ABSTRACT
In the wake of many infant deaths attributable to formula feeding and the subsequent public outcry, international legislation was passed to prohibit the advertising and promotion of infant formula. Whereas the immunological benefits of breastfeeding versus formula feeding had been established for a range of diseases threatening infants, in particular those giving rise to diarrhea, breastmilk suddenly appeared to be the vehicle of one of the most feared viruses to affect humankind. Some of the problems posed by the transmission of HIV/AIDS in breastmilk or by the feeding of premature and underweight infants may be dealt with in similar ways in the United States and in Brazil. The plight of HIV/AIDS widows who lose access to land on their husbands’ deaths has often been pointed out. World Health Organization guidelines are that health personnel should advise women with HIV/AIDS to adopt exclusive breastfeeding unless “replacement feeding is acceptable, feasible, affordable, sustainable and safe,” but these conditions are rarely to be found.
