6 Questions About Breastfeeding Research: With Joan B. Wolf
By Erika Milvy
Mothering, as author Joan Wolfe well knows, is one of the most polarizing topics of our time. And yet we all seem to agree that, when it comes to feeding babies, breast is best. At least, until now. In her new book, “Is Breast Best? Taking on the Breastfeeding Experts and the New High Stakes of Motherhood,” Joan B. Wolfe, a professor at Texas A&M, argues that the science behind this universal “truth” is flimsy. “The message that women are getting about this borders on hysterical,” she says.Wolfe points out that women have been told “this is the most significant decision you will ever make for your child, that breastfeeding is the greatest gift you can ever give your child, and if you don't breast feed, there are serious repercussions.” By taking a fresh look at the data on breast and bottle feeding, Wolfe concludes that all-or-nothing statements like “best food” and “greatest bonding experience” are far-fetched. In her view, most mothers are committed to doing - and afraid of not doing - everything in their power to help their kids; but, she says, “It probably doesn't really matter very much which method you choose.”
In your book you argue with the scientific evidence that breastfeeding provides a host of health benefits for both the baby and the mother. Is the research wrong?
We give women lots of unequivocal information about the merits of breastfeeding, and women take it very seriously. When you tell somebody that if you breastfeed, your child will be more intelligent and sick less often, will have fewer heart attacks and will not get leukemia, that's pretty serious advice. But the truth is that the science grounding that advice is much more problematic than we are led to believe. Lots of women are making a decision about how to feed their baby based on incorrect information.
Breastfeeding is promoted as something that protects against Leukemia, ear infections and obesity, and protects mothers against breast cancer and ovarian cancer. These are outrageous claims. Breastfeeding does reduce gastro-intestinal. But it’s one thing to say your baby might get one fewer diarrheal infection this year and it’s another thing to say your baby might get leukemia if you don't breastfeed - and the Surgeon General has said this. (The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding, January 20, 2011)