1. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends it "Human milk is the preferred feeding for all infants, including premature and sick newborns... It is recommended that breastfeeding continue for at least the first 12 months, and thereafter for as long as mutually desired."(See A.A.P. Breastfeeding Policy Statement: Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk (RE9729)) 2. Breastfeeding promotes bonding between mother and baby Breastfeeding stimulates the release of the hormone oxytocin in the mother's body. "It is now well established that oxytocin, as well as stimulating uterine contractions and milk ejection, promotes the development of maternal behavior and also bonding between mother and offspring."Uvnas-Moberg, Eriksson: Breastfeeding: physiological, endocrine and behavioral adaptations caused by oxytocin and local neurogenic activity in the nipple and mammary gland.: Acta Paediatrica, 1996 May, 85(5):525-30 3. Breastfeeding satisfies baby's emotional needs All babies need to be held. Studies have shown that premature babies are more likely to die if they are not held or stroked. There is no more comforting feeling for an infant of any age than being held close and cuddled while breastfeeding. While many bottle-feeding parents are aware of the importance of cradling their babies while offering the bottle, some are not. Even for parents with good intentions, there is always the temptation to prop up a bottle next to the child, or, when the baby is a little older, to let the child hold his/her own bottle and sit alone. This is emotionally unsatisfying to baby, and can be dangerous physically. An unsupervised child can choke. Also, propping up bottles over night leads to tooth decay. 4. Breast milk provides perfect infant nutrition "Human milk is uniquely superior for infant feeding and is species-specific; all substitute feeding options differ markedly from it. The breastfed infant is the reference or normative model against which all alternative feeding methods must be measured with regard to growth, health, development, and all other short and long-term benefits."(See A.A.P. Breastfeeding Policy Statement: Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk (RE9729)) 5. Not breastfeeding increases mother's risk of breast cancer "If all women who do not breastfeed or who breastfeed for less than 3 months were to do so for 4 to 12 months, breast cancer among parous premenopausal women could be reduced by 11 percent, judging from current rates. If all women with children lactated for 24 months or longer, however, then the incidence might be reduced by nearly 25 percent. This reduction would be even greater among women who first lactate at an early age."Newcomb PA, Storer BE, Longnecker MP, et al. Lactation and a reduced risk of premenopausal breast cancer. N Engl J Med. 1994;330:81-87 6. Formula feeding increases baby girls' risk of developing breast cancer in later life Women who were formula-fed as infants have higher rates of breast cancer as adults. For both premenopausal and postmenopausal breast cancer, women who were breastfed as children, even if only for a short time, had a 25% lower risk of developing breast cancer than women who were bottle-fed as infants. Freudenheim, J. et al. 1994 "Exposure to breast milk in infancy and the risk of breast cancer". Epidemiology 5:324-331 7. Formula Feeding is associated with lower I.Q. The latest study to support this statement was done in New Zealand. Here an 18 year longitudinal study of over 1,000 children found that those who were breastfed as infants had both better intelligence and greater academic achievement than children who were infant-formula fed. Horwood and Fergusson, "Breastfeeding and Later Cognitive and Academic Outcomes", Jan 1998 Pediatrics Vol. 101, No. 1 Morrow-Tlucak M, Haude RH, Ernhart CB. Breastfeeding and cognitive development in the first 2 years of life. Soc Sci Med. 1988:26;635-639 Lucas A., "Breast Milk and Subsequent Intelligence Quotient in Children Born Preterm". Lancet 1992;339:261-62 Wang YS, Wu SY. The effect of exclusive breastfeeding on development and incidence of infection in infants. J Hum Lactation. 1996; 12:27-30 8. Breast milk is always ready and comes in a nicer package than formula does Need we say more? 9. Breast milk helps pass meconium Babies are born with a sticky tar-like substance called meconium in their intestines. Colostrum, or early milk, is uniquely designed to help move this substance through the infant's body. 10. Breast milk contains immunities to diseases and aids in the development of baby's immune system. Formula provides neither of these benefits Koutras, A.K., "Fecal Secretory Immunoglobulin A in Breast Milk vs. Formula Feeding in Early Infancy". J. Ped Gastro Nutr 1989. 