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The first of the official responses to Hanna Rosin's article has come in. The American Academy of Pediatrics has this to say about The Case Against Breastfeeding.
*UpdateLetters to the editor
The Atlantic
Submitted via email
In the article, "The Case Against Breast-Feeding" by Hanna Rosin, the author skims the literature and has omitted many recent statements including the 2005statement of the American Academy of Pediatrics which supports the value of breastfeeding for most infants. This policy references every statement with scientific evidence from over 200 articles which meet scientific standards for accuracy and rigor. The statement was meticulously reviewed by the Section on Breastfeeding, the Committee on Nutrition and numerous other committees and approved by the Board of Directors of the Academy. Breastfeeding and Maternal andInfant Health Outcomes in Developed Countries, a study released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (the AHRQ Report) strongly supports the evidence of benefits demonstrated in the breastfeeding research. The evidencefor the value of breastfeeding is scientific, it is strong, and it is continually being reaffirmed by new research work. The American Academy of Pediatrics encourages women to make an informed decision about feeding their infants based on scientifically established information from credible resources.
David T. Tayloe, Jr., MD, FAAP
PresidentAmerican Academy of Pediatrics
Thanks to reader Alysha for alerting me to the response by The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine. They've issued a press release on the strong evidence that supports breastfeeding. It reads, in part
According to leaders of the Academy, despite a sound scientific basis for the advantages of breastfeeding, dissenting opinions that aim to discredit breastfeeding, and question its relevance for women, receive exposure in the mass media such as the recent article in The Atlantic. Critics of breastfeeding do a disservice to new mothers around the world who seek the facts about the proven health benefits of breastfeeding as they often misrepresent the scientific findings and wrongly base global recommendations on the experiences and views of select groups of women.
The United States Breastfeeding Committee has also now weighed in.
USBC Letter to the Editor of the Atlantic.
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