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5 Int'l J. Child. Rts. 397 (1997)
Breastfeeding - A Human Rights Issue

handle is hein.journals/intjchrb5 and id is 411 raw text is: The International Journal of Children's Rights 5: 397-417, 1997. 397 @ 1997 Kluwer Law International. Printed in the Netherlands. Breastfeeding - a human rights issue? MICHAEL C. LATHAM* Program of International Nutrition, Cornell University, U.S.A. Breastfeeding is acknowledged to be the optimal way both of feeding and caring for young infants (Baumslag 1995). Human breastmilk provides the ideal food for the human infant. Cow's milk is best for baby cows, human milk is best for babies is an oft quoted axiom. There is no alternative. That it should be necessary to argue about the advantages of breastfeeding over other methods of infant feeding is wrong or even ludicrous. Do we argue in favour of breathing fresh air rather than oxygen from a respirator? In fact, to state that breastfeeding is best is to suggest that there are good alternatives. There are not. So rather we should state that other methods of feeding should be rare, and used only in extreme circumstances. We should not be lauding the advantage of breastfeeding any more than we praise the practice of breathing air. Rather we should be articulating clearly the harm and disadvantages of any alternative. We should not be stating that breastfed babies are healthier and have better psychological development than bottle fed babies. Rather we should be saying that formula fed babies have more disease and lower intelligence than normal babies. And also that mothers who do not breastfeed their infants have higher risks of certain cancers. Breastmilk contains the right mixture of protein, carbohydrate, fat, vita- mins, and minerals to provide ideal nutrition for the baby (Jelliffe and Jelliffe 1989), and alone, without any supplementation (not even water), provides the ideal complete diet for the first six months of life. Then, after other foods * Michael Latham is Professor International Nutrition at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853. He has worked extensively in East Africa on health and nutrition issues. He is a founding member of, and still much involved with, both the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action and the World Alliance for Nutrition and Human Rights. He has been a leading figure in the worldwide struggle against inappropriate use of infant formula, and is author of Human Nutrition in the Developing World, published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

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