What is NFO? Natural Family Online is your down-to-earth, "how-to" resource for natural family living. We offer natural tips, tools and information every family can use!
I don’t know about you, but I would be outraged if my physician withheld information about my baby’s health because he didn’t want to make me feel guilty.
In fact, on the heels of the report’s publication at NFO came news of infant formula makers’ blocking of the Ad Council's National Breastfeeding Awareness Campaign. Formula companies contacted board members and executives at organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Institutes of Health, the National WIC Association and the Centers for Disease Control, criticizing the Ad Council’s breastfeeding campaign for being negative, being critical of formula and making formula-feeders feel guilty. The complaints have effectively brought the campaign to a standstill.
Shame on health care providers, media and companies who continue to paint the pretty "breast is best" picture and try to sweep under the rug the very real problems associated with formula. Shame on parents who stick their heads in the sand in the face of the facts. And shame on anyone who avoids sharing this information with formula-feeding parents because it might make them feel guilty. Withholding and slanting information shows a complete lack of respect for the emotional and intellectual capabilities of formula-feeding parents and does them and their children a grave disservice.
Breast is not best; to put a spin on the issue by making breast milk seem like some sort of optional, cherry-on-top benefit of babyhood is missing the mark by a mile. Breast isn't "best" at all -- it's merely the normal, expected nutrition for human infants. Formula is a substandard substitute for this norm, with very real consequences.
We need to be sharing this information, so that all mothers are aware of the facts. We need to support mothers who are compelled to use formula so that their babies receive the very best chance of overcoming the health challenges associated with formula. That's not possible if we're too busy denying that these real consequences even exist.
Here at NFO, we’ll be continuing to bring the information about the risks of formula use to more and more parents. We’ll be featuring more articles on breastfeeding. And this spring, we’ll be bringing you a new report on supporting formula-fed babies, to maximize their health while minimizing the health risks associated with formula.
Please let us know how we’re doing. Nothing can replace a good start in life – and for human babies, we believe that starts with human milk.
Being a parent is only natural, so why not parent more naturally? Let NFO show you how.
"The media have become the mainstream culture in children's lives. Parents have become the alternative. Americans once expected parents to raise their children in accordance with the dominant cultural messages. Today they are expected to raise their children in opposition to it." -- Ellen Goodman, Boston Globe columnist
