Acadia researcher explains why some babies are at risk of going hungry

In a video trailer about her book, Out of Milk, Acadia researcher Dr. Lesley Frank answers the breastfeeding paradox – why women who can least afford to buy infant formula are less likely to breastfeed.

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The video reveals that what and how infants are fed is linked to their mother’s social and economic status. Frank exposes the reality of food insecurity for formula-fed babies, the constraints limiting a mother’s ability to breastfeed, and the lengths to which mothers must go to provide for their children.

“In a country that leaves the problem of food insecurity to charities, public policies are failing to support the most vulnerable populations,” says Frank, a Canada Research Chair in Food, Health, and Social Justice.

Out of Milk calls out the pressing need to establish the economic and social conditions necessary for successful breastfeeding and accessible and safe formula feeding for families everywhere. The book is available from the University of British Columbia Press.

About Dr. Lesley Frank

As a Canada Research Chair in Food, Health and Social Justice, Dr. Lesley Frank is working to address the global problem of family and childhood food insecurity while advancing food justice and health equity in Canada. Frank and her research team are developing survey tools and analyzing the causes and social impacts of food insecurity on vulnerable families with children of various ages. They are also collaborating with other academics and community stakeholders in the hopes of supporting policies that will strengthen the well-being of all Canadians.

Learn more from an article in The Conversation.

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