Help pass House Resolution 545: Why and How
I’m thrilled that House Resolution 545 was recently introduced by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA-28) and it now has 17 co-sponsors from across the country! The resolution recognizes the importance of breastfeeding and “urges the President to promote the health and welfare of children and their parents by supporting international efforts to improve breastfeeding practices globally.”
Why urge the President to support breastfeeding GLOBALLY?
I’ll explain it in a really simple way (as to my 6-year-old): Last year at the UN World Health Assembly there was a nice resolution, the resolution 1275B, that said breastfeeding is good, there should be more of it, and ask all countries work together and make it happen.
The resolution was necessary because predatory baby food companies keep trying to trick moms into using formula instead of breastfeeding. It’s always been like this forever even though there is a milk code of conduct. According to the conduct, infant formula sales representatives should be banned from all hospitals, yet in some countries, they dress up like nurses and recommend formula to moms in hospitals.
A study in the Lancet says universal breastfeeding would prevent 800,000 child deaths and save $US 300 billion a year because a healthy baby is a cheaper run.
So everyone was surprised when the USA opposed the resolution, demanding that the words “protect, promote and support breastfeeding” be removed along with text that encouraged restrictions on food products that are literally bad for babies!
Not just that, the USA bullied Ecuador, threatening the little country with trade sanctions and worse if they voted for it. After that many developing nations walked away from the resolution because they saw what happened to Ecuador.
New York Times broke into that formula company Abbott Laboratories spent up big on Trump’s inauguration. Baby scientists say that without resolution 1275B, hundreds of thousands of babies will keep dying and infant food companies will continue to make billions of dollars.
But we can change the end of the story! If you acknowledge that there are proven health benefits to infant and mother, that the leader of our country should support international efforts to improve breastfeeding practices, please use the action tool to help the passage of House Resolution 545.