Ahh, Twitter. Like a bad boyfriend, you break my heart and yet I keep running back.
When I started seeing tweets about a number of bedsharing deaths in Milwaukee a couple of days ago, I inwardly groaned. I'm sure API would cringe at this comparison, but I actually see cosleeping a bit like formula feeding. Both are victims of poor PR. Yes, there are horrible accidents that can occur during cosleeping, but SIDS victims are often in their own cribs. Kids can fall out of cribs, get limbs caught in the slats, etc, etc. Every parent must weigh the pros and cons and make the best decision for their lifestyle and family dynamics.
So it is with formula feeding. Are there kids who react poorly to formula? Sure. Are there lazy or distant parents who choose to bottle feed? Of course. And are parents who abuse their kids more likely to formula feed than breastfeed? Well, we all know the answer to that one. However, none of these things are mutually exclusive... you can just as easily be a securely attached, loving bottle feeding parent as a crappy one.
For both cosleeping and formula feeding alike, the AAP has taken a (perhaps overreaching) stand, due to overzealous studies or misguided scare tactics from certain committees within the organization at large.
You'd think loving, concerned parents who have chosen a less-respected but perfectly reasonable option for parenting would stick together to defend our rights as parents to decide what's best for our families, wouldn't you? No? Well, then you're way smarter than I am.
Once this news report started making the rounds of the mommyblogs, the following tweets started popping up on a daily basis:
"FORMULA FEEDING, not alcohol or soft bedding, at root of bed-sharing baby deaths!"
"Formula feeding was the common factor in these poor babies' deaths!"
If you watch the video, it is clear that bottle feeding (I make that distinction because it was not clear from the report as to what was IN the bottles; we can probably assume it was indeed formula, but for the sake of journalistic integrity, I gotta mention that it could have been pumped breastmilk) was indeed associated with 100% of the cosleeping death cases in Milwaukee. The FOX affiliate made a big deal out of this association, interviewing a "doctor" (not a medical doctor, but the "leading academic expert on cosleeping") who smugly stated that he wasn't surprised, and that he would recommend cosleeping without breastfeeding be illegal.
However, the sensationalist news report also mentioned, in passing, some other important factors. Like that the majority of the babies lived in low-income, black families. And that 75% lived in households where smoking was a factor, and many had parents who engaged in drug use or drank frequently. Or that a number of the cases, though originally classified as cosleeping deaths, were later ruled as other causes of death, like SIDS.
There is a scientific basis for why cosleeping is safer for those who breastfeed, and I do not disagree with it, in the least. These have to do with factors like the positioning of the baby in relation to the mother's breast, and the fact that babies who breastfeed often wake more frequently. All perfectly legitimate reasons. I'd even take it a step further - since most breastfeeding moms are not drug addicts or alcoholics (considering these women are usually counseled not to breastfeed - although that is sadly not always the case), then we can fairly reason that drug addicts and alcoholics are by default formula feeding.
My problem is not with the FOX News report, nor the statement that cosleeping while bottlefeeding may carry some additional risks (if that is true, then it's important for bottle feeding parents to know, so they can take proper precautions). It's with the immediate and inaccurate battle cry against formula and formula feeding.
I understand the human tendency to search for a scapegoat when one feels threatened. If I were a cosleeping parent, and felt that my choice was under attack, I'm sure I'd latch on to the words of this talking head newscaster as validation. But I wish we could be bigger than that, as humans. As parents. I wish we could take a step back and attack the real issue, the real enemy. You can't blame cosleeping deaths - or the hysteria surrounding them - on formula. It is not the act of formula feeding that caused these deaths. It was the fact that a child suffocated or was otherwise injured in bed with his parents. Could this death have been prevented if the child was breastfeeding? Maybe. But it could just as easily be prevented by placing him in a crib that fit the AAP's recommendations for SIDS safety. You're not really making sense or winning points with this argument, people.
I would suggest a rephrasing of these tweets. How about:
"Breastfeeding could protect against cosleeping deaths"
"Formula feeding parents should be alerted to cosleeping risks"
Or, how about this one:
"Stop taking advantage of parental guilt and fear to boost ratings, FOX News. You kinda suck eggs."
