The Big Letdown: How Medicine, Big Business, and Feminism Undermine Breastfeeding

by Kimberly Seals-Allers

Breastfeeding. The mere mention of it has many mothers wracked with anxiety (how will I manage with work, other kids, what if I don't make enough milk?) or guilt about not doing it (will I be hurting my child if I choose not to breastfeed? what will people think of me if I choose not to?). This hot-button issue is one we've talked about repeatedly in the media and in celebrity culture. Remember when Angelina Jolie posed for the cover of W nursing her newborn? Oh, the controversy! And when Barbara Walters complained about the woman breastfeeding next to her on a plane? She was forced to issue a public apology. Or what about when supermodel Gisele Bunchen declared that there should be worldwide law that mothers be required to breastfeed their babies for the first six months of life? All hell broke loose.

This topic gets people riled up, and there has never been a narrative account that explores the breastfeeding big picture for parents and their children in today's world. The Big Letdown by author, journalist, and breastfeeding advocate Kimberly Seals-Allers will change that for the better and open up a candid conversation about the cultural, sociological, and economic forces that shape the breastfeeding culture and how it undermines women in the process.

Genres: Nonfiction, Parenting, Feminism, Health

170 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 5, 2016

About the author

Kimberly Seals Allers has a vision for shifting the experience of birth and breastfeeding for all women. Kimberly is an award-winning journalist and author turned global maternal and infant health advocate. A former writer at Fortune magazine and senior editor at Essence, Kimberly's own motherhood journey inspired her to pivot her creative focus and analytical mind to writing about motherhood and the intersection of race, culture, policy and commercial interests.

Her first book, The Mocha Manual to a Fabulous Pregnancy, a first-of-its-kind pregnancy guidebook for black women from a sociological perspective, was released in 2006 and nominated for an NAACP Image Award. The top-selling Mocha Manual series continued with The Mocha Manual to Turning Your Passion into Profit and The Mocha Manual to Military Life. In 2017, Kimberly turned her attention to the issue of the culture of infant feeding in the U.S., writing The Big Letdown: How Medicine, Big Business, and Feminism Undermine Breastfeeding. The book examines the societal norms, commercial interests, and policy gaps that influence how women feed their infants and why that matters to our society and public health.

A frequent contributor to The Washington Post, Huff Post and New York Times, Kimberly travels the world speaking about her big ideas for transforming the motherhood journey and sharing findings of nearly a decade of on-the-ground community work. A divorced mother of two, Kimberly loves traveling with her teenage children and taking Zumba classes.

Reviews

[Cal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stayed up late because when this book hit its stride, it's a force to be reckoned with. I honestly think everyone should read it- but you have to read it in full before judging it.
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Imagine a world with no mommy wars. Doctors could admit they know little to nothing about lactation and remedy that lapse. Waves of feminism could admit they forgot to fight for this specific reproductive right. Breastfeeding advocates could step back and realize "breast is complicated" is better than "breast is best" as we moms are so much more than just our boobs, even within the act of breastfeeding.
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Imagine the American Academy of Pediatrics publicly announcing anytime it received large amounts of money from a company that may cause a conflict of interest, like say, the top 3 formula companies in the country.
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Imagine we talked about how the system of society needs to change so that ALL mothers who want to breastfeed/need to pump at work, can, because we all benefit from having content mothers raising the next generation; after all we'll need them to keep society going as we age.
What if we treated breastfeeding as a human right so courts would have to accept it under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, instead of labeling it a "related medical condition" and dismissing it as a choice of parenting?
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What if we remembered the oversexualization of black womxn, them being given labels as exotic/hypersexual, and how the rates of black mothers breastfeeding is lower than white mothers, and black womxn have higher rates of diabetes, maternal deaths, etc, and their children have higher infant mortality rates. And yet how the medical system hands out formula so much more to black than white mamas.
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Allers leaves you with these thoughts and more, preparing compelling data and stories for all, and ends with her vision of how we can all move forward in this intricate dance of accepting and paving societal protection for the action that literally defines the class of our place in the kingdom.

[Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

I came into this book with my own bias (from the data I have collected, I am going to prioritize my decision to breastfeed and am very lucky to have a situation that will make that choice more feasible) and my own ignorance (I have never had a child before so I have never gone through the full decision-making process to feed a newborn).

Even with this philosophical alignment with the author, I am disappointed by the approach the author took in making the arguments in support of breast feeding as it lacks credibility. In particular, the following choices the author made when writing the book make it impossible for me to recommend this book:
- complete lack of footnotes for each statement written as if it is a fact
- inclusion of tobacco industry history even though that leads to extreme analogies
- over-reliance on a few select narratives that are framed as if they prove facts

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really looking forward to this book, but unfortunately, it let me down (lol).

I don't dispute the evil practices of big pharma/big formula- Nestle, etc. They are only looking to make money and they have very little care for actual people.

However, I found the author's bias in this book incredibly distracting. I've read other books that review some of the same studies this book does, such as the PROBIT study, of breastfeeding mother's in Belarus. For example, Emily Oster finds different takeaways from the same study.

There are references at the back of the book, but no footnotes in the text, so how is a reader supposed to find the related evidence to a certain claim? This really annoyed me.

And what about research saying that women who want to and plan to breastfeed but can't, have higher rates of PPD? This book won't help them.
I didn't finish this book but I skimmed most chapters and only read one example with any kind of nuance to a mother's baby feeding experience.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a breastfeeding mother and birth worker, I thought I already knew what this book but was going to contain. Obviously, that is an arrogant way to approach nonfiction reading and I was way wrong. I already knew the health benefits of breastfeeding, but I really had no idea about the vast influence of baby formula companies on hospitals, pediatricians, scientific research, and parents. I was absolutely floored by the many ways in which big business undermines women's confidence in their own bodies to feed their young, which is their biological right. This book also helped me understand how the over sexualization of the breast makes it more difficult for women to do what their bodies were made to do. More than just opening my eyes to the many ways in which our society does not support breastfeeding mothers, this book helped me re-frame my own core perspective on mothering in a patriarchal culture. Kimberly Seals Allers will influence my work with new mothers and families going forward and I am grateful to have found her.

Here is one of many favorite passages, "I call it 'The Liberation Mystique' for today's generation. It's an equally damaging and subversive message-this idea that we achieve freedom by feeding our babies inferior artificial products and by getting back to working like men. It's an equally powerful malaise of discontent. We will never be fulfilled until all of our selves - our maternal selves, our sexual selves, our lactating selves, our career-climbing selves- are acknowledged."

[Emily Houston · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such an interesting read! I ended up having to skim through the rest of the book because I have to return it to the library, not because I didn’t like it. I will say, the long long paragraphs and chapters sometimes made all the information feel overwhelming.

It’s sad to see what the medical system has made of birth today and has told women in regards to birth and breastfeeding. We don’t need to fix something that isn’t broken…All in all, a great book.

[Kathy Heare Watts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won an uncorrected proof advanced reading copy of this book during a Goodreads giveaway. I am under no obligation to leave a review or rating and do so voluntarily. So that others may also enjoy this book, I am paying it forward by donating it to my local library.

[Cliona · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to stop reading early because of the lack of footnotes. The history of lactation and infant feeding is really interesting but I can’t trust this narrative without referencing evidence to support it.

[Sue · Rating 1 out of 5]

I won this book from Good Reads.

Horrible book, claims feminism "ruined" breast feeding! HUH? Also poorly written, disjointed sentences.

Don't waste your time!

[Maggie Basore · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a big let down. This author needs to get over herself. She has an angry and entitled tone in her writing.

[Tiffany Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book did a fairly adequate job at explaining how medicine and “big business” have undermined breastfeeding over the years but I found the feminism parts a little confusing and very inconsistent. The author believes babies should stay with their mothers but also supports women returning to work and demanding accommodations from employers (not just in “necessary” situations). Her main reason for including feminism in the title seems to be that modern feminism sees breastfeeding as restrictive and formula as liberating. Considering everything else feminism promotes, however, I’m not sure why she should expect a different outcome.

