Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition

13/10/2026

📢 Newly published alert! https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/mcn.70239

This paper looks at misinformation and science-denialist rhetoric in breastfeeding and infant feeding. You’ve surely heard these:
❌ “This ‘data-driven’ economist says breastfeeding doesn’t make a difference.”
❌ “I read that Baby Friendly hospitals starve babies.”
❌ “Formula feeding helps fathers bond.”
❌ And yes, “fed is best.”

“Breastfeeding Science Denialism: Unpacking a Hidden Harm,” open access in Maternal & Child Nutrition, describes how misinformation in infant feeding discourse follows the same playbook seen in other areas long targeted by science denialism, such as vaccines, climate change, and the harms of to***co. It is the first time a science denialism framework has been applied to breastfeeding misinformation.

Breastfeeding denialism tends to come in five strategic categories:
1. Minimization. “Breastfeeding benefits are oversold,” “Fed is best,” “All that matters is a healthy baby,” etc. Here you also tend to see formula compared to MILK rather than to breastfeeding, which lowers the evidence bar that formula has to clear.
2. Misappropriation of research. Cherry-picking studies (e.g., PROBIT, the sibling study) to create an impression of scientific controversy where there is none.
3. Misrepresenting clinical standards. Lactation professionals are recast as “activists” rather than experts. Claims that clinicians routinely starve babies in the name of breastfeeding (which would directly contradict clinical guidelines).
4. Appeals to individualism. Breastfeeding is reframed as a “lifestyle choice” rather than a public health and access issue. As long as mothers are pointing fingers at each other, they aren’t pointing them at the people in power.
5. Leveraging authority. Physicians writing op-eds that misrepresent the science, IBCLCs participating in formula-sponsored events, and an industry-created “Infant Feeding Technician” credential that confers no clinical expertise.

The aim of this paper is to equip clinicians, educators, and advocates with the tools to communicate this science effectively, with compassion and nuance through a systems approach:
🩺 Comprehensive lactation curricula in medical training.
🏥 Professional organizations naming denialism directly and supporting clinicians in pursuing lactation medicine.
🏛️ Policy that enables breastfeeding: paid leave, access to childcare, and breastfeeding in school curricula.

To make sure busy clinicians can read the paper, it is both short and free! 👇🏼
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/mcn.70239
🙌 Share widely in your professional networks!

09/10/2026

Making milk is good for you!
~ Breastfeeding is linked to a decreased risk of developing both breast and ovarian cancer. 🥰

Breastfeeding is associated with a lower risk of breast and ovarian cancer, offering an important long-term health benefit for parents. It reduces lifetime exposure to estrogen, delays ovulation, and supports healthy breast cell differentiation - factors that work together to help protect against cancer. And, in general, the longer one breastfeeds, the greater the protective effect.

[Image Description: A mother looks lovingly are her infant nursing who is cradled in her arms. Text reads, “Breastfeeding is linked to a decreased risk of developing both breast and ovarian cancer."]

08/10/2026

Which came first... 😉

“He’s just using you as a pacifier.”

Okay… and?

People say that like you’re doing something wrong by comforting your own baby.

Like letting your baby nurse for comfort is some bad habit you created.

But that’s literally normal.

Babies have always nursed for more than just food. They nurse because they’re hungry, tired, overwhelmed, uncomfortable, scared, or because they just want their mom.

That’s not a problem.

That’s biology.

And honestly, pacifiers were made to imitate the breast… not the other way around.

So no, your baby isn’t “using you as a pacifier.”

The pacifier is copying what babies were already doing with their mothers.

Moms have been comforting babies this way forever, yet somehow people still act shocked when a mom actually does it.

Your baby wanting the breast for comfort does not mean you’re creating a bad habit.

Sometimes they want milk.

Sometimes they just want you.

And that’s okay. ❤️

07/10/2026

Good to see this information out there in the mainstream media

Pregnancy and new parenthood can raise complicated issues for women in the workplace. They often worry about how hiring managers or their existing employers will view them if they reveal they are expecting a child.

06/10/2026

Celebrating Baby Friendly in Massachusetts! 🎉
We're proud to recognize the 16 Baby Friendly designated hospitals in Masachusetts!
A special congratulations to Wi******er Hospital and Cape Cod Hospital, which were re-designated this year! And congratulations to all, as maintaining this designation takes a tremendous amount of work. We appreciate everything you do to support families.
With 38 birth hospitals in the state, 42.1% now hold the Baby-Friendly designation. We're cheering on every hospital maintaining the designation and/or working towards it!
📣 Want to learn more or get involved? Join our collaborative! These virtual meetings are open to anyone interested in sharing information about Baby Friendly and/or the Ten Steps. All are welcome: https://massbreastfeeding.org/collaborate/baby-friendly-collaborative/

05/10/2026

Breastfeeding: good for baby, good for mom 👍

October is . While breastfeeding is often discussed in the context of infant health, its benefits extend to mothers, too.

Breastfeeding is associated with a lower risk of developing breast cancer, one of the many ways human milk feeding can support health across the life course. Ensuring families have access to the information, resources, and support they need to meet their feeding goals is an important part of supporting healthier families and communities.

02/10/2026

🙌😍

💜💜💜

02/10/2026

“Conclusion: At least 4 lactation visits within the first 2 weeks postpartum increases the likelihood of infant discharge on mother’s own milk. Hospitals should provide adequate access to lactation consultants to account for this need.”

At least 4 lactation visits within the first 2 weeks postpartum increases the likelihood of infant discharge on MOM. Hospitals should provide adequate access to lactation consultants to account for this need.

30/09/2026

Each year at our conference, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health announces its annual Breastfeeding Achievement Awards. This year's focus area was "Engagement of fathers, partners, and families in breastfeeding education and support." It is well known that involvement of partners early in breastfeeding education and support is a strategy that can positively impact breastfeeding outcomes. This year's nominations included practices such as including dads and partners in prenatal breastfeeding classes, education on newborn care and breastfeeding during the hospital stay (also supporting rooming in/skin to skin). Some hospitals also noted father and partner involvement in centering prenatal care groups. Congratulations to these hospitals for their outstanding work in this area: Anna Jaques Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth, Cooley Dickinson Health Care, Massachusetts General Hospital, Merrimack Health Lawrence Hospital, MetroWest Medical Center, Tufts Lowell General Hospital, and Wi******er Hospital.