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
17 comments:
Comment Policy: This is a place for discussion and debate, but mostly, it's a place for support. I welcome differing opinions, but ask that you respect this as a safe haven for those who believe in freedom of choice in parenting decisions. I hate censorship, so please don't make me go against my beliefs. Capiche?
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Just out of curiosity, how does bottle feeding make co-sleeping more dangerous? Is it just the position of baby at breast that makes it safer to do while breastfeeding?
ReplyDeleteThe more involved with the community i get - the more upset i seem to get about the message a lot of women are spreading. Fear-mongering drives me insane! i will admit i dont know all the details about the death but i *heard the woman was under the influence of something (or maybe im mistaking for another case) --> but clearly if that was the case it has nothing to do with formula. I am a huge advocate for co-sleeping as well and hate how the media portrays that as well.
ReplyDeletebeautifully written as always
Goodness, everything can be bad for you or anyone if they looked enough into it. Even vegetables. The news feeds on fear. I do agree certain situations really don't pose the best for co-sleeping, like drugs, alcohol, heavy sleepers, etc. But in general, it's not always bad.
ReplyDeleteWe co-slept until recently despite formula feeding because it was just easier at night. I also slept better knowing I would hear him easily. We also put him to sleep on his tummy.
According to AAP I did everything wrong because I didn't breastfeed, we co-slept, I had pillows along the wall and bed frame to cover gaps, and we put him on his tummy and am delaying/possibly not vaxing (we did one set, but he had a bad reaction). I doubt I'm alone in the "bad" sleeping, feeding, vaxing situation. Clearly it hasn't done anything wrong, my son is perfectly healthy.
I recently came across this blog and I really, really appreciate reading it. The most frustrating thing about being a mom, by far, has been the judgment I've felt from breastfeeding moms about my choice to feed my daughter formula.
ReplyDeleteAnother great post!
I read your blog frequently and I am so glad you posted this, as I have been thinking about it frequently lately. I was not able to breastfeed either of my children very long due to low supply because of PCOS. But I always continued cosleeping with both even when using formula.
ReplyDeleteI have done a lot of research about this topic and it seems the only study done on this is by James McKenna (sp?). I was able to find the results of the study online and the conclusions he draws from his own study have nothing to do with the results, really. All he found from his study of less than a hundred mother-baby pairs was that FFeeders tend to sleep with the baby in the crook of their arms while BFeeders sleep with the baby at breast level. He even says himself that both of these positions could pose a risk, for FF babies the risk comes from being smothered by a pillow and for BF babies by a blanket. But then in the conclusion portions decides to bash FF feeders and states that since they don't have the breastfeeding hormones they are less likely to be as alert to the baby moving (which his study did nothing to prove.)I don't remember how I found the study, but I would encourage people to go look at it themselves.
In all the literature I have read on why BF moms can cosleep and FF moms can't the reasoning is basically that FF are probably young, overweight, smoking women with no support that cosleep out of desperation and BF moms are all healthy and responsible so of course they will know if they are about to harm the baby.
The definition of cosleeping (apparently) includes putting an infant down in a separate bed in the same room, which is recommended by the AAP.
ReplyDeleteI recently found your blog and I SO appreciate it! The debate between BF and FF drives me crazy! I ff, bf in the past, bed-share, and co-sleep. Instead of Dr. McKenna stating that ff moms should only consider co-sleep and not bed share, why doesn't he suggest safer ways for ff moms to bed share? Why limit bed sharing to only bf mooms? Don't we want to be close to our children as well? Aren't we entitled to bond at night with our children? Maybe I'm reading too much into it but it's really offensive to me.
ReplyDeleteGeez, it seems like every choice you made for your child is dangerous. Sometimes I feel like to no one can win!
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree somewhat. I think there are small but real risks to bedsharing, just as there are small but real risks to formula feeding. I agree that McKenna's conclusions from his body of work are way overblown, however the one saving grace of cosleeping is that it facilitates breastfeeding, so that could be part of his rationale for saying what he did (and it's not new - he's been saying for years not to bother bedsharing if you don't BF).