The author believes we should normalize breast exposure and attempts to shame those, specifically men, who have a problem with it. She is also pro-abortion which is both ironic and extremely sad considering she’s attempting to argue what is most natural and best for a baby.

Despite the liberal and feminist viewpoints of the author, this book was informative and even somewhat humorous at times. If you’re interested in the history of breastfeeding vs formula, you’ll probably enjoy it but I don’t think it’s a must-read for most.

[Shelby Bethke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think it's a surprise to anyone anymore that where there's money to be had you'll find corruption, but I was still bowled over by some of the systemic policy issues referenced here.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I don’t think this was a total letdown like some readers, I wish the author had done one last edit. Its so repetitive and it makes it hard to get through. I want to support her arguments, but is it, as she points out, because I’m already a pro-breastfeeder? I’m with her on the need to fight for better work options for breastfeeding and all new mamas and parents, on the need to fight the heavy marketing campaigns and greed of formula companies, and a general need to review why we put up with work (and a lot of life) designed for and about men. And I want a movement for breastfeeding! But I wish she’d spent more on talking to people about what we could do, at least as much as she talked about the structural issues which make breastfeeding so hard.

Breastfeeding is hard. But it’s also an amazing experience that I want to continue, two years on and beyond as long as my baby wants it. After reading this I can’t help but tell every pregnant mama to throw out every formula advertisement and free sample, find support and don’t let the hospital staff get in between them and their babies in the first 48 hours of life, so their natural “let down” can happen. It’s amazing how much we women assume it’s our bodies that are the problem.

[Mercer Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am reading this book for a full-spectrum doula course that I am in, and it is through that lens that I am reviewing it. I gave it two stars because, although I found the content to be problematic, there was some accurate information that I resonated with.

Alright, so, I firmly believe that breastfeeding is a choice. I firmly believe that people have the right to make that choice and shouldn’t be shamed for it, and that it is extremely personal. I also agree that it is shameful that pediatricians and obgyns push samples and branded products so readily to people, even before they’ve finished gestating.

That said, I don’t think that it’s right to shame individuals that are choosing to use formula, or tell them that formula actively endangers their children. I was especially surprised by the bounty of this messaging, given that the doula program I am reading it for emphasizes a variety of different birthing experiences, including those of trans folks and other people that may not have breast/chest feeding as an option.

One other problematic thing was how frequently there was shaming of sex workers in this book. It had zero place in the context of the text and felt genuinely strange to read when it came up.

[Carmen's Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this honest and in-depth look at the politics of breastfeeding. I think the ideas presented in this book may be hard to accept for some people, so this is not something I would regularly recommend to my clients (I'm a breastfeeding counselor and doula). However, I think that these topics are extremely important to be aware of and to understand so I will be encouraging my students who are training to be Douglas/breastfeeding counselors to read this. I would also recommend it highly to anyone who is open to understanding this important and sometimes controversial topic.

[Kathryn D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oof. I have never been so morally challenged by a book. I have been and, even after reading this, always will be of the 'fed is best' camp- sorry not sorry. But as a current postpartum doula and lactation consultant in training I was intrigued by the premise of the book. I learned a lot of surprising facts that even as a professional in the field for 8 years I had never known, and it definitely changed my mind on some things. However, I found some parts difficult to stomach because of the tone with which Seals Allers uses. The feminist chapter literally had me shaking with rage with her lack of consideration and confused method of rhetoric. You can be critical of choice feminism for sure, but she treats the idea of choice, even within a flawed system, as a choice made under direct duress and always misinformed or having lack of actual informed consent and therefore invalid, which diminishes the real sacrifices and conflict in being forced to weigh pros and cons that people are in fact aware of. Throughout the whole book she attempts to focus her criticism on the systems and institutions that prevail in US society- the formula industry as a whole, corrupt lobbying interfering with public health policies, the industrialized capitalist nature and financial pressure to return to work, the lack of adequate family leave and breastfeeding/pumping accommodations in the workplace, to name a few. This is quite a worthy exposé. And in between the facts, the author uses some anecdotes of mothers' struggles with these systems and how they have personally affected their breastfeeding outcomes. Which is awesome, but in humanizing breastfeeding mothers, there is zero attempt to humanize the mothers who, for one reason or another, didn't breastfeed. Those mothers' experiences constantly remain on the peripheral, othered as victims of ~society~ and infantalized by having their choice, yes, choice, turned into more fuel for the argument of systems being flawed. Which is difficult, because I do agree that systems are flawed, but with all of her talk of mommy-shaming being so prevalent in the culture, the author didn't care to get a well-rounded perspective and interview mothers from the other side to counteract that. Just saying "it's bad that mommy-shaming happens" doesn't absolve your very blatant bias and clear contempt for mothers who made a choice within a system that sets them up to fail, a choice which the author deems morally inferior. So really she ends up implying, "yes it's bad that mommy-shaming happens but some mothers really should be shamed."

