Pendulum swings in HIV-1 and infant feeding policies: Now halfway back

Abstract

As one of the defining characteristics of mammalian reproduction, it should come as no surprise that breastfeeding is the norm, the healthiest practice for both mothers and infants regardless of where they live [1]. Benefits of breastfeeding have been noticed by health practitioners since the middle ages with poignant records of the outcomes of foundlings given human milk compared to those fed with artificial feeds [2]. By the mid-twentieth century, the industry producing and selling infant formula was so confident that their product was equivalent to mother nature's "product" that a vast population-level experiment was conducted with tragic results. Infant formula began to be actively promoted in sub-Saharan Africa leading to the well-publicized increases in infant death [3]. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media New York.