{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T09:46:04Z","timestamp":1792057564053,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]],"date-time":"2026-09-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788220800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":62,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782864000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Maternal &amp;amp; Child Nutrition"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>In the digital age, misinformation about infant feeding threatens decades of public health efforts to revive breastfeeding. Increasingly sophisticated marketing exploits cultural knowledge gaps, serving commercial interests and exacerbating food insecurity from climate change and migration. Public health literature acknowledges that suboptimal breastfeeding rates are due to systemic failures, not personal ones. However, our social responsibility to parents includes promoting public literacy in infant feeding and breastfeeding and lactation science. Recognizing breastfeeding misinformation as science denialism unlocks field\u2010tested communication tools from domains long\u2010targeted by denialism, such as climate change and vaccines. We describe five breastfeeding denialism strategies that echo tactics historically used to manufacture doubt about scientific consensus: minimization of breastfeeding's importance, misrepresenting research, misrepresenting clinical standards, appeals to individualist values, and leveraging authority through influencers and industry credentials. These practices contradict evidence that lack of breastfeeding access increases disease risk, costing over $500 billion annually. We call for research and suggest actions for clinicians, public health professionals, policymakers, and organizations to protect parents from misinformation. Supporting informed decision\u2010making requires comprehensive medical curricula, organizational statements addressing denialism, policies enacting parental leave and education, and cultural normalization of breastfeeding.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1111\/mcn.70239","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]],"date-time":"2026-09-01T09:17:12Z","timestamp":1788254232000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Breastfeeding Science Denialism: Unpacking a Hidden Harm"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"22","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7667-2239","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bridget","family":"McGann","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Manitoba Interdisciplinary Lactation Centre (MILC) Children's Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba Winnipeg Manitoba Canada"},{"name":"'Department of Anthropology' 'College of Liberal Arts and Sciences' University of Colorado Denver Denver Colorado USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Christina","family":"Raimondi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Manitoba Interdisciplinary Lactation Centre (MILC) Children's Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba Winnipeg Manitoba Canada"},{"name":"Winnipeg Breastfeeding Centre Winnipeg Manitoba Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5942-4444","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Meghan B.","family":"Azad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Manitoba Interdisciplinary Lactation Centre (MILC) Children's Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba Winnipeg Manitoba Canada"},{"name":"Department of Pediatrics and Child Health University of Manitoba Winnipeg Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_10_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/mcn.13109"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(22)01933-X"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_4_1","first-page":"11","article-title":"Has Mother's Milk Gone Sour?","volume":"62","author":"Bartlett T.","year":"2015","journal-title":"Chronicle of Higher Education"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_5_1","unstructured":"Bever L.2017. She listened to her doctors\u2014And her baby died. Now she's warning others about breast\u2010feeding. The Washington Post.https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/parenting\/wp\/2017\/03\/08\/she-listened-to-her-doctors-and-her-baby-died-now-shes-warning-others-about-breast-feeding\/."},{"key":"e_1_2_10_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1089\/bfm.2015.0175"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_7_1","unstructured":"Fed is Best Foundation.2024.Fed Is Best Foundation \u2010 Blog Stories.FedisBest.org.https:\/\/fedisbest.org\/blog\/."},{"key":"e_1_2_10_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1542\/peds.2017-1229"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/journalmedia5010010"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_10_1","unstructured":"Grose J.2013. When The Breast\u2010Feeding Vs. Formula Wars Hit Home. BuzzFeed.https:\/\/www.buzzfeed.com\/jgro315\/when-the-breastfeeding-vs-formula-wars-hit-home."},{"key":"e_1_2_10_11_1","unstructured":"Healthcare Triage.2023.Does Breastfeeding Result in Smarter Kids?[Video]. YouTube.https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=W7RxP96RSGw."