Michael Bloomberg has been in the political arena for quite some time. He was the mayor of New York City from 2001 to 2013 and is now running in the 2020 presidential election as a Democratic candidate. He ran as a Republican for the majority of his reign as a mayor, but for a brief time ran as an Independent. Currently, Michael Bloomberg is ranked third nationally behind Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. Bloomberg is far from the traditional Democratic candidate. He has come under fire for some controversial remarks he has made in the past about stop and frisk. Additionally, he has had four sexual assault/discrimination cases against him. His beliefs have also been deemed more conservative than liberal. One of these more conservative and bizarre beliefs is about breastfeeding.
How it started
In 2012, Michael Bloomberg started a campaign called the Latch On NYC Initiative. The initiative had hospitals push breastfeeding on mothers and often would only allow formula to be used by the mother if there were certain medical conditions in the way. If there was a mother who was animate on not breastfeeding, nurses and staffers were told to give them a talk on why they should breastfeed instead. What the protocol would be if a mom wanted formula? The nurse would have to document the reasoning, and get the formula from a locked up, secure place. Just a reminder, we are still talking about formula, not a Xanax prescription.
Why Bloomberg thinks breastfeeding is "better"
Bloomberg has stated about the initiative, "Most of the public health officials around the country think that this is a great idea." Adding to that he said, "I gather that the immunities that a mother has built up to get passed along to the child, so the child is healthier."
He is painfully wrong
Yes, there have been studies that show that breastfeeding, because of passive immunity, can lower a baby's risk for asthma, obesity, and even ear infections. However, things seem to even out with age. At first, babies who are breastfed weigh less than formula-fed babies, but it seems that at the age of two the weight evens out to be the same. As well, these studies don't show the full picture. A baby's health also heavily relies on the mother and fathers. In the studies, they don't say if the formula-fed baby is already predisposed to asthma and the breastfeeding baby is lucky enough to have perfectly healthy parents.
That initiative seems somewhat misogynistic
Let's get this out of the way right now, what a mother chooses to do with her baby and body (as long as it doesn't harm the child) is no one's business but hers! The last thing a mother needs to go through after giving birth is to have a nurse give her unsolicited advice about breastfeeding that may make her feel patronized or guilty. If Michael Bloomberg and his wife want to breastfeed, power to them. But to force your beliefs that are based on facts that lay in a grey area is not only disturbing but irresponsible. I would say the same thing if a woman was trying to force this policy on other women, too. But the fact Michael Bloomberg has never experienced pregnancy or breastfeeding and is trying to push that on mothers is, to me, somewhat misogynistic.
Will Bloomberg push this policy if he is in office?
The answer to that question is unknown. Bloomberg has not yet mentioned if he would try to enact a breastfeeding policy if in office. However, if he was persistent on the issue as a mayor, why wouldn't he be as President?
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