11. Breast milk is more digestible than formula "Babies can digest human milk more easily than the milk of other animals, probably because human milk contains an enzyme that aids in this process. Breast milk forms softer curds in the infant's stomach than cow's milk (the basis for most formulas) and is more quickly assimilated into the body system. While it contains less protein than does cow's milk, virtually all the protein in breast milk is available to the baby. By contrast, about half the protein in cow's milk passes through the baby's body as a waste product. Similarly, iron and zinc are absorbed better by breastfed babies."The Complete Book Of Breastfeeding M.S. Eiger. MD, S. Wendkos Olds Copyright 1972, 1987 Comstock, Inc., Workman Publishing Co., Inc. 708 Broadway, New York, NY 10003 12. Suckling helps shrink mother's uterus after childbirth "Nursing will help you to regain your figure more quickly, since the process of lactation causes the uterus (which has increased during pregnancy to about 20 times its normal size) to shrink more quickly to its prepregnancy size. "The Complete Book Of Breastfeeding M.S. Eiger. MD, S. Wendkos Olds Copyright 1972, 1987 Comstock, Inc., Workman Publishing Co., Inc. 708 Broadway, New York, NY 10003 The uterus of the non-breastfeeding mother will never shrink back to its pre-pregnant size. It will always remain slightly enlarged. Chua S, Arulkumaran S, Lim I et al. "Influence of breastfeeding and nipple stimulation on postpartum uterine activity."Br J Obstet Gynaecol 1994; 101:804-805 13. Suckling helps prevent post-partum hemorrhage Nursing her baby causes the mother's body to release oxytocin, which stimulates contractions which help shrink the uterus back to prepregnancy size while expelling the placenta. These contractions also shut off the maternal blood vessels that formerly fed the baby and discourage excessive bleeding. Women who choose not to breastfeed must be given synthetic oxytocin to insure against hemorrhaging. Chua S, Arulkumaran S, Lim I et al. "Influence of breastfeeding and nipple stimulation on postpartum uterine activity."Br J Ovstet Gynaecol 1994; 101:804-805 14. Nursing helps mom lose weight after baby is born Breastfeeding requires an average of 500 extra calories per day. Dewey KG, Heinig MJ, Nommwen LA. Maternal weight-loss patterns during prolonged lactation. Am J Clin Nutr 1993;58:162-166 Mothers who breastfed exclusively or partially had significantly larger reductions in hip circumference and were less above their prepregnancy weights at 1 month post partum than mothers who fed formula exclusively." Kramer, F., "Breastfeeding reduces maternal lower body fat." J. Am Diet Assoc 1993; 93(4):429-33 15. Pre-term milk is specially designed for premature infants "Milk produced by women who deliver prematurely differs from that produced after a full-term pregnancy. Specifically, during the first month after parturition, preterm milk maintains a composition similar to that of colostrum." Hamosh, Margit, PhD, Georgetown University Medical Center "Breast-feeding: Unraveling the Mysteries of Mother's Milk". 16. The World Health Organization and UNICEF recommend it "...breastfeeding is an unequalled way of providing ideal food for the healthy growth and development of infants; ... it forms a unique biological and emotional basis for the health of both mother and child; ...the anti-infective properties of breast milk help to protect infants against disease; and ... there is an important relationship between breastfeeding and child spacing".(Emphasis added) (See The WHO/UNICEF International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes). 17. Breastfeeding protects against Crohn's disease (intestinal disorder) Koletzko S, Sherman P, Corey M, et al. "Role of infant feeding practices in development of Crohn;s disease in childhood."Br Med J. 1989;298:1617-1618 Rigas A, Rigas B, Blassman M, et al. "Breast-feeding and maternal smoking in the etiology of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in childhood." Ann Epidemiol. 1993;3387-392 18. Formula feeding increases risk of baby developing type I (juvenile, insulin-dependent) diabetes. The results of a study in Finland suggest that young age at introduction of dairy products and high milk consumption during childhood increase the level of cow's milk antibodies in the children's systems. This factor is independently associated with increased risk of insulin dependent diabetes. Virtanen et al: "Diet, Cow's milk protein antibodies and the risk of IDDM in Finnish children." Childhood Diabetes in Finland Study Group. Diabetologia, Apr 1994, 37(4):381-7 Mayer, EJ, Hamman RF, Gay EC, et al. "Reduced risk of IDDM among breast-fed children". Diabetes, 1988;37:1625-1632 Virtanen SM, Rasanen L, Aro A, et al. "Infant feeding in Finnish children  |
03-26-2007, 04:55 AM
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