New ideas and lovely things for our planet’s youngest travellers
Breast milk is a live substance with unparalleled immunological and anti-inflammatory properties, plus it protects mothers and children against a host of diseases, says a new report from the US Surgeon General, Dr Regina Benjamin.
Breast milk is truly marvellous stuff – uniquely suited to the human baby’s nutritional needs and with health benefits for both mothers and children. According to a 2011 meta-analysis of breastfeeding, maternal and infant health studies, there are significant health risks associated with formula feeding and early weaning from breastfeeding, including increases in common childhood infections such as diarrhea and ear infections.
Here are a few other findings:
•
The risk of acute ear infection is 100 percent higher among exclusively formula-fed infants than in babies who are exclusively breastfed during the first six months. The risk associated with rare but serious infections and diseases, such as leukaemia and severe respiratory infections, were also higher for formula-fed babies.
•
The risk of hospitalisation for lower respiratory tract disease in the first year of life is more than 250 percent higher among babies who are formula-fed than in those who are exclusively breastfed for at least four months. The risk of sudden infant death syndrome is 56 percent higher among infants who are never breastfed. For vulnerable premature infants, formula feeding is also associated with higher rates of necrotising enterocolitis (NEC).
•
The research also concludes that formula feeding is associated with higher risks for major chronic diseases and conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, asthma and childhood obesity.
What about mums?
Several studies found the risk of breast cancer to be higher for women who’d never breastfed. Similarly, the risk of ovarian cancer was found to be 27 percent higher for women who’d never breastfed than for those who had breastfed for some period of time.
Another interesting finding is that even though breastfeeding is often described as ‘natural’, numerous studies show it’s an art with techniques that have to be learned by both mothers and new babies.
Many women expect breastfeeding to be easy, and are surprised by its challenges. Research shows that the right support (such as from friends who’ve breastfed successfully) can be crucial, but the negative attitudes of family and friends can pose a barrier.
