC is an international association of manufacturers and marketers of formulated nutrition products (e.g., infant formulas and adult nutritionals) whose members are predominantly based in North America. IFC members include all major U.S. manufacturers: Mead Johnson Nutrition; Nestlé Infant Nutrition; Abbott Nutrition; Solus Products; and Wyeth Nutrition.