In the wake of the Charlottesville rally of white supremacists in 2017, resulting in the murder of a counter-protester, Donald Trump uttered these immortal words:
You also had some very fine people on both sides.
With that ugly claim, Trump signaled his sympathy with racists. Is Trump a racist? As Sen. Cory Booker recently pointed out, “The racists think he’s a racist.” That, of course, is the point. He is pandering to racists because he values their support above their immoral views and harmful acts.
But make no mistake, there are not very fine people on both sides of the white supremacy debate. There are only racists — whose racism hurts others — and everyone else.
[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Is La Leche League anti-vax? Anti-vaxxers think it is.[/pullquote]
In the wake of an blog post asking if La Leche League is anti-vax, I found this statement on their website:
La Leche League does not have a stance on vaccinations …
Really? LLL doesn’t have a stance on the greatest public health advance of the past century, an advance that has saved more lives than breastfeeding ever could? Apparently, there are some very fine people on both sides of this issue. LLL is eager to pander to them because it values the support of anti-vaxxers above their unscientific, unethical views and harmful refusal of vaccines.
Make no mistake, there aren’t two sides to the vaccine debate. There are only conspiracy monetizing, pseudoscience peddling charlatans — whose fear mongering represents the greatest public health threat in this century to children in industrialized countries — and nearly all doctors, scientists and public health officials in the world.
Is LLL anti-vax? The anti-vaxxers think it is.
This list comes from the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), possibly the premier anti-vax organization.
La Leche League can be found nestled among the major purveyors of pseudoscience like Mercola.com and Dr. Bob Sears. There is no indication that this endorsement was solicited, but it is an endorsement nonetheless.
Speaking of anti-vax charlatan Bob Sears, recently disciplined by the Board of Medicine of California for giving out vaccine exemptions, he is a regular speaker at LLL conferences, including the LLL International Conference in 2007. Indeed, he was scheduled to speak at this LLL conference that took place months after he had been placed on probation.
The topic? How to evade California’s recently strengthened vaccine mandate.
All of which raises the question: if La Leche League is willing to twist and ignore scientific evidence on vaccination — arguably the single most important protection of the health of children — can they be trusted to accurately represent the scientific evidence on breastfeeding?
The answer is an emphatic, “No!”
What does the truth matter when your goal is to promote breastfeeding even above the health and safety of babies?
It doesn’t matter enough to warn mothers about the dangers of breastfeeding itself. Breastfeeding is now the leading risk factor for newborn readmission to the hospital; literally tens of thousands of babies are being readmitted each year for iatrogenic problems caused by aggressive breastfeeding promotion. You might think that the readmission of tens of thousands of newborns each year merits a discussion on the LLL website, but you would be wrong.
What does the truth matter when your goal is to promote breastfeeding even above the health and safety of babies?
Fully one third of cases of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) are associated with bedsharing and the American Academy of Pediatrics is quite clear that bedsharing is unsafe for babies and should be avoided. LLL mentions the AAP recommendation only to disparage it.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says, “Infants may be brought into the bed for feeding or comforting but should be returned to their own crib or bassinet when the parent is ready to return to sleep.” Easy to say… Eventually, many mothers find that bedsharing is a low-risk, long-term solution for sleep deprivation and an unhappy baby…
What does the truth matter when your goal is to promote breastfeeding even above the health and safety of babies?
La Leche League is no longer an organization devoted to science (if it ever was). It is a special interest group devoted to advancing the fortunes of itself and its members, regardless of whether children are harmed as a result.
There are not “fine people” on both sides of the anti-vax debate. There are only conspiracy monetizing, pseudoscience peddling charlatans and nearly all doctors, scientists and public health officials in the world. Going forward, medical professionals and medical organizations should either convince LLL to adhere to the scientific evidence or sever ties with them.
If La Leche League doesn’t stand on the side of doctors, scientists and public health officials, then doctors, scientists and public health officials should not stand by LLL’s side.