Yes, it's a fatal flaw of persuasive writing that people demand that you address every single outlier, every what-about. But in this case there was zero discussion of mental and physical health of mothers being a reason for discontinuing breastfeeding- which is not only absolutely a gaping systemic issue that I think is well worth addressing, but also in my experience one of the most common reasons for discontinuing breastfeeding. Seals Allers is clearly a feminist- perhaps misguided sometimes, but ultimately she is pro-woman and anti-misogyny. Yet there's very little focus or care for the minds and identities and obligations of these mothers as they struggle to breastfeed. There's talk of women as mothers, and women as workers, and women as women in gendered, misogynist society, but not women as quite simply people. People with individual goals, worries, feelings, relationships, lives, bodies, preferences, and identities. I think it's a very glaring omission in the grand scheme of the discussion. And illness and disability were treated with a flippancy that kind of gave me "who cares about polio- if you vaccinate your child you'll give them autism- the worst thing that could ever happen! Even worse than polio!!" vibes. Which is why I remain "fed is best": yes, there may be a higher risk of diabetes, or obesity, or whatever else, but I honestly believe at my core that that is preferable to a mom that thinks about suicide or infanticide or has her body start shutting down from sleep deprivation or dehydration or one of the many other medical constraints that are put on a lactating person. Alive infants and alive mothers are best. Alright, now I'm off my soapbox.

Overall the book was decent for the purposes of ideology, but I feel like it provides no real hope or tangible solutions. And maybe that wasn't the point of the book. Maybe the point was truly just to say, "hey everybody, check out how crazy fucked this world is! Wouldn't it sure be nice if all of this changed?! Haha, oh well... anyway, I love you mothers who are doing amazing things for your babies in spite of all this, and only you particular mothers! Everyboby should be more like you!"

After reading all that, are you surprised I still gave it a 4/5? A lot of the facts were golden- although as others mentioned I really wish there were linked footnotes- and is really invaluable information that everyone should learn. I'm glad I stuck it out because the information changes my practice, but I just wish she could have chosen a lane- attack the systems or sympathize with the mothers in an opinion piece. Her trying to do both soured it a little, and if I weren't a professional and was just a mom wanting to know more I would have been so put off by the feminism chapter and her tone I would have thrown it in the trash. Honestly, even the mention of feminism in the subtitle made me wary and not sure what I was getting into.

[Katelyn Berry · Rating 1 out of 5]

I feel that a book that claims to want to end mommy wars, this book is just going to fuel them. It’s judgmental, triggering to any parent who has ever struggled or needed supplements to feed a child, it’s repetitive, has TERRIBLE analogies, and overall I would NEVER recommend this book to a parent-to-be.

[Gloria Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a interesting book that all mothers should read, wish I had read this when I was younger it enlightens you to big companies trying to replace mothers milk and the companies behind it. A very informative book.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story of our devaluation of our society and family.

