In October 2017 Forbes released an article entitled “Fed Is Best Foundation Says Says WHO Breastfeeding Guidelines Fail To Meet Human Rights Standards"

If your first encounter with the Fed Is Best Foundation was reading the Forbes article, you would probably come away agreeing that the WHO is being negligent and denying babies human rights. ​

So, you might be wondering if their claim is valid. 

Is the UNICEF/WHO focus on breastfeeding rates and the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative putting babies lives at needless risk for the sake of politics?

What follows, is a three part series investigating the choices and policies of both the Fed Is Best Foundation and the Baby Friendly Hospital Innovative, looking at the failings and ethics of both sides.

Part 1 - Discusses who the Fed Is Best Movement are, how they began, who they align with, and what that suggests about their integrity. 

Part 2 - Focuses on what the Fed Is Best Foundation hope to achieve in their negotiations with the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative

And Part 3 - Looks at alternative approaches the Fed Is Best Foundation could take. 

All three cover various problems with the Baby Friendly Hospital Innovative, interspersed through the discussion wherever relevant. 

Finally I've included my first article on the Fed Is Best Foundation (Dehydrated Babies) for further background. 

Last week Forbes released an article entitled “Fed Is Best Foundation Says Says WHO Breastfeeding Guidelines Fail To Meet Human Rights Standards"

Just digest that for a minute because, that’s huge. 

That’s a really massive call.

And if your first encounter with the Fed Is Best Foundation was reading the Forbes article, you would probably come away agreeing that the WHO is being negligent and denying babies human rights. ​

So, you might be wondering if their claim is valid. 

Is the Unicef/WHO focus on breastfeeding rates and the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative putting babies lives at needless risk for the sake of politics?
​

When thousands of women complain of the same side effects from their contraception; when business is considering adopting period leave; when maternal morbidity and mortality is rising in the USA and the western world has abysmal breastfeeding success rates, we have a much bigger problem than any of those issues individually suggest. 

You'd be forgiven for thinking that the Fed Is Best motto is a well intentioned rally cry created by mothers who were sick of feeling shamed for using formula. Or perhaps you assumed it was a marketing ploy on behalf of the formula companies, a way to inflame the Mummy Wars that they created in the first place. 

But it actually began as a campaign to raise awareness of a condition wherein newborn babies dehydrate, which can cause lifelong complications and brain damage. 

Important right?

Problem is the way they are going about it.

The medical community is failing people. That's why they turn to Facebook groups and Google for answers. That's why you get people passionately insisting that XYZ that worked for them, will work for everyone. Thats why you get the "mummy wars" hot-topics: Vaginal vs Cesarean, Breast v's Bottle, Vax or No Vax, Sleep Train or Attachment Parent, and the accompying accusations of causing 'shame' and 'judgement' or of being a 'sanctimommy' or 'breast/Nazi". That's why you get people accusing eachother of being horrible parents and saying things like "your kids should be taken away". 


Because you have all these people who are looking for answers, and looking for credibility in those answers finding that their health professional either belittles them, or tells them they "must" do ABC. That it is the only way. And far far too often, that recommended course of action is not evidence based.