Natural Family Planning International

Breastfeeding in infancy protects against the future development of Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), according to new research. The protection conferred by breastfeeding increased with duration of breastfeeding, with strongest decrease in risk seen when the child was breastfed for at least 12 months for CD and UC versus 3 or 6 months. The researchers concluded that breastfeeding confers protection against the development of CD and UC. Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, November 2017.

Breastfeeding for at least two months cuts a baby’s risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome almost in half. Breastfeeding for less than two months did not provide this benefit. As one researcher said: “The other important finding from our study is that any amount of breastfeeding reduces the risk of SIDS — in other words, both partial and exclusive breastfeeding appear to provide the same benefit.” Pediatrics, November 2017.

Direct breastfeeding provided more protection against asthma than expressed breast milk. Pediatrics, November 2017.

Exclusive breastfreeding may protect against flexural dermatitis or flexural eczema. JAMA Pediatrics, online November 13, 2017

In Bangladesh, of the 1918 infants studied, 56% were exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life. This study found that exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months could have prevented around 27.37% of reported diarrhea and 8.94% of the acute respiratory disease cases. Breastfeeding prevents many diseases, and the two researchers, in their own words, explain why: “The mechanisms through which breastfeeding have protective effects on infectious diseases are multiple. Firstly, human milk has specific immunologic properties that protect the infants from infection. Secondly, the array of antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory protection, and bioactive molecules and compounds of breast milk create protections against infection. Thirdly, breast milk promotes mucosal maturation, stimulating neonatal immune systems; limits exposure to the germs from foreign dietary antigens.” BMC Public Health, November 21, 2017.

Crohn’s disease is preventable by breastfeeding. Crohn’s disease has reached epidemic proportion and the published paper explains why this is due to women abandoning breastfeeding for infant formula. Advanced Research in Gastroenterolotgy & Hepatology, December 2017.

More than 10,000 teenagers were studied regarding weight. Those who were breastfed had lower odds of being overweight or obese at age 14. Centre of Longitudinal Studies Report, December 7, 2017.

Sheila Kippley

The infant brain undergoes rapid development in the first year of life, and this development is strongly influenced by nutritional factors. Another important effect of maternal milk feeding is to extend the period of maternal care. An infant’s brain development is also influenced by mother–infant interactions. Breastfeeding mothers spend more time engaged in the infant’s emotional care than mothers who feed their infants with formula. Also it appears that preterm infants benefit in their neurodevelopment from maternal milk feeding but not from donor milk. In both full-term and preterm populations, evidence is compelling that breastfeeding or maternal milk feeding benefits child neurodevelopment. Breastfeeding Medicine, October 1, 2017.

A review of thirteen studies has found strong evidence to suggest that a woman’s breast cancer risk is reduced if she breastfeeds her children. For every 5 months of breast-feeding duration, there is a 2 percent lower risk of breast cancer. Diet, Nutrition, Physical Activity and Breast Cancer, October 4, 2017.

Breastfeeding reduced a woman’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) by 14 per cent, and the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease was about 34 per cent lower. The longer a woman breastfed, the lower their risk. A woman who breastfed for 12 to 24 months had a 16 per cent lower risk of developing CVD. Sax Institute’s 45 and Up Study forum, Sydney, October 24, 2017.

Breastfeeding may help you bond more closely with your baby, with the effects persisting up until at least the age of 11. Journal of Developmental Psychology, online October 30, 2017.

The Obesity Society (TOS) stated that women should be encouraged and supported to exclusively breastfeed for approximately the first six months of an infant’s life with continued breastfeeding through the infant’s first year and beyond as age-appropriate complementary foods are introduced and as mutually desired by the mother and child. Women who breastfed are observed to have lower risks of visceral adiposity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and subclinical cardiovascular disease, as well as cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, perhaps through mechanisms independent of any effect on adiposity. As compared to infants never breastfed, breastfed infants have a 12 to 24% reduction in the future risk of overweight/obesity. The Obesity Society Position Statement : Breastfeeding and Obesity, October 31, 2017.

Sheila Kippley

Babies who were exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months were less likely to have teeth alignment issues such as open bites, crossbites, and overbites, than those exclusively breast fed for shorter lengths of time or not at all. Journal of American Dental Association, August 2017.

The impact of maternal breastfeeding on the mental acuity of 11,544 children born in the United Kingdom in 2000–01 was studied. Using data from British Ability Scale tests, the researcher found the positive effect of breastfeeding was two to two-and-a-half times greater for children with the lowest test scores, compared to those with the highest. What’s more, he reported that the impact was larger for those who were breastfed longer. Social Science & Medicine, August 2017.

Breastfeeding is a vital part of providing every child with the healthiest start to life. It is a baby’s first vaccine and the best source of nutrition. It can bolster brain development. Breastfeeding could save more than 520,000 children’s lives annually under the age of 5 who die of preventable illnesses and could generate up to $300 billion in economic gains.  WHO and UNICEF recommend mothers breastfeed infants within the first hour of birth, exclusively for six months and continue breastfeeding, while adding complementary foods, until the child is at least 2-years-old. Breastfeeding has a host of health benefits, most notably improving a baby’s immunity and protecting infants from potentially deadly diseases. WHO and UNICEF, August 1, 2017.

Researchers found an 8 percent reduced risk of endometriosis for every 3 additional months of breastfeeding per pregnancy. This figure was even higher (14 percent) for women who exclusively breastfed for those months. They also found that women who had breastfed for a total of 36 months or more during their reproductive lifetime had a 40 percent reduced risk of endometriosis compared with women who had never breastfed. British Medical Journal, August 29, 2017.

Breastfeeding nearly halves the risk of an asthma attack. The researchers analysed 960 children aged between four and 12 years old who regularly use asthma medication. Breastfeeding reduces asthma attacks by 45%. Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, September 6, 2017.

A beneficial bacterium found in breastfed babies works by reducing inflammation that leads to necrotizing enterocolitis—a disease that destroys intestinal tissue and kills 20 to 30 percent of premature infants who get the disease. The findings support the idea that human breast milk is crucial to controlling the inflammation that can lead to necrotizing enterocolitis. Journal of Clinical Investigation, September 25, 2017.

Sheila Kippley