[Kelsey Cole · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book the big letdown lays out what the author thinks of as the big barriers in breastfeeding today. I agreed with a lot of the authors points, she also gave me some valuable insight into things i maybe havent thought of yet and expanded my thinking on others that i have. I did not agree with everything the author laid out but overall thought she had a lot of great points. It was a bit hard for me to read this book, i think the chapters were a bit long and wish she would have broken them up.
Overall this book reinforced one thing for me, that capitalism is and will always be a problem. Within the framework we live in today it is hard to raise a family, live in community and receive the support we need to make the best choices and be the best parents for our children and community members. It can be hard to breastfeed, to see what a family could look like or to care for each other in the capacity we should when the world is quite literally built to keep us from doing so.
Beyond that the fact that companies keep profiting off of LITERAL life forces for babies it is no wonder they have a vested interest in keeping parents from breastfeeding, from getting protections at work beyond what is basic, from stopping paid leave and forcing parents back to work as soon as possible. Making time a factor in when to breastfeed, how long to breastfeed and taking breastfeeding away from being part of a relationship with your baby and making it into an activity you either do or dont do.
A passage that i thought rang true in our time of a formula shortage was “lets be clear, under our capitalist system, businesses exploit supply shortages, disasters,inefficiencies and wars all the time.” it is absolutely appalling and disgusting how formula companies have gotten away with holding families hostage while they stress about finding formula and then paying the exorbitant price once they do. Ok, time to get off my soapbox.
I do have a problem with some comparisons that the author made in this book. She at one time compares breastfeeding with dieting. She states “everyday is a struggle to make the right choice when the less- healthy options seem so much easier. You know how it goes: you see the brownies, you know the brownie is not good for you, you count how many minutes it will take you on the treadmill to burn it off- but you eat the brownie anyway.” while i understand the point she may be trying to make, i like many are in the process of deconstructing food as being good or bad and seeing food as morally neutral and am on the path to deconstructing some fatphobia and feel she could have found a better way to convey the point of having to choose to breastfeed day after day.
I found her chapter on feminism very insightful and gave me a deeper look on choice feminism and how it can hinder the movement as a whole. I found it tied back points that dorothy roberts made, that something isnt really a choice if our society is set up in a way to favor one choice or other. That we dont really have choice under the system we are struggling in. she points out how we devalue the work of motherhood as a whole and are told we should be looking for freedom from our children but are we ever really free from them? From the worry that accompany having them? Should we be striving for freedom or rethinking our relationship to them? To each other as a whole? Do we not owe our fellow humans especially the ones we have a hand in creating more? I believe we do. Individualism in and outside of feminism isnt the way forward. I have a bit of beef with a few passages in that section though, she says that by looking to be equal to men we forgot to fight for the things that make us uniquely women then states that birth and breastfeeding are powerful things that only women can do. It is a tired argument that TERFs often use and makes me a bit weary. I also do not like how she links sex work and pole dancing to choice feminism or a matter of whether or not it is empowering.
Overall I thought this book was a good read, it did teach me a lot and expanded my knowledge on barriers to breastfeeding

[roselyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did a journal entry about this book for a course and figured I could paste my thoughts here as a review:

The title of this book caught my eye, and I thought it would great timing to read because I was also observing a chestfeeding class at the same time. I think Allers does a great job of laying out the various structural barriers that make it difficult for people to breastfeed, including historical medical racism and how that affects communities of color (although I wish she elaborated more on this than just a section of a chapter).

Capitalism is the root of pretty much all problems our society is facing right now, and I didn't realize how deeply entrenched our OBs, hospitals, physicians, and even NGOs are in the pockets of corporations. The piece that shocked me the most was how the growth charts used to measure babies originated from formula companies to ultimately boost formula sales. They prey on parents’ doubt and insecurity about their ability to produce enough milk to keep their infant in good health and influence them from before-pregnancy with formula coupons, literature, and swag bags. I was struck to read that the American Academy of Pediatrics, a network of over 64,000 doctors, receives over $1 million annually from formula manufacturers, and they also contributed over $3 million towards the building costs of the AAP headquarters. I was already aware of the medical industrial complex and how connected the healthcare system is with corporate greed, but to see it extend to infant health and formula profits was disheartening. Allers did an effective job of highlighting how corporations and CEOs prioritize profits, employment numbers, and use sleazy tactics to try to frame formula feeding as “good enough” versus actually centering the nutrition of their target clients.

