The World Health Organisation (WHO) was accused today of “punishing” women after urging new mothers to breastfeed for six months.
In a Facebook post, the UN agency said “everyone had a role to play” in ensuring women could “exclusively breastfeed” – meaning without formula supplementation – for half a year.
Under the guidance, she also encouraged family members, employers and policy makers to ensure they support new mothers in achieving this goal.
But experts have reacted furiously online, claiming the fixation on breastfeeding is “dictatorial” and “pointless”.
Experts said the wording of the message was “horrible” and “unrealistic”. Others argued that the WHO was “interfering” in women’s “personal and family lives”, calling it “sinister”.
In a Facebook post, the UN agency said that “everyone has a role to play” in ensuring that women can “exclusively breastfeed” (i.e. without supplementation with formula) for half a year. In the guidance, it also encouraged family members, employers and policymakers to ensure they support new mothers in achieving this goal.
But experts have reacted furiously online, claiming the obsession with breastfeeding was “dictatorial” and “pointless”. Experts said the wording of the post was “horrible” and “unrealistic”. Others argued the WHO was “interfering” in women’s “personal and family lives” and branded it “sinister”.
In a post on X, Dr Ruth Ann Harpur, a London-based clinical psychologist, wrote: ‘Hi @WHO, the only person who can decide whether to exclusively breastfeed for six months is the woman doing it.
‘We don’t need the whole of society to interfere in our personal and family lives.
‘Now if only they could adopt a realistic infant nutrition strategy in low-income settings, prioritising access to formula and clean water supplies for every baby, because last time I checked, trials of their exclusive breastfeeding strategy resulted in increases in severe stunting in these communities.’
Meanwhile, Professor Lucy Easthope, an expert in emergency planning and disaster recovery at Durham University, said: “This is horrendous, punishing, dictatorial and unhelpful @WHO – their communications are going from bad to worse.”
Campaign group Infant Feeding Alliance, which calls for safety in infant feeding policies, also said: “Does @WHO really think women are so inept that we need the whole world to intrude on our personal lives to ensure we meet their completely unrealistic breastfeeding targets?”
The NHS now also recommends exclusive breastfeeding for six months and then breastfeeding with food until the child’s second year.
This is due to benefits that include protecting them from infections and providing a good balance of nutrients.
According to the health service, breastfeeding reduces the risk of the baby suffering from infections, diarrhea, vomiting, sudden infant death syndrome, obesity and, in adulthood, cardiovascular diseases.
For mothers, it reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and obesity.
Some research has also shown that breastfeeding may reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
SIDS, sometimes called “crib death,” is the unexplained death of an infant, usually under one year of age.
However, the UK has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world – just 0.5 per cent of women are still breastfeeding when their baby is 12 months old.
In comparison, the figure is around 35 percent in Norway and 16 percent in Sweden.
There are several reasons why women may not be able to breastfeed, such as a lack of milk, sore nipples, or difficulty getting the baby to latch on.
Others have also long expressed concern about the number of newborn babies being admitted to hospital with dehydration, as parents try to persevere with breastfeeding even when the baby is not drinking enough milk.
There are a number of reasons why women may not be able to breastfeed, including a lack of milk, sore nipples or difficulties with latching on. Experts have previously warned that women may face judgement or guilt over the choices they make when it comes to feeding their baby.
The NHS now also recommends exclusive breastfeeding for six months and then breastfeeding alongside food until the child’s second year of life. This is due to the benefits including protecting them from infections and providing a good balance of nutrients.
Experts have previously warned that women may face judgement or guilt over the decisions they make when it comes to feeding their baby.
Others have also long expressed concern about the number of newborns being admitted to hospital with dehydration, as parents try to persevere with breastfeeding even when the baby is not drinking enough milk.
Responding to the WHO’s post, artist Alice Stevenson also wrote on X: ‘Shame on you @WHO.
“I and many mothers I know have suffered severe trauma from our inability to breastfeed thanks to this kind of sinister, dictatorial propaganda. Stuff worthy of The Handmaid’s Tale.”
Writer Nicola Knight added: ‘What about those women who can’t?
‘I was not in the best physical condition after my daughter was born and I can honestly say that the pressure of breastfeeding made things a million times worse.’
Journalist Rebecca Reid also said: “Since formula should have a warning that breast milk is the best option, I think breastfeeding promotion materials should have the equivalent warning that breastfeeding is not always possible.”
This comes just months after a damning report into the NHS maternity care “postcode lottery” also ruled that good care is “the exception rather than the rule”.
A long-awaited parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma, which She heard testimony from more than 1,300 women and discovered that pregnant women are being treated like a “piece of meat.”
At the time, then-Health Secretary Victoria Atkins called the testimony heard in the report “heartbreaking” and vowed to improve maternity care for “women during pregnancy, childbirth and the critical months that follow.”
NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard also said the experiences described in the report were “simply not good enough”.
