Washington D.C. – Trump HHS Sec. Robert Kennedy provided another stunning reminder why, in his own words, “I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me.” During a Monday press event in Virginia, Kennedy escalated his shame-and-fear campaign against mothers who use baby formula for many reasons — declaring: “All of the ingenuity of corporate America has not produced an infant formula that is superior in nutrition and all the qualities that we want to the infant formula that God made, which is the infant formula in a mother’s breast.”
“RFK Jr. is never one to fully grasp an issue before using the health secretary pulpit to spout harmful and misleading rhetoric,” said Kayla Hancock, Director of Public Health Watch, a project of Protect Our Care. “If Kennedy bothered to learn, he’d know that many women must make the choices for themselves to use formula over breastfeeding because it becomes too painful, are unable to produce enough, or have careers they want or financially need to return to. It’s especially an insult to mothers of color who disproportionately face a lack of access to lactation support in hospitals and at home.
“There are many valid and good reasons why 75 percent of babies are fed some formula by the first 6 months of life – and mothers shouldn’t be intimidated by the party of Trump for it. The Trump administration puts on a charade they’re pro-children when their policies are anything but. At the same time Trump and RFK Jr. demonize baby formula and scare and shame moms who need it to feed their children, they’re pushing unfounded anti-vax policies that will seriously harm or even kill kids.”
###