One critique I have is the tone towards people who did choose to formula feed their babies. My sister and I were formula fed because our mother fell into the same situation that Allers describes, where she had difficulty breastfeeding and didn’t have access to a lactation consultant or the support system to be able to breastfeed successfully - so she turned to formula. I appreciated learning the context that surrounded my mother’s situation and seeing how she also was targeted by the industry. I think Allers has an understanding that this isn’t a choice for many people and they’re often pressured to go in this direction. However I feel that some statements like “feeding your child formula endangers their lives” might alienate individuals who are reading this book that formula fed their child(ren). This ignores different birthing experiences and also excludes the experiences of trans and gender non-conforming birthers, as well as cis men parents, who may not have chestfeeding as an option.

There was also some shaming of sex workers in this book that didn’t sit right with me and felt unnecessary. Her negative tone towards activists and feminism was also tough to read through as it was clearly personal bias, but outside of that, I do think there was useful information in this book that I’ll be reflecting on.

[Michelle Arredondo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Big Letdown: The True Story of How Politics, Feminism, and Big Business Changed Breastfeeding by Kimberly Seals Allers. Much anticipated for me. I breastfed all 4 of my children. My oldest I breastfed him exclusively for a 1 and a half. Then went on to feed him another 6 months with the breast while trying to ween him onto milk and more solid food feedings. I breastfed my daughter for 6 months and then supplemented for another 6 months on formula when she began having gastrointestinal issues. I breastfed my other son for about 8 months. And my last kiddie, I breastfed him for a year and a half…actually almost the full two years. Exhaustion can’t even describe the true nature of it all.

I wanted to read this book because I know a lot about the experience of breastfeeding but do I really know the facts, the data, the information behind it all. Yes and no…but this book will determine that somewhat. Obviously this book is all about the breastfeeding mommas. If this book does not sell you on the idea….I don’t know what will. Mind you..I did not enjoy it as much as I would have liked to enjoy it. I found myself a bit daunted by all the facts and figures…OMG, I had to skim through the chapter MILK MONEY. I was seeing numbers, and ratios and percentages in my nightmares but that’s just me being a fiction lover…sometimes the hard facts and data can be a bit too much. I LOVED the Introduction. It was like a Pep Rally..getting me all excited for the rest of the book. After that I fumbled back and forth with being fully engrossed in what I was learning..and keeping myself from napping while sitting up.

The fact is…you will learn something from this book. It is an eye opener.It validated my choice to breastfeed all these years. I was relieved for that. I realized things I did not before..and that’s with years and years of breastfeeding experience behind my belt. Obviously you can never know it all about anything…there is always more to learn. However, I’ve reached the end of my breastfeeding days and so I don’t know if the info was as valuable as it would have been if I had read this before. I also don’t know if I really grasped anything inspirational from this book. Yes…it’s pro breastfeeding but it was more fact fact fact…than inspire inspire inspire. I had to trudge through the book more often than not. Still, I think this book needs to be in every ‘mothers-to-be’ prep bag. I think it should be bought by all OB-GYNs and given to mommies on their first pre-natal visit.


Thanks as always to the wonderful peeps here at goodreads for providing me the opportunity to receive this book for free in exchange for an honest review to which I gladly and voluntarily gave.

[Mary Anne Kidwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

To use the words of the author, I wholeheartedly support breastfeeding but also understand the roles of formula, bottles and pumping and that these are the norm for many women, not the exception. Strident opposition to feeding a baby without these make people look out of touch and ignores all the structural barriers that mothers face today (problems that this book goes into in great depth). I also liked how she mentions the "solutions aversion" model at the end as the current solution, exclusive breastfeeding without the appropriate policy and medical changes, is just unrealistic for many mothers.

However, this book isn't an easy read and with her clear bias, I'm unsure if this balanced approach is what she truly supports as I had to skim many parts... I'm curious to read "Lactivism" which she mentions and criticizes (p. 198) then revisit this book. I think what I, and many other mothers, am craving is a better understanding of how women truly live and experience (breast)feeding their baby. This book is a great start in the right direction.

