Trump's opposition to breastfeeding stuns health experts

The US President Donald Trump is grabbing headline yet again and this time it is related to his stance of opposing breastfeeding.

Trump’s administration recently opposed a World Health Assembly resolution to promote breastfeeding as it was restricting the use of infant formula milk. "The U.S. strongly supports breast feeding but we don't believe women should be denied access to formula. Many women need this option because of malnutrition and poverty," Trump wrote on twitter.

At the recent World Health Assembly meeting, a resolution was passed to encourage breastfeeding and the countries were advised to limit the false or deceptive advertising of breast milk substitutes. Hundreds of delegates from different countries quickly approved the resolution, but unfortunately United States took side of the infant formula milk companies. Soon after that US started threatening and bullying the countries who were supporting the resolution.

Trump administration does not have an excellent record of prioritizing children abroad or in the United States. On an occasion earlier in 2011 when a lawyer named Elizabeth Beck requested to have a break so that she can pump breast milk for her infant, trump reportedly became upset and called her disgusting, CNN reported.

This statement could have a deleterious impact on the health of children and women not only in United States but also in developing countries, since there is excessive malnutrition and lack of clean water in such countries. People advocating improved nutrition for babies have been extremely infuriated due to this statement while saying that this statement by trump has tormented other governments and has become a hindrance in promoting breastfeeding internationally.

According to World Health Organization, breastfeeding is highly beneficial for infants as well as the nursing mothers. They have warned parents to not get influenced by the marketing campaigns of formula milk companies. WHO has also banned infant formula companies from advertising and openly targeting breastfeeding mothers.

“The evidence clearly shows breast feeding is best for babies. So why is US government not only opposed to it but threatening other countries who favor breast feeding?” A UK biologist and writer Richard Dawkins posted on Twitter.

Global health experts say breast milk is especially important for babies in poor countries, where unsafe water supplies can make powdered infant formula dangerous.