Cicely Williams, a British physician, discovered that infant malnutrition was largely caused by bottle-feeding in mothers and worked to promote breastfeeding in developing countries. She faced resistance from Western-centric beliefs that indigenous cultures lacked knowledge and was eventually forced to leave Ghana after fighting against a hospital's policy.
In this episode, the unethical marketing strategies used by baby formula companies, especially Nestle in the 1970s, are explored. The use of "milk nurses" and the promotion of formula over breastmilk led to a decrease in breastfeeding rates and an increase in infant mortality, particularly in developing countries.
This episode discusses the naive idea that there couldn't possibly be any knowledge amongst any indigenous cultures and how Westernization fails to consider the damage it causes. The process of making Wonder bread, and the damage caused by separating babies from their mothers in third-world countries to promote westernized formula, are examples.
Cicely Williams, a British physician, noticed that bottle-fed infants in Malaysia had higher rates of infections and malnutrition compared to breastfed infants. Her observations challenged the widespread use of baby formula and highlighted the importance of breastfeeding for infant health.