Few things I found really interesting from this book:
-"Lactation holds the dubious distinction of being the only bodily function for which modern medicine has virtually no training or knowledge. Doctors know how to treat and prescribe for erectile dysfunction, but lactation dysfunction doesn't even exist as a diagnosis."
-"Industrialization brought another revolution to America-mechanization of time... babies adapted to this cultural development from birth, most of the infant care manuals of that time instructed mothers to care for infants according to the clock."
-"Scientists have argued for years that infant formula actually needs more regulation than regular food because it is the sole source of nutrition for many infants during such a developmentally critical time"
-"Because breastfeeding is the biological norm, breastfed babies should not be noted as "healthier"; artificially fed babies should be described as ill."
-"There's no politics in prevention. Once you have a disease, people want services and a cure and there is a lobby development to push for that."
-"The undervaluation of breastfeeding is directly related to the broader undervaluation of motherhood. Any many experts argue that the undervaluation of motherhood is directly connected to how we value children."

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Big Letdown: The True Story of How Politics, Feminism, and Big Business Changed Breastfeeding" by Kimberly Seals Allers is a must read for any new or soon to be moms!

This book gives the truth about breastfeeding and the choices and hardships the breastfeeding mother will likely face. I found the first four chapters insightful with facts on the benefits of breastfeeding, information on the creation of formula and how it's regulated, and eye opening connections between hospitals/pedestrians and formula companies. However, the last few chapters of this book didn't capture my attention as well as I felt it didn't give as much insightful information on why breastfeeding is better or was just reiterating what was already stated.

As a first time mom, I wish I had read this before delivering my baby. I knew some of the reasons why breastfeeding is best, and planned to breastfeed. Luckily I delivered in a hospital conducive to breastfeeding with automatic skin-to-skin contact and available lactation consultants, so I received a good start. But on my second doctor visit I experienced exactly what this book discribed...my baby had not gained enough weight in comparison to the formula growth chart and I was told to supplement. My gut told me it wasn't a good idea, but I tried it and could tell my baby wasn't sucking as good anymore and also began spitting up...so I didn't supplement anymore and up feedings to every hour or hour and a half instead of the recommended two hours. At the next doctor visit she had gained and supplementing wasn't suggested again. If I had read this book before this situation happened I would have been confident in my choice and would have spared myself the breakdowns and defeat that occurred and would've been able to defend my choice to exclusively breastfeed to unsupportive family and friends. I have now successfully breastfed for six months, but have gained knowledge and confidence to continue to breastfeed and defend my choice from reading "The Big Letdown: The True Story of How Politics, Feminism, and Big Business Changed Breastfeeding" by Kimberly Seals Allers!

[Sarah Casady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full disclosure that I’m a Lactation Consultant and have helped hundreds of families combo feed and fully formula feed. Especially because of my background and education, this book is uncomfortable. Artificial baby milk has a horrible history and incredibly exploitive marketing, which this book highlights again and again. The facts make you crawl in your skin to see how much this marketing and history is ingrained in our culture. So much so that the true value of ABM is hidden by the atrocities it continues to create (yes both in the US and abroad). What surprised me the most was how Ad Council was blocked from even making ads based on the dangers of ABM. So much of what we’re told is about the “benefits” of lactation, which is yet another marketing ploy when we realize lactation is the biological norm and not the benefit.

4 stars because frankly it was hard to read. And I don’t mean content. There were whole pages that were one long paragraph. This needed a better editor to make it smoother to read. I also wish the solutions were explored more. The solutions almost seemed like an afterthought compared to the copious amount of research on each of the problems.

I’m not sure how, or even if, my own practice will change due to this book. My job is to support mothers with what they want for them and their child(ren). What concerns me is how much of personal liberty has been already taken away by a society that sees more value in women as money than as humans.