},{"key":"e_1_2_10_12_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/birt.12772"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_13_1","article-title":"Overselling Breast\u2010Feeding","author":"Jung C.","year":"2015","journal-title":"The New York Times"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_14_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1089\/bfm.2017.29038.ajk"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_15_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1542\/peds.2017-2509"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_16_1","volume-title":"Parents Under Pressure: The U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory on the Mental Health & Well\u2010Being of Parents","author":"Murthy V. H.","year":"2024"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_17_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.acap.2010.11.002"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_18_1","article-title":"Everybody Calm Down About Breastfeeding","author":"Oster E.","year":"2015","journal-title":"The New York Times"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_19_1","article-title":"The Data All Guilt\u2010Ridden Parents Need","author":"Oster E.","year":"2019","journal-title":"The New York Times"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_20_1","unstructured":"Pallay2017. How Formula\u2010Feeding Liberated Me.Motherly.https:\/\/mother.ly\/parenting\/real-feeding-stories-from-real-mamas\/formula-feeding-liberated\/."},{"key":"e_1_2_10_21_1","unstructured":"Pearson C.2019. The Pressure To Breastfeed Can Hurt Moms. And Doctors Are Finally Realizing It.https:\/\/www.huffpost.com\/entry\/breastfeeding-pressure-women-mental-health-doctor_l_5d811672e4b00d69059fc2d0."},{"key":"e_1_2_10_22_1","article-title":"YSPH Team Responds to Opinion Piece Critical of Breastfeeding","author":"P\u00e9rez\u2010Escamilla R.","year":"2017","journal-title":"Yale School of Public Health"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_23_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(22)01932-8"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_24_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1089\/bfm.2017.0014"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_25_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(15)01044-2"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_26_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(22)01931-6"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_27_1","article-title":"The Case Against Breast\u2010Feeding","author":"Rosin H.","year":"2009","journal-title":"The Atlantic"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_28_1","article-title":"I'm An Obstetrician And I Failed At Breast\u2010Feeding","author":"Sayla M.","year":"2015","journal-title":"NPR"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_29_1","unstructured":"SciShow2019.Is Breast Milk Actually Better Than Formula? Science Explains[Video]. YouTube.https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=i1UMnKduosE."},{"key":"e_1_2_10_30_1","article-title":"Beware Of Accidentally Starving Your Breastfed Newborn, Warns The Fed Is Best Foundation","author":"Senapathy K.","year":"2016","journal-title":"Forbes"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_31_1","unstructured":"Stuebe A. andE.Bimla Schwarz.2014.Reports on Breastfeeding Sibling Study Are Vastly Overstated. Breastfeeding Medicine. Accessed February 20 2025.https:\/\/bfmed.wordpress.com\/2014\/03\/01\/reports-on-breastfeeding-sibling-study-are-vastly-overstated\/."},{"key":"e_1_2_10_32_1","unstructured":"Temple A.(Host).2023. Hannah Bronfman: Self\u2010Care Through the Feeding Journey (No. 14) [Audio podcast episode]. InMilk Drunk by Bobbie. Bobbie Baby Formula.https:\/\/milk-drunk.com\/bobbie-podcast-hannah-bronfman\/."},{"key":"e_1_2_10_33_1","unstructured":"The Doctors.2017.Woman Whose Baby Starved While Nursing Speaks Out[Video].https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=OWLldkY5Cog."},{"key":"e_1_2_10_34_1","unstructured":"TruTV2017.Adam Ruins Everything \u2010 Why Baby Formula Isn't Poison. [Video]. YouTube.https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=U_80bWlLJvg."},{"key":"e_1_2_10_35_1","unstructured":"Seckel A.[@theformulafairy]. (n.d.). [TikTok profile]. TikTok. Retrieved July 30 2026 from.https:\/\/tiktok.com\/@theformulafairy."},{"key":"e_1_2_10_36_1","unstructured":"Valdesolo F.2022. Ashley Graham Wants Women to Have the Right to Choose However They Want to Feed Their Babies.Vogue.https:\/\/www.vogue.com\/article\/ashley-graham-bobbie-fed-is-best."},{"key":"e_1_2_10_37_1","unstructured":"Whitmore M.[@theformulamom]. (n.d.). [TikTok profile]. TikTok. Retrieved July 30 2026 from.https:\/\/tiktok.com\/@theformulamom."},{"key":"e_1_2_10_38_1","article-title":"The backlash against breastfeeding","author":"Williams Z.","year":"2012","journal-title":"The Guardian"}],"container-title":["Maternal &amp; Child Nutrition"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1111\/mcn.70239","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1111\/mcn.70239","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1111\/mcn.70239","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T08:57:59Z","timestamp":1792054679000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/mcn.70239"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]},"references-count":37,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1111\/mcn.70239"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/mcn.70239","archive":["Portico"],"relation":{},"ISSN":["1740-8695","1740-8709"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1740-8695","type":"print"},{"value":"1740-8709","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2026-03-26","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-07-16","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-09-01","order":3,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}],"article-number":"e70239"}}