LCW 2022: Environmentalists
I can’t believe it’s already Day 4 of Lactation Celebration Week!
Today I’m talkin’ to all the tree huggers, planet protectors, and humans who will put in the work to prevent a Wall*E world—environmentalists.
Environmentalists protect, promote, and support lactation by advocating for human milk feeding as a renewable and sustainable first food. Human lactation contributes positively towards planetary health which includes the health of people and the planet. —adapted from WABA
As an environmentalist, start (or continue!) supporting lactation by implementing these strategies.
Advocate to align policies on lactation with environmental/climate initiatives and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
SDGs were implemented in 2015 by all United Nations countries to manage climate change and preserve the earth while also aiming to end poverty, improve health and education, reduce inequality, and create economic growth.
Lactation touches on all of the 17 SDGs. I strongly encourage you to look at this side by side comparison of each Goal and lactation’s impact
Vote! Support candidates, measures, laws, and policies which support 100% insurance coverage for lactation, universal healthcare, and paid parental leave
Did you know the state healthcare plan of Oregon will typically only cover lactation visits if you go to a hospital to see an IBCLC or if you see an IBCLC who is also an doctor or nurse practitioner
This decreases access to care, particularly in rural settings where there may not be an MD/NP who is also an IBCLC
The most available IBCLC access is in the hospital but lack of transportation can inhibit people from scheduling or arriving at appointments
Home visiting IBCLCs solve both of those problems in many areas but may be inaccessible because of the out of pocket healthcare cost to families
Universal lactation coverage would solve the cost issue to families
“ At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership.
They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.”
Reinforce the message that lactation contributes to food security and planetary health
“Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. The four pillars of food security are availability, access, utilization and stability. The nutritional dimension is integral to the concept of food security and to the work of CFS” (CFS Reform Document 2009)
The ongoing (as of this writing) USA formula shortage highlights food insecurity in our most vulnerable population: babies
BIPOC families and families living in poverty are disproportionately affected by this shortage due compounding factors
Lack of universal healthcare
Lack of paid parental leave
Lack of state (and private) health insurance covering lactation support
Lack of employer support for lactating families
Systemic racism
This is not a complete list. There are a ton of things to list and many more things that I am blind to because of a variety of privileges and implicit biases I carry.
Australia’s Role in Global Infant Food Security: Implications of the US Milk Formula Shortage by the Australian Institute of International Affairs
SDG #2: End hunger, achieve food security and improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.
WABA: Exclusive breastfeeding and continued breastfeeding for 2 years and beyond provide high quality nutrients and adequate energy, and can help prevent hunger, undernutrition, and obesity. Breastfeeding also means food security for infants.
SDG #12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
WABA: Human lactation provides nutrition that is healthy, viable, non-polluting, non-resource intensive, sustainable, and natural.
SDG #15: Protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
WABA: Breastfeeding is ecological compared to formula feeding. Formula production implies dairy farming that often puts pressure on natural resources and contributes to carbon emissions and climate change.
The dairy industry contributes to climate change and resource usage
Any increase in global lactation rates is a decrease in formula feeding rates which is beneficial to our health and our planet
Engage school children, students, youth, and social media influencers to include lactation as a sustainable food when discussing environment and climate issues
Children are our future. They are our generational change makers but we need to bathe their brains with forward thinking, accurate information.
If you’re involved in any youth programs, particularly if they’re centered around or take place in nature, get the kids talking about climate change and strategies they can implement protect our environment
Talk about non-resource intensive and non-polluting food sources, buying local, and, of course, lactation!
Get creative and try not to make lactation a big deal
Make it simple; particularly with young kids
Engage kids by asking a riddle: What food… (pick a few from the list and see if they can guess the answer!)
protects you from diseases
is 100% sustainable
has the perfect combination of nutrients to exclusively feed you for 6 months
needs no packaging to be delivered
builds your immune system
is made locally to everyone
is always ready to eat and warmed to the right temperature
isn’t sold on Amazon and can’t be bought in a store
Answer: HUMAN MILK!!
That might be all you say about lactation. Just plant a seed. It’ll grow with time and more sprinkles of education along the journey.
Social media is wild. Remember that every celebrity or influencer that is promoting anything is getting paid to do so.
The problem when it comes to infant feeding is that rather than advocating and lobbying for insurance companies to cover all lactation support, universal healthcare from our government, and paid parental leave, they’ve chosen to advertise a product that has health, economic, and environmental consequences to our species and planet.
I’m not criticizing celebrities and social media influencers who advertise formula. They have been hurt by a lack of lactation support and that is the fault of our government and medical system, not a fault of their own.
Celebrities and influencers aren’t upheld to any evidence-based information standards
Yes, some influencers are professionals (ie Dr. Jennifer Lincoln, MD, IBCLC, a Portland OB and influencer spreading great info to her followers) and are ethically bound to by their licensing board provide accurate information to their followers…but this isn’t about them.
