We live in the age of coronavirus and it’s time to ask a critical, but uncomfortable question: should breastfeeding mothers switch their babies to exclusive formula feeding?
It should be up to individual mothers, but here are some important factors to keep in mind.
Should breastfeeding mothers switch their babies to exclusive formula feeding?
1. Without a diversity of sources, babies are excruciatingly vulnerable when breastmilk dries up.
Those who formula feed can get formula at their supermarket, their pharmacy, from stores like Walmart and Target, from Amazon and even from the manufacturer directly. Breastfeeding infants are restricted to the manufacturer only and if she gets sick and or hospitalized, they can starve!
2. Coronavirus is transmitted by respiratory droplets.
Therefore, women who become ill with coronavirus spew the virus over their breastfeeding infants, putting them at risk for illness.
3. Is there a breastmilk shortage? Probably not yet, but it’s a real possibility as more women become infected!
Should breastfeeding mothers worry? Of course! I hope I’ve done my part to make you scared out of your mind!!
*****
If you read this far, you’re probably wondering what is going on.
It’s simple: I’m copying lactivists who are trying to incite panic around formula.
There are always people who view a massive tragedy as an opportunity for personal gain. Consider the Tennessee brothers who hoarded hand sanitizer so they could gouge consumers on Amazon. They were off to a highly profitable start when Amazon noticed and shut them down. Facing state investigation, they decided to donate their stock.
Amazingly, lactivists (like the homebirth midwives I wrote about last week) view the pandemic as a marketing opportunity.
I kid you not! At a moment when each of us should be doing our utmost to reassure others that we will get through this extraordinary hardship together, lactivists are aggressively promoting the notion that there is a formula shortage.
There is no shortage of formula. It is easily available online and in most grocery stores, supermarkets and other retailers. But lactivists are so aggressive in their attempts to scare mothers that formula companies have had to publicly respond to deny that there is, was or will be a shortage.
Why would lactivist create and propagate such a vicious falsehood?
Two reasons: punishment and projection.
Lactivists seem to have a deep, abiding, ugly need to harass formula feeders.
That’s what’s behind periodic calls to make formula prescription only.
Requiring a prescription for infant formula is a form of shaming. How dare a woman imagine that she is entitled to determine how her own breasts are used? She should be required to abase herself in order to feed her baby the way she thinks is best for her baby, herself and her family.
It’s cruel, but it is far outstripped in cruelty by the current attempts to incite fear of a formula shortage.
For example, this “public service announcement” on Facebook:
If you breastfeed like a real mom, you wouldn’t have to worry about the formula shortage.
Or this lactivist who claims she is hoarding formula to sell it:
And THIS ladies is why breastfeeding is a vital part of life as a mammal. IT’S FREE WAY HEALTHIER AND IF YOU WAS EDUCATED ON IT PROPERLY and NOT LAZY & SELFISH those very who actually CAN’T do it would be fine
Or this lactivist:
Actually during this time of formula shortage breastfeeding can save a babies lives. I’m actually going to relactate so I don’t have to worry about formula anymore
I doubt she stopped breastfeeding, but the truth is that relactation after complete weaning is usually very difficult, if not impossible, and almost never produces enough to fully nourish a baby.
Lactivists are cruelly trying to use the deadly pandemic to punish women who formula feed by frightening them about supply, but there’s something else going on:
Lactivists are projecting!
They are the ones who are worried about their babies’ supply because they might get sick and not be able to provide enough or — if they become critically ill — any breastmilk. They subconsciously fear that THEIR babies are the ones who might suffer and reassure themselves by inciting other women to worry.
The ugly truth is that lactivists promoting rumors of formula shortages are no different from the Tennessee brothers who thought they could make a buck by price gouging on hand sanitizer. In this time of international crisis, when everyone should be helping everyone else, lactivists care only about victimizing others!