ReplyDeleteThe difference between the risks of bedsharing and formula feeding, however, is that some women just can't breastfeed and some must exert an almost superhuman effort to do so. Whereas you can eliminate the excess risk of SIDS or suffocation from bedsharing entirely with one small step - providing the baby with a separate sleeping surface such as a cosleeper or a bassinet adjacent to the bed. Ergo, the 'price' to eliminate said risk is much smaller and easier to achieve.
Forgot to add - while nobody is claiming that formula is superior to breastmilk, there are a lot of bogus claims that bedsharing (as opposed to other forms of cosleeping) is safer than the alternative (Google 'Tina Kimmel' if you want to read an example).
ReplyDelete@Esterar-
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. As always, you've made me think about things a little differently... that's why I love you so!
Personally, I was always too paranoid to cosleep, so we tried using an Arm's Reach CoSleeper Bassinet. FC hated it. In fact, he hated sleeping anywhere but his cocoon sleeper (which freaked me out, but apparently has a great SIDS safety rating...??) until 4 months, at which point he was thrilled to get out of our room and into his own crib.
I chose not to go into the bedsharing issue because I want to keep the blog on topic, and my issue here was the response in social media - that formula feeding was being vilified once again, but this time as a scapegoat. I definitely see your point though, and am glad that there are voices like yours to give parents ample info for their risk/benefit analysis.
@whatpaleblue-
ReplyDeleteThanks for clarifying. I was unsure about the terminology... I think the Fox news report was using the term "cosleeping" so I defaulted to that, but it is an important distinction. I think sleeping in the same room as a newborn is a fantastic and extremely safety-conscious choice - as I said in my comment to Esterar, we purchased one of those co-sleeper bassinets that attach to the bed, which was great. However, I was encouraged to bedshare by several of the LCs I saw, who said it would facilitate breastfeeding... never worked, and I stayed up all night, too scared that I would roll over on him or push him off the bed....!
I would disagree that bedsharing if you are not breastfeeding has no benefits. One of the biggest benefits is the baby getting what he or she wants and needs (physical contact with the mother) and the mother getting what she needs (sleep.) Maybe I just had very clingy babies, but neither one of my children were content to sleep for longer than 15-20 minutes alone when they were newborns.
ReplyDeleteI think being prepared for the possibility of cosleeping and making your bed as safe as possible is much better than falling asleep in a chair or sofa with your baby, or having depression and anxiety issues due to lack of sleep, or letting a very young babe CIO.
I guess what really bothers me about James McKenna and other cosleeping advocates is that they wax poetic about the joys and safety of cosleeping but then say that you shouldn't bother unless you BF, because you are probably not the "type" of mother who can cosleep safely.
I do agree that cosleeping can pose some small risks an that it shouldn't be done if there are certain risk factors. I also agree that FF raises the risk of SIDS slightly. What I don't agree with is that cosleeping responsibly with a FF baby adds additional risk of SIDS or suffocation in a way that it wouldn't if said mother was BF.
@ Anna - I completely agree!
ReplyDeleteFFF, you suggested the tweets be changed to:
ReplyDelete"Breastfeeding could protect against cosleeping deaths"
Surely you've read the "Watch your language" article?
http://www.bobrow.net/kimberly/birth/BFLanguage.html
"Because breastfeeding is the biological norm, breastfed babies are not 'healthier;' artificially-fed babies are ill more often and more seriously."
Have no fear: the news media, and government agencies, have been cowed by the formula industry (and fear of offending formula feeders) into using this backward language. For instance:
http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/may2004/niehs-02.htm
"Breastfeeding Decreases Infant Mortality"
The headline should read "Formula Feeding Increases Infant Mortality".
Wow, I just stumbled upon this, apparently a year too late. Please keep in mind that in 2003, the only babies that died while cosleeping where bottle-fed babies. No breastfed babies died. I would say that cosleeping is perfectly safe and even desirable for breastfeeding mothers and babies, but I would not recommend it for mothers that bottlefeed because of the risks. A good alternative for them would be to have the baby sleep in a crib or cot in the same room, but not in the same bed.
ReplyDeleteReally? You went to every single home of every single child in every single country and analyzed if any of them died, and if so, what they ate? Wow, you're better than Santa Claus!
ReplyDelete