[Aubrey Klick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely a great insight to the issues currently surrounding breastfeeding. The best part of the book for me was learning all of the science and history of formula. It really makes you think twice about it and want to delve deeper into the subject than what the book gets into. This author is clearly biased towards one side versus the other, but I thought the title alone made that pretty clear. There were two spots in the book where different cultures/races are explored, but yet only Caucasians and African Americans are used in those sections; it really just came off badly and like the author was trying to incite more emotion by adding in some racial content, which is obviously a hot topic in the country right now. Overall I feel like I really learned a lot and it's definitely information that I've already been sharing with my family and friends. A true eye opener when it comes to formula and gives everyone a little something to think about.
*I won an advanced reader copy in a Goodreads giveaway.

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

verrrrrrry gendered. also, doesn't have a good analysis around fatness or disability (they talked about rates of ADHD and obesity a bit too much for my liking.) HOWEVER, I do think the info in here is invaluable if this is a topic you're interested in. It did a great job at breaking down the myriad of factors that undermine breastfeeding. (although multiple chapters could have just been in one mega chapter called CAPITALISM.) I was presently surprised how it talked about black birthing people's history with this specifically—a better and more comprehensive analysis than I would have expected.

edit: omg the reason the analysis around Black people was good is bc the author is a Black woman..... this was assigned to me for my doula training so I honestly had no idea! That definitely explains why the analysis around that was good. although I find it interesting that, in the brief parts where she shared her personal experiences, race was not mentioned.

[Lena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this thoughtful expose on how convoluted breastfeeding has become with the influence of big pharma, the medical field, scientists, the media/Hollywood, societal/cultural expectations around gender, and feminism. I learned so much about how the baby formula industrial complex has insidiously and systematically influenced us - giving free formula packets out to new mothers leaving the hospital, encouraging standard growth charts tracked against formula-fed instead of breastfed babies, and many more tactics - while not taking accountability for down-the-line chronic diseases tied to infant formula. I liked her positioning of breastfeeding as a right, just as any food security is a right, as opposed to simply a choice as a way to motivate policy changes around things like longer paid maternity leave, nursing rooms in the workplace, etc. to make it possible for all women to breastfeed, instead of feeling like they must default to formula.

[Jasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it! Breastfeeding and formula is definitely a complex subject and this book breaks it down from historical moments to social and everything else between. Although I am an advocate for breastfeeding this book really helped me reflect on other perspectives of women, especially those experiencing systemic limitation. When it comes to feeding our babies, infant formula companies have won the game of mind control too long in making women question their adequacy in producing enough milk to satisfy their babies. It’s about time for upbeat and informational messages like the ones found in “The Big Letdown”. We can revalue breastfeeding in our mothering and as a way towards a healthier society by focusing on the variety in women experience and improving support. Good read.

Also I loved her sweet acknowledgement to her children too.

[Donna Schwartz · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this book had some excellent parts, I felt that the author was less than a breastfeeding enthusiast. I found parts of the book where she criticized woman who protested injustices, for example, women who were illegally asked to stop breastfeeding (when it was against the law to do so). Sorry, but I disagree with that.
On the other hand, she pointed out the aliances between the medical drs. and the formula industry were used to encourage woman to not breastfeed.
I also felt that she had a good point about how society does not help women to spend more time at home with their babies, thus being able to successfully breastfeed.
My main problem with the book was the negative attitude of the author. As a breastfeeding mother, I was rather insulted by her attitude about breastfeeding activists.

[Erica Seibert · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF but skimmed it like the opinionated textbook it is trying to be. I will first say that it is a bit outdated which is a large issue with many key talking points, i.e. social norm of breastfeeding. From 2017 to 2024, I do believe society has been more supportive of women breastfeeding (which I largely attribute to women on tiktok). BUT - back to this book - it comes off as a scorned woman ranting with receipts and, as its been stated much before, it is difficult to compare her receipts to what she is claiming as she does not have any in text citations.

I do give this book 2 stars as it does bring up a lot of awareness in the difficulties to breastfeed as a modern day mom but, honestly, go read Expecting Better or Cribsheet if you want unbiased facts and data.