'Horrible, punishing, dictatorial and unhelpful': Medics slam global health chiefs for campaign urging all mothers to breastfeed for SIX MONTHS
The World Health Organization (WHO) was today accused 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' to ensure women could 'exclusively breastfeed' — meaning no top-ups with formula — for half a year.
Under the guidance, it also encouraged family members, employers and policy members to ensure they support new mums achieve this goal.
But experts have reacted with fury online, claiming a fixation on breastfeeding was 'dictatorial' and 'unhelpful'.
Experts said the wording of the post was 'horrible' and 'unrealistic'. Others argued the WHO was 'meddling' in women's 'personal and family lives' labelling it 'sinister'.
In a Facebook post, the UN agency said 'everyone had a role to play' to ensure women could 'exclusively breastfeed' — meaning no top-ups with formula — for half a year. Under the guidance, it also encouraged family members, employers and policy members to ensure they support new mums achieve this goal
But experts have reacted with fury online, claiming a fixation on breastfeeding was 'dictatorial' and 'unhelpful'. Experts said the wording of the post was 'horrible' and 'unrealistic'. Others argued the WHO was 'meddling' in women's 'personal and family lives' labelling it 'sinister'
Posting on X, Dr Ruth Ann Harpur, a London-based clinical psychologist, wrote: 'Hey @WHO, the only person who gets to decide if they breastfeed exclusively for six months is the woman doing it.
'We do not need the entirety of society meddling in our personal and family lives.
'Now if you could please adopt a realistic infant nutrition strategy in low income contexts, prioritising access to formula and safe water supplies for every baby because last I checked trials of your exclusive breastfeeding schtick resulted in increases in severe growth stunting in these communities.'
Meanwhile, Professor Lucy Easthope, an expert in emergency planning and disaster recovery at Durham University, said: 'This is horrible, punishing, dictatorial and unhelpful @WHO — your comms go from bad to worse.'
Campaign group, the Infant Feeding Alliance, which calls for safety in infant feeding policy, also said: 'Do @WHO really think women are so feckless that we need the entire world to meddle in our personal lives to ensure we meet their utterly unrealistic breastfeeding goals?'
Currently, the NHS also recommends exclusive breastfeeding for six months, then breastfeeding alongside food into the child’s second year.
This is due to the benefits which include protecting them from infections and providing a good balance of nutrients.
According to the health service, breastfeeding reduces a baby’s risk of infection, diarrhoea, vomiting, sudden infant death syndrome, obesity and, in adulthood, cardiovascular disease.
For mothers it reduces their risk of breast and ovarian cancer, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and obesity.
Some research has also shown breastfeeding can lower the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Sometimes referred to as 'crib death', SIDS, is the unexplained death of a baby, usually under one year old.
The UK, however, has one of the lowest rates of breastfeeding worldwide, with just 0.5 per cent of women still breastfeeding by the time their baby is 12 months old.
Others have also long raised concerns over the number of newborn babies being admitted to hospital with dehydration, due to parents attempting to persevere with breastfeeding even when the baby isn't drinking enough milk
Currently, the NHS also recommends exclusive breastfeeding for six months, then breastfeeding alongside food into the child’s second year. This is due to the benefits which include protecting them from infections and providing a good balance of nutrients
By comparison, the figure stands around 35 per cent in Norway and 16 per cent in Sweden.
There are a number of reasons why women are unable to breastfeed, such as a lack of milk, sore nipples, or difficulties in getting the baby to latch on.
Experts have previously warned women can face judgment or feel guilty about the decisions they make when it comes to feeding their baby.
Others have also long raised concerns over the number of newborn babies being admitted to hospital with dehydration, due to parents attempting to persevere with breastfeeding even when the baby isn't drinking enough milk.
Responding to the WHO's post, artist Alice Stevenson also wrote on X: 'Shame on you @WHO.
'Myself and many mothers I know were severely traumatised by our inability to breastfeed thanks to this sort of dictatorial, sinister propaganda. Proper “Handmaids Tale” stuff.'
Writer Nicola Knight added: 'What about those women who can't?
'I was in no fit state after the birth of my daughter and I can honestly say the pressure to breastfeed made things a million times worse.'
Journalist Rebecca Reid also said: 'Given that formula has to have a disclaimer that breast milk is the better option, I think breastfeeding promotional materials should have the equivalent disclaimer that it's not always possible to breastfeed.'
It comes just months after a damning report into the 'postcode lottery' of NHS maternity care also ruled good care is 'the exception rather than the rule'.
A hugely-anticipated parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma, which heard evidence from more than 1,300 women, found pregnant women are being treated like a 'slab of meat'.
At the time, then-Health Secretary Victoria Atkins labelled testimonies heard in the report 'harrowing' and vowed to improve maternity care for 'women throughout pregnancy, birth and the critical months that follow'.
NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard also said the experiences outlined in the report 'are simply not good enough'.
