In accord with the intent of World Breastfeeding Week (Aug. 1-7, 2007) to draw attention to the importance and values of breastfeeding, I submit the following:
“Mother’s milk is the normative food for her infant.” W. D. Virtue, Mother and Infant, 1995, 238.
In ANY Developed Country Breastfeeding IS BEST for Maternal and Infant Health Outcomes.
New Evidence Reported on Breastfeeding in 2007
In 2007, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reported that breastfeeding decreases infants’ and mothers’ risks of having many short-term and chronic diseases in developed countries. This is a particularly important piece of work as it reviews only those studies carried out in the developed world. Thus this study adds weight to the arguments that breastfeeding is vitally important for healthy outcomes, even in countries like the United States.
Here is what the study found:
Infants who were breastfed had a
–reduced risk of ear infections by up to 50%
–reduced risk of serious lower respiratory tract infections by 72%
–reduced risk of skin rash similar to eczema by 42%
–reduced risk of type 1 diabetes by about 20%, and a
–reduced risk of type 2 diabetes by 39%.
Children with a family history of asthma who had been breastfed were 40% less likely to have asthma, and children not prone to asthma had a 27% reduced risk compared to those children who had not been breastfed.
With breastfeeding there were “fewer episodes of diarrhea during infancy, decreased incidence of childhood leukemia, and decreased deaths from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).” Premature infants had a decreased occurrence of necrotizing enterocolitis, a serious gastrointestinal infection that often results in death.
Mothers who breastfed their infant had good health outcomes for themselves:
–a 12% reduced risk of type 2 diabetes for each year they breastfed
–a 21% reduced risk of ovarian cancer
–a 28% reduced risk of breast cancer for lifetime duration of breastfeeding for 12 months or longer, and
–a reduced risk of postpartum depression.
A lactation consultant, lecturer, and author who is up on the latest breastfeeding studies has this to say about this particular research: “This report is stunningly important, solidly reinforcing the importance and normality of exclusive breastfeeding for the healthy, safe and normal development of the infant. This is by far the most comprehensive and rigorous analysis published to date, and should be required reading for all health care professionals and policy-makers.” (Linda Smith, www.BFLRC.com)
This report was nominated and funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health.
To access Breastfeeding and Maternal and Infant Outcomes in Developed Countries,
go to: http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/tp/brfouttp.htm.
Thus the message is this: Nurse your baby frequently day and night, do exclusive breastfeeding, and stay close to your baby in order to breastfeed successfully.
Sheila Kippley
NFP International
www.NFPandMore.org
Author: Breastfeeding and Catholic Motherhood (Sophia, 2005)
Natural Family Planning: The Question-Answer Book (e-book
at this website, 2005)