The recently ended month of August brings two important campaigns: the golden one, to raise awareness about breastfeeding, and the green one, dedicated to Early Childhood. The connection between them is clear, as breastfeeding is one of the main determinants of health and development in early life.
Breast milk is described as a perfect food, which protects and promotes the health of mothers and babies in various dimensions, with benefits that extend throughout life. Brazil is pointed out as a global reference on the topic, having progressed in four decades from just 4% to 46% of 6-month-old babies who were exclusively breastfed, reaching 59% among those assisted by the SUS (Unified Health System).
Despite this significant progress, the article raises the question of why so many Brazilian women still face difficulties in being able to breastfeed. The answer, according to the article, lies not only in the woman herself, but in the environment around her.
The text denounces that the sabotage of breastfeeding by the artificial milk industry has a history of about a century. The industry realized it could sell infant formula not only for orphaned babies, but to all mothers, and launched one of the most effective and harmful marketing campaigns ever seen, convincing millions of women that the industrialized option was equivalent or superior to natural breastfeeding.
