Make America Healthy Again?
It has been a while since I created a blog post, but now that studying is over I have a little bit of time on my hands, and a lot of BIG feelings. So here is the first post of many.
The new administration has been shaking the world up. Not to get too political, but there have been some big changes. The newest campaign is called “Make America Health Again.” This sounds great on paper, but what exactly are they trying to do? The whitehouse.gov website that I will link below talks about how the United States has “an estimated 30 million children had at least one health condition, such as allergies, asthma, or an autoimmune disease.” It then goes on to say that “close to 30% of adolescents are prediabetic, and more than 40 percent of adolescents are overweight or obese.” Most of us know that America is not healthy compared to our counterparts, but why? The link describes food dyes, toxic material, sedentary lifestyles, and other things as a contributing factor. I am not here to agree or disagree with this statement, but what I am here to do is call out what is missing from this conversation.
Breastfeeding. Since the late 1970s and early 1980s, there has been increased advocacy for breastfeeding. We know that it reduces the risk of cancer, postpartum depression, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and many other chronic illnesses for mothers. We also know that exclusive breastfeeding for 3 months lowers the risk of ear infections and asthma, while breastfeeding for at least 4 months lowers the risk of hospitalization for respiratory viruses like RSV. Additionally, 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding lowers the risk of cancer. So why is this not being brought up? There has been significant press about the Consumer Report article on infant formula, but nobody is talking about the lack of breastfeeding support. Breastfeeding could single handedly reduce almost all of the chronic illnesses that are mentioned in the White House article IF we can increase our rates of exclusive breastfeeding and IF dyads feel supported.
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of anxiety and depression, but ONLY if mom feels supported. If she is not supported, this can actually increase and be the cause of anxiety. I talk to moms who feel like “they are a failure” because they can not produce breastmilk. No single mom is a failure. What is a failure is the system that makes you fight to get lactation support. Breastfeeding rates drop significantly when parents return to work. America has this “go go go” mentality and when a parent goes back to work, they sometimes feel like they are letting their team down if they have to step away to pump. Teammates and coworkers get annoyed and put pressure on the new parent, and that new parent is not empowered and no longer feels like they can pump, even though it is a LEGAL RIGHT to express milk, especially in Minnesota.
So what is the solution? I’m not sure, but I do have a lot of ideas..
Every parent should get a prenatal visit with a lactation professional. A licensed lactation professional. This would be a CLC or IBCLC. They would get information that would set them up for success from the moment their baby is born.
It should be standard practice for a breastfeeding parent to leave the hospital with a lactation visit scheduled. The CLC or IBCLC should be coming to their home just as the home health nurse does at 2 days postpartum and checking in with the dyad. There is not a single new parent that has a baby and says “I would love to leave the house” in the first few days. Parents should not have to wait until they are at their wits end with a screaming baby and cracked nipples to call for a lactation appointment.
Workplaces should incorporate peer support programs for new parents. When a new parent comes back from maternity leave, it should be the standard that they are pumping and accommodations should be made WITHOUT QUESTION. A new parent shouldn’t have to come back to work and be scared of what their coworkers are going to think if they need to step away to express milk. They shouldn’t have to find a broom closet that they barely fit in. If you wouldn’t eat your lunch in the space, they shouldn’t be pumping in that space. Managers should have to take a mandatory training about milk expression laws.
I’m sure I could come up with a lot of other plans, but these are the important ones. It could all start with access to care. Medicaid coverage for lactation support would be a great first step. Although this is easier said than done…
If you are equally as annoyed with how “Make America Healthy Again” is ignoring lactation, I urge you to send up an article or a letter to your representatives. You can even link them to this blog post.
References:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/establishing-the-presidents-make-america-healthy-again-commission/
https://milkbankne.org/2021/07/a-history-of-breastfeeding-support-and-advocacy/#:~:text=The%20first%20milk%20bank%20in,milk%20banks%20in%20North%20America.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/15274-benefits-of-breastfeeding
https://www.consumerreports.org/babies-kids/baby-formula/baby-formula-contaminants-test-results-a7140095293/
