Breast Milk For Babies-Health For Mom
Expectant moms considering whether to breast or bottle feed should know the following benefits gleaned from studies reported in the New England Journal Of Medicine. You probably already know about the convenience, the close bonding, and some health benefits of nursing; but the following are a few lesser known but very important study results.
• During the first 6 months of life, breastfeeding has a protective effect against respiratory illnesses, gastrointestinal illnesses, and on all illnesses in general.
• Infants who were only fed formula had a 70% increase in the risk of ear infections. The risk of developing an ear infection increases as the amount of breast milk an infant receives decreases.
• Infants who were only formula-fed had an 80% increase in the risk of developing diarrhea.
• Breast feeding protects against E. coli, enterovirus infections and other aggressive bacteria and acute diarrheal infections. Oligosaccharides in breast milk inhibit the adhesion to epithelial cells, a thin layer or layers of cells forming a tissue that cover surfaces of the body and lines hollow organs. The protection lasted only two months after breastfeeding had stopped.
• Infants who were fully breastfed for 4 or 5 months had a greater risk for pneumonia than those who were fully breastfed for 6 months or more.
• The incidence of any infection and sepsis/meningitis are significantly reduced in human milk-fed very low birth weight infants compared with exclusively formula-fed infants of very low birth weight.
• Ongoing exclusive breastfeeding gave significant protection from infant urinary tract infections and was strongest directly after birth. The longer duration of breastfeeding gave a lower risk of infection after weaning, indicating a long-term protective mechanism until 7 months of age.
• Exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months provided the highest levels of hemoglobin.
• Breastfed newborn infants have much shorter episodes of reflux than formula fed newborns.
• There is an association between breastfeeding through 6 months of age and survival of infants throughout the first year of life. This study shows that breastfeeding reduced the risk of sudden infant death syndrome by approximately 50% at all ages throughout infancy.
• Studies reveal that infants fed formulas of intact cow’s milk or soy protein compared with breast milk have a higher incidence of atopic dermatitis and wheezing illnesses in early childhood. Exclusive breast-feeding should be encouraged for at least 4 to 6 months in infants at risk of atopic dermatitis as well as those with a history of maternal asthma.
• A significant reduction in the risk of childhood asthma at age 6 years occurs if exclusive breast feeding is continued for at least the 4 months after birth.
• Breastfeeding for less than 6 months compared with 6 months or longer was an independent predictor of mental health problems through childhood and into adolescence. Random effects models and generalized estimating equation models showed increased behavioral problems with shorter breastfeeding.
Health For Mom
• In a German familial study it was determined that high parity and longer duration of breastfeeding reduced breast cancer risk significantly, a history of abortions increased risk and age at menarche showed no significant effect on breast cancer in the women in the study.
• The longer women breast feed the more they are protected against breast cancer. The lack of or short lifetime duration of breastfeeding typical of women in developed countries makes a major contribution to the high incidence of breast cancer in these countries.
• In the Nurses Health Study compared with similar women who had never breastfed, women who had breastfed for a lifetime total of 2 years or longer had a 23% lower risk of coronary heart disease than women who had never breastfed.
• Among a group of similar women, increasing duration of lactation was associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes in 2 large US cohorts of women. Longer duration of breastfeeding was associated with reduced incidence of type 2 diabetes possibly by improving glucose homeostasis.
• Results indicate that breastfeeding mothers had more positive moods, reported more positive events, and perceived less stress than formula-feeders.
• Breastfeeding as recommended could eliminate weight retention by 6 months postpartum in many women.
• With women enrolled in the longitudinal Nurses’ Health Study breast-feeding for more than 12 months was inversely related to the development of rheumatoid arthritis. This apparent effect was dose dependent, with a significant trend toward lower risk with longer duration of breast-feeding.
• Lee’s General Sleep Disturbance Scale was used to estimate perceived sleep disturbance in couples 3 months postpartum. Parents of infants who were exclusively breastfed; in the evening and/or at night were found to sleep an average of 40-45 minutes more than parents of infants given formula in this self reporting study.
• In a study of women with systemic lupus erythematosus with the purpose of examining hormonal and reproductive risk factors for lupus among women; breastfeeding was associated with a decreased risk of developing SLE, with a statistically significant trend for number of babies breast-fed and total weeks of breast-feeding.
In summary, the benefits of breast feeding far outweigh any perceived inconveniences to today’s women when they consider their children’s health and welfare as well their own long term health and welfare.
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