20/20’s “Extreme” Breastfeeding Episode

Ok. So I watched it. And I’m angry. That’s to be expected.

The entire episode was pretty much dedicated to marginalizing women’s choices. The anchor pissed me off with her ‘OMG you are insane’ facial expressions. Great unbiased reporting!

The whole show was pretty ill-handled, but let’s focus on the breastfeeding segment, since that is what this blog is all about. (If you’re interested in the homebirth segment, check out this analysis over at Beba )

THE WOMEN

The women were all very nice. Positive, informative, and obviously dedicated to their kids. I have some issues with how they allowed themselves to be portrayed, but can only assume that 20/20 edited the footage to get the most sensationalized and biased view possible. I would have loved to hear a bit less about the touchy-feely reasons and the “why not”? reasons, and more about biological non-arbitrary weaning milestones and the long term health benefits of full term breastfeeding and child led weaning. Not to mention the dangers of premature weaning and how cow’s milk does not adequately substitute for breastmilk. A show like that would probably never make it on the air, though.

THE KIDS

The kids were great. Very sweet. Intelligent. Independent. Perfect.

THE FATHERS

The fathers were poorly portrayed as non-entities. This is one of the major arguments against breastfeeding, even with INFANTS. That breastfeeding somehow marginalizes dad. The mom of the 6 year old managed to convey that she was a mom with her kids and a wife with her husband… But the message came across fuzzy.

Many fathers are active proponents of breastfeeding, and even are the primary pushers for full term breastfeeding. Couldn’t 20/20 have found one of those? They win their wives over to their side with facts and figures. There are many of them. Breastfeeding isn’t something that only women promote. Intelligent and well informed men are proponents of it, as well. Why weren’t any of them on the show?

THE EXPERT

Putz. Total putz. But what’s to be expected? There are NO studies that show breastfeeding at any age to be harmful. Since 20/20 obviously wanted to make breastfeeding moms out to be crazy extremists, they had to go with whatever putz was willing to speculate possible harm.

I liked how he was talking about how of COURSE the child will want to nurse to stay close to mom, and what child wouldn’t want to do that forever… And then one of the next clips was talking about the oldest child on the segment and how she actually was forced to wean by a biological milestone: The lost suckling reflex.

Sadly, the implications of that milestone were not discussed and it’s unlikely anyone picked up on it unless they were already aware of that sign of weaning readiness.

20/20 would have done far better to have looked for an expert that could discuss the benefits of full-term breastfeeding and child-led weaning. Those experts are backed up with studies, have actually been around children that are full term breastfeeders, and KNOW WHAT THE HECK THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT.

THE INDEPENDENCE ARGUMENT

The independence argument was kafooky. Children crave independence and will seek it out as long as they are not given reason to be clingy. The thing most likely to make a child clingy is an erratic non-responsive parent. When the child is secure in his attachment to his parent, he becomes independent very quickly.

The self soothing argument is bullshit. Breastfeeding kids with strong attachments will frequently push their parents away when they’re working through emotions on their own. They self wean, just on a longer and more gentle schedule.

Children that are weaned suddenly often attach themselves to a security object such as a doll or a blanket or a pacifier. How is that emotional independence? Anyone who has helped a child look for a doll that they just can’t survive without, can’t sleep without, etc. knows that child is NOT independent.

Anyone who is familiar with child physiology knows that breastfeeding isn’t just about comfort. It’s a component, but not the whole thing.

BIOLOGICAL WEANING MILESTONES

There was no mention of biological weaning milestones. Any non-biased reporting should have included a discussion of non-arbitrary milestones for weaning, particular ones that all other mammals tend to follow.

Immunocompetence which fully develops around 4-8 years of age usually coincides with weaning. Until the child’s immune system is fully developed, the child relies on mom’s antibodies to fend off infections. While the child’s immune system is mostly developed by 2, children are essentially immunocompromised until they’re much older.

The jaw changes shape when the milk teeth fall out (5-8) and the permanent teeth grow in, and that the suckling reflex disappears at approximately that age. The fact that children who are weaned earlier in life tend to have more issues with jumbled teeth and the need for braces and wisdom tooth extractions. Our species has an unusual amount of problems with TMJ and jaw misalignment, something that is usually only seen in animals whose mothers have died and that were fed milk replacer or weaned to food early. These jaw issues and dental issues are something that breastfeeding full-term can decrease. Bottles and sippy cups INCREASE dental issues including warped/improperly developed palate, dental decay, low bone density..

There was no mention about the fact that a child’s brain is still rapidly growing and developing and that that brain growth and development tapers off at around 6-8 years of age. That until that happens, the child sees tremendous benefit from mother’s milk which contains the ideal balances of brain-healthy fats and vitamins to support brain growth, as opposed to cow milk which promotes body growth and which actually interferes with the absorption of certain vitamins and minerals.

There was a passing mention of the fact that the oldest child nursing on the show, the *7* (not 8 year old girl, was actually weaned against her psychological will because of physiological changes. Her suckling reflex disappeared, as the suckling reflex tends to disappear between 6-8 years of age. But there was no analysis about the implications of that fact.

There was also no mention of the fact that other species do not continue to lactate past the age of weaning. If you have a cow and do not breed the cow constantly, the cow’s milk will dry up because the typical calf-led weaning takes place between one and two years. Humans that are practicing child-led weaning and not actively destroying their milk supply with medications and poor diet, will continue to make milk up until about 6-8 years.

Why, if so many hard-set BIOLOGICAL milestones exist, is breastfeeding past two considered to be so extreme? Wouldn’t it make more sense that pushing our children onto an inferior diet before they are biologically ready to depend on that diet would be more extreme?

BOTTOM LINE

20/20 did just what they set out to do: Marginalize women that think for themselves and that do research that leads them to conclusions that are not exactly mainstream. Regardless of the quality of their research, and regardless of the positive outcomes, 20/20 believes that these women are to be giggled at and mocked. Lovely.

---

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

• Just a dream, or is it?
• The Story Behind Successful Breastfeeding
• Discovery at 2 a.m.
• Battlestar’s Katee Sackhoff to visit Big Bang Theory (and, um, she might ge…