Influencers can say whatever they want, even if it’s not accurate. When there is financial incentive to promote a product, you will always get biased information.
Promote lactation as a locally-available and renewable food, especially in times of environmental and natural disasters
Early and consistent lactation support allows families to get milk supply and nursing management well-established
Nursing is the safest way to feed a baby, especially during environmental and natural disasters because no equipment is needed
Increasing breastfeeding rates around the world would secure food for our own infants in times of need and make allonursing (latching someone else’s baby) possible when parents are unavailable or unable to produce milk
In a location where formula powder is scarce, water is precious, and fuel/gas may not available, formula fed babies are at high risk of malnutrition, disease, and death
In the US we have all 3 of these components that put our babies at risk
Scarcity of formula—the formula shortage
Water usage—many places are experiencing severe drought because of extreme heat
Fuel/gas availability—while gas may be available, the cost to pay for it may be unattainable (I was recently in California where gas was $6.69/gal and that was a decrease from previous weeks)
Fuel/gas also refers to shelters/refugee camps where there may be no access to hot water or a way to heat water in order to kill bacteria in formula powder during bottle prep
Typically, here in the US people can be evacuated to a location with these resources but think of the Superdome. Evacuation is not always possible or feasible.
Allonursing, particularly between family members, can be a safe and viable way to feed babies in emergencies
Different cultures have different beliefs about sharing milk
Milk kinship may prevent some families from allonursing in everyday circumstances but they may be open to it in an emergency situation
Some families allonurse frequently and welcome feeding more babies if they can
Empower parents by supporting lactation as part of green workplace initiatives
Most companies have some sort of reduce, reuse, recycle program in place, if not for the planet, then for monetary reasons
If you work at a company that doesn’t support lactation via their insurance policy or doesn’t have a location to pump (they should; it’s the law), help them change those practices to increase employee satisfaction and productivity (ie $$$)
Babies who are formula or combo fed are more likely to get sick than human milk fed babies; their parents need to miss work more often to care for their babies. Missed work is a financial loss to the company.
SDG #8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all
WABA: Lactating women who are supported by their employers are more productive and loyal. Maternity protection and other workplace policies can enable women to combine lactation and their other work or employment. Decent jobs should cater to the needs of lactating parents, especially those in precarious situations.
Poor lactation support from employers will disproportionately affect parents with job instability, living in poverty, who are part of a marginalized group, and part time workers, who often have less rights than full time employees
Many parents don’t have the option to find another job or become a stay at home parent if lactation is not supported
They are faced with losing their income (and food and housing) or losing their milk supply, a choice no one should have to make
SDG #9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
WABA: With industrialization and urbanization, the time and space challenges become more prominent. Lactating parents who work outside the home need to manage these challenges and be supported by employers, their own families, and communities. Daycares near the workplace, lactation rooms, and latching breaks can make a big difference.
Has your employer considered onsite daycare or contracting with a daycare close to your work?
Onsite daycare reduces driving emissions, parental stress, & time away from work
Besides only having to drive to one location for the day, it’s typically faster to nurse a baby than pump for the baby which means high productivity
Depending on the size of the company, creating an on-site daycare may be a very financially viable
I found this article from the Harvard Business Review that gives a few tips on how companies can support parents. Although, I think their suggestions about meeting times are a good idea for most people, not just those with kids under 5.
Be aware of misleading marketing and donations of infant formula, bottles, and teats
The World Health Organization’s International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes (AKA “the Code”) prevents the marketing of infant formulas, bottles, and teats.
The Code calls on nations to support lactation by not advertising for formula companies or endorsing brands that market certain products
It’s “a marketing code to ensure formula remains a health product and not a consumer product,” per Kidspot on news.com.au.
These are my 2 favorite explanations from the Kidspot article for why the Code exists
“Advertising infant formula as a substitute for breast milk competes unfairly with breastfeeding, which is not subject to advertising, yet which is the safest and lowest cost method of nourishing an infant.”
“Advertising infant formula as a substitute for breast milk favours uninformed decision-making, bypassing the necessary advice and supervision of the mother’s doctors or health care providers.”
The Code is not law in Australia but they have the Marketing in Australia of Infant Formulas that decreases advertising of formulas for baby less than 12 mo of age; better than what we have in place in the US (which is nothing)
These articles address the effect of misleading marketing on breastfeeding/chest feeding rates
Check out my previous blog posts from LCW 2022 to learn more about the Code
Whew! You made it to the end…now, for some fun.
Back to my riddle, what other facts can you add to educate kids? Any facts to add for teens (can prevent pregnancy)? (I don’t mean preventing pregnancy in teens. I mean that it’s a concept teens understand more than kids)
I look forward to reading your additions!