08/05/2022
Breast is best, fed is necessary🤍
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Every time I see someone post “fed is best” I cringe.
▪️There are two reasons why this statement really bothers me.
▪️Fed is not best, feeding your baby is not optional. Who is out there with the message, “not feeding is best?”
👶🏻Of course we want you to feed your baby. 🤱🏻🍼(•) (•)
▪️I know that there are people, specifically lactation consultants that have said something or presented information in a way that led to moms feeling guilty about supplementing or not being able to or even wanting to breastfeed.
▪️There are way more of us in this profession that believe that support and information is best, and that support and information is what ever that mom and baby need. If it’s supplementing with formula, we can help with that.
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▪️The other reason I cringe is because of something that happened last year that I haven’t spoken about publicly because it was initially traumatic and in the end ridiculous.
▪️One of the co-founders of the Fed Is Best foundation picked out a very small part of one of my posts and accused me of promoting the starvation of newborns. The Fed is Best page posted my personal information on their social media and filed a complaint against my nursing license!!! The bullying and harassment I experienced was horrible. They accused me of being an imposter because when they searched my name, they spelled my first name wrong. Thankfully the complaint was immediately denied by the State Board of Nursing.
▪️I am not alone, this pattern of attacking IBCLCs and lactation professionals in general is something that the Fed is Best foundation does regularly. They call us Lactivists as if that is a swear word.
▪️If you read why the FIB foundation was started, it is very sad. The mom and baby were not informed and supported the way that they needed to be.
▪️The pain and anger was turned into an advocacy group that spends more time attacking breastfeeding and the professionals that work in the breastfeeding world.
▪️For those of you that love what I do and know that my passion is to support new parents, whenever you see Fed is Best, you can reply with, “actually support and information are best.”
