Blogging for Babies, Breastfeeding and Mothers

 

Thus the beginning of Hanna Rosin's article that appeared in The Atlantic, April 2009. In Friday's blog about "The Case Against Breastfeeding," I did not give you the link to the original article. The blog stirred up a lot of energy and comments, so why not read the full article.

Are the benefits of breastfeeding "surprisingly thin?" Does breastfeeding really keep a woman down? Can it even remotely be compared to a man-made vacuum cleaner? What could possibly be her incentive - she breastfed all 3 of her children - for making such statements?

I'd love to hear more thoughts on "The Case Against Breastfeeding."

A recent article in The Atlantic, by Hanna Rosin, entitled "The Case Against Breastfeeding", unfortunately misrepresented the recent evidence surrounding the benefits of breastfeeding. In her effort to perhaps soften the blows often felt by formula feeding mothers, Ms. Rosin simply ignored the truth behind breastfeeding research.

It is true that many women have difficulty achieving the optimal breastfeeding goals. Many women that choose formula feeding often feel guilty about not breastfeeding. Ms. Rosin was later interviewed on The Today Show where she stated that she is not actually against breastfeeding. However, articles such as these do great harm to the promotion of breastfeeding as a major health concern for both women and children.

The US Breastfeeding Committee, in their statement against Ms. Rosin's article, stated "a mother provides individually customized breast milk designed to enhance her child's immunologic, developmental, and nutritional status. This is not the same as processed formula, in which the contents of every can are identical. We perform a disservice to American families by perpetuating the myth that feeding human infants artificially created formula is equivalent to breastfeeding."

The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine also issued a statement in response to Ms. Rosin's article. According to Ruth Lawrence, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Breastfeeding Medicine, from the Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, "The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine encourages all women to make an informed choice when faced with the question of how to feed their infants based on strong, well-referenced scientific information. The data are compelling, scientific, and reinforced constantly. Breastfeeding for the new mother may not always be easy, but it is important and rewarding for both mother and infant."

According to a recent study that analyzed 1,573 mothers that gave birth to a single child in 2005, hospital practices greatly impact a mother's ability to reach her breastfeeding goals.

Of the 70 percent first time mothers that intended to exclusively breastfeed, only 50 percent were in fact doing so at one week after delivery. One of the reasons? Supplementation with formula or water.

Among the first-time mothers, if they were not offered formula or water supplements for their babies, they were 4.4 times more likely to breastfeed exclusively. Mothers that had previously given birth were 8.8 times more likely to reach their breastfeeding goal.

Hospitals that follow steps to support breastfeeding, such as the 10 steps put forth by The Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative, have a greater success in helping mothers breastfeed exclusively. Even practicing six of these steps meant that a first-time mom was six times more likely to fulfill her breastfeeding intentions.

Study author Eugene Declercq and his co-workers asked, "Why are those hospital practices that have been repeatedly shown to increase breastfeeding among new mothers not more consistently instituted in United States hospitals?" A large proportion of mothers stop exclusive breastfeeding within the first week, and that action was strongly related to hospital practices."

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An article entitled "Suck on This" appeared in The Ecologist, April 2006. Written by Pat Thomas, the article takes an in-depth look at the composition of breastmilk and how it compares to artificial infant formula. Conclusion? There is "No Contest".

For starters, breastmilk is living. It is more complex than human blood, which still can not duplicated in a laboratory. It changes from beginning of feeding to the end, from feeding to feeding, from day to day, week to week and month to month. Every time the baby feeds she receives active immunity to keep her healthy.

Breastmilk is the infant's first immunity and essential to building a healthy immune system. A child's immune system is not mature until 5 or 6 years of age. As an infant and toddler the child is dependent on breastmilk for protection against infection. How does the immune system work?

Infants, children and adults that never receive human milk are at risk for numerous infections and diseases. The lasting effects of being fed only artificial infant milk may not be seen for decades.

The author states that "Compared to this miraculous substance, the artificial milk sold as infant formula is little more than junk food." It is dead, stagnant and does not change as the child grows.

Here's a beautiful video about mammals nursing, including humans. It's all supposed to be so natural. What has happened in the world?

The German Study of Sudden Infant Death examined the relationship between the type of infant feeding and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Over 1300 babies were studied.

The results of this study show a decrease in sudden infant death syndrome by ~50% at all ages throughout infancy. This is significantly higher than a previous study showing a reduction of SIDS by 36% in breastfeeding infants.

In their study, 73% of the infants that died of SIDS died before 6 months of age. The Back to Sleep campaign over the past 20 years has also reduced the risk of SIDS, therefore the authors recommend combining the advice that infants sleep on their backs with advice to breastfeed for at least 6 months.

Read more....

Isabela is a 17 year old amazing woman and mother in Boston, MA. Christine of Boston Mamas interviewed Isabela yesterday to talk about her pregnancy and delightful son Jeremiah. Becoming pregnant at 16 is challenging for anyone, but Isabela overcame those challenges triumphantly. Read more about her journey into motherhood, her decision to breastfeed and her goal to write a book to help other pregnant teenagers.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) affecting mostly women with age of onset between 20 and 50 years. The incidence in the USA is about 1 per 1000, while internationally it is 1 per million.

A study by Christensen in 1975 found that lack of breastfeeding resulted in the synthesis of abnormally unstable myelin with a tendency to breakdown during young adulthood. This results in MS.

In parts of Mexico, with the decline in breastfeeding, their incidence of MS has increased.

Phospholipids are manufactured in the breast and transferred into the breastmilk. These are believed to play a vital role in the myelinization of the CNS.

For those women with MS many will opt not to breastfeed their babies after delivery so they can resume their MS medications. In April Dr. Langer-Gould will be presenting a paper at the American Neurology Conference that demonstrates a significantly reduced risk for postpartum MS relapse when the mother breastfeeds.

Russian scientists are. On a secret farm outside Moscow, scientists are raising genetically modified goats to produce goat milk with the human milk protein, lactoferrin.

They say their work will provide milk for babies when their mothers can't and will lead to the development of medicines containing the antibiotic qualities of lactoferrin. Read more...

It may sound like science fiction, but here's what Canadian scientists are already doing with spiders and goats. I'd love to hear your thoughts.