Fewer Deaths from Doggie Treats than from Formula Feeding

The news in the past few days has again and again focused on the deaths of hundreds of dogs over the past years due to tainted doggie treats.

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/pet-jerky-treat-mystery-nearly-600-animals-dead-still-no-8C11436330

I love dogs, especially my rat terrier, Tessie.  Of course we should be careful what we feed them.  When we know of a food source that is considered dangerous for our pets we should avoid giving it to them.

Tessie Hess

The news and other media is careful to let us know how to best take care of our pets -- including what foods are best and which to avoid.  The FDA is getting more involved with dealing with tainted dog food from China.

Compare this situation with another one.  

Approximately 900 babies in the US die EACH YEAR because they were not breastfed.  Perhaps the formula was not tainted, as has been the case in some infant deaths worldwide over the decades, but formula is not a "perfect" food for human babies.  Some babies truly suffer because they were given formula instead of breastmilk.

For article on risks of formula feeding, by Allison Stube, MD, click on
 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2812877/

For a list of formula recalls, click on
 http://www.naba-breastfeeding.org/images/Formula%20Recalls-W.pdf

Yet, we do not see infant feeding death rates on the news, even though they are higher than what has been calculated for our dogs.

Even worse, millions and millions of babies worldwide have died because they were not breastfed.  Formula companies promised good health, but failed to even deliver life beyond infancy for these babies. Millions upon millions more suffer from diseases they would not have had to endure if they had been breastfed.


I wonder . . . when will the news start carrying stories about the risks of infant formula with even one half of the energy they have devoted to doggie treats?  

The news is focusing on "those bad Chinese".  Perhaps they are still learning about food production methods, perhaps not.  

But what is our excuse?  When will our government and health care system, including physicians and nurses, simply provide accurate information to mothers about their infant feeding choices?  Clearly, most babies survive with a degree of health when they have been formula fed.  Women are free to choose this option.  More babies survive with greater health when they are breastfed.  The specifics of why this is the case are not readily provided to expectant and new mothers.

Yet, most women have received more information on these tainted doggie treats than they receive on the risks involved with formula feeding . . . and those risks are very real.

Don't our babies deserve at least the same consideration as our dogs?