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WASHINGTON, Jun 13, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A U.S. government campaign pushes breastfeeding by calling bottle-feeding risky.
The Department of Health and Human Services tells mothers they should breastfeed for at least six months to protect their children against a range of diseases.
"Just like it's risky to smoke during pregnancy, it's risky not to breastfeed after," Suzanne Haynes, an adviser to the department's Office on Women's Health, told The New York Times. "The whole notion of talking about risk is new in this field, but it's the only field of public health, except perhaps physical activity, where there is never talk about the risk."
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, has even suggested that warning labels be required in advertising for baby formula and on packages.
Women who are unable to breastfeed say that the campaign has gone so far that they feel guilty, the Times said.
"I thought I was doing something wrong," said Karen Petrone, a college professor in Kentucky, who was advised to supplement breastfeeding with formula when her children did not gain weight. "Nobody ever told me that some women just can't produce enough milk."
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
