And here Google has already accumulated this on the 2022 United State infant formula shortage:
So I don’t think I can add anything more to that, but as I mentioned in an earlier article, we consistently don’t ask the right questions on issues. We start asking questions about production plants and supply chains and business related matters. What we should be asking on this issue is why we need baby formula. Our ancestors certainly didn’t need it for millions of years.
So I’ll ask: Why can’t Babies nurse?
Here’s 4 possible reasons that a baby can’t naturally nurse and be healthy. There’s more, I’m sure.
The mother’s diet might make her milk unpalatable to the infant due to:
Types of foods eaten. Nightshades, Alliums, and sugar, Oh My! Did you know white potatoes are nightshades? And many are now GMO?
Chemicals in foods and drink. Think MSG, fluoride, etc. Lots of it.
Pharmaceutical drugs and supplements. No further comment needed.
This can lead to babies that don’t want to nurse, and mothers that become stressed and feel inadquate. The term that comes to mind is “Failure to Thrive”.
And, if you haven’t figured out yet that you are what you eat, (and your baby then eats what you eat), you can go clear back to 1948 and Fred Kummerow (the man who saved us from Trans Fats) to see inpacts of diet on animals. He first showed that turkeys that were fed linseed had a rancid taste compared to turkeys fed corn. And don’t forget, we’re just another animal. (Kummerow FA, Vail GE, Conrad RM, Avery TB. Fat rancidity in eviscerated poultry. I. The effect of variation in diet on the cold storage life of immature turkeys. Poultry Sci 1948;27:635-640)
2. Inborn error’s of metabolism: Yes, there are some genetic diseases that can cause an infant to not be able to nurse from their mothers. Those babies and mother’s absolutely need a healthy, easily available, and affordable alternative. But it’s certainly not what’s being offered by BIG FOOD.
3. Not given enough time and resources by our culture to nurse. I believe this is by far the biggest obstical to natural nursing. I don’t have the answer, but somehow we need to make it possible for mothers to work and still nurse their children, or to stay home during that time to give their children the best start in life. This is a cultual issue.
4. Many mothers choose not to nurse as a personal choice. And that is their right. But how much of that is because of #3 above? And even if a Mother chooses to not nurse and use formula, again, there should be healthy, easily available, and affordable options available.
One of the few things that truly warmed my heart during the Fakedemic was a visit I had to my doctor’s office. When my PA entered the room, she had her newborn baby swadled to her chest. We need this to become the norm, not the exception.