Trump Push Against Breastfeeding Measure Slammed By NYC Pols

NEW YORK CITY HALL — New York City politicians slammed the Trump administration's reported fight against an international resolution promoting the health benefits of breastfeeding. U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan) called for congressional hearings on the move, which she said contradicted decades of public health policy and research.

"I fail to understand how this Trump administration can continue to do one thing after another that hurt people in this country and around the world and expect to be re-elected," Maloney said Monday at a City Hall news conference.

U.S. officials made efforts against a World Health Assembly resolution this spring saying breastmilk is the healthiest for kids and urging nations to discourage misleading advertising of substitute products, The New York Times reported Sunday.

American officials reportedly wanted to weaken language in the resolution. At least a dozen nations — most of them poor Latin American and African countries — “backed off” from the measure fearing retaliation from the U.S., the Times reported.

U.S. officials reportedly told Ecuador, which planned to introduce the resolution, to expect "punishing trade measures" and the loss of military aid if the country didn't drop its support, according to the Times.

But the resolution reportedly passed after it was introduced by Russia, whom the U.S. did not threaten, according to the Times.

Maloney and City Councilman Robert Cornegy (D-Brooklyn) said the episode indicated the Trump administration was putting the interests of the $70 billion baby formula industry ahead of the health of mothers and babies.

"Yet again the Trump administration has proved that corporate profits are more important than the wellbeing of the American people," Cornegy said. "Putting billion-dollar companies ahead of the health of newborn babies and mothers is simply unconscionable."

Maloney said she wants to know how and why the Trump administration shifted its stance on breastfeeding on the international stage.

The City Council should hold a hearing on the issue as it's unlikely Republicans in Congress will have one, Maloney said. Cornegy plans to rally support for a Council resolution formally supporting the World Health Assembly resolution, he said.

Universal breastfeeding could save 800,000 infants' lives worldwide each year, Maloney said, citing research from The Lancet, a British medical journal. U.S. surgeons general have pledged to support and promote breastfeeding starting with C. Everett Koop in the 1980s, said Theresa Landau, the chair of the New York City Breastfeeding Leadership Council.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which reportedly led the push to change the resolution, told the Times it had concerns about the measure creating "unnecessary hurdles" for mothers, particularly those who are unable to breastfeed.

"The U.S. strongly supports breast feeding but we don’t believe women should be denied access to formula," President Donald Trump said on Twitter Monday. "Many women need this option because of malnutrition and poverty."

But moms in the U.S. have been stigmatized and shamed for breastfeeding despite its clear health benefits, Maloney said.

"Every mom that chooses to breastfeed should have government support, hospital support and most importantly societal support for them to breastfeed," Landau said.

(Lead image: U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney and City Councilman Robert Cornegy condemned the Trump administration's opposition to an international pro-breastfeeding resolution. Photo by Noah Manskar/Patch)