Still being subjected to the cow and gate ad.

[LookingForwardToSummer]

Grrrrr. It's so annoying! Is there nothing we can do?

Babies DO die from not being breastfed in developed countries, not in large numbers, but they do die. The Royal College of Midwives calculated that 100 preterm babies a year die from necrotising enterocolitis who wouldn't have died had they received breastmilk (this illness is 15 times more common in preterm babies who don't get breastmilk). And what about the higher rates of SIDS for bottlefed babies?

Honestly though, I think it's almost impossible for us to know the full impact on mortality/morbidity figures in the West because partial and full bottlefeeding is ubiquitous.

In any case - many, many babies do die in developing countries from unsafe bottlefeeding, and the companies who advertise to poor mothers in these places are the same ones by and large who we are buying our formula from in the West. For me that's a really motivating factor in MY feeding choices - I would not want companies who promote their product abroad to have ANY of my money if I could possible find a way around it.

Perhaps Elf, you should read up on this subject as you are looking quite interested. Can I recommend 'The Politics of Breastfeeding' by Gabrielle Palmer? It's a really good read.