World Breastfeeding Week

The theme this year for World Breastfeeding Week - The power of One.

The Power of One...

some of my favs from the Le Leche League web site:

...drop of colostrum
...feeding at the breast
...hour, the first hour of bonding
...answered email
...look from your newborn as he or she is nursing for the first time
...mother told "You can do it"
...supportive Father
...milky smile

Instead of posting benefits of breastfeeding I thought I would post the risks of not.

The Risks of Infant Formula Feeding

Mortality

• One sudden infant death for every 1000 live birth occurs as a result of failure to breastfeed in western industrialized nations.
• For every 1000 babies born in the US each year, four die because they are not breastfed.

Development and Intelligence

• Scores on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development were lower in formula-fed children at 1-2 years of age. Scores were directly correlated with the duration of breastfeeding.
• Formula fed preterm infants had lower IQ scores (8 points) at age 7-8 years than premature infants who were fed breastmilk, even after adjustment for mother's education and social class.

Composition and contamination of infant formula

• Due to an excessive phosphate load in formula, formula fed infants face a 30-fold risk of neonatal hypocalcemic tetany (convulsions, seizures, twitching) during the first 10 days of life.
• Formula-fed infants are at a high risk of exposure to life-threatening bacterial contamination. Enterobacter Sakazakii is a frequent contaminant in powdered formula and can cause sepsis and meningitis in newborns.

For baby, artificial feeding increases the risk of the following diseases (among others*):

• Otitis media (middle ear infection) is up to 3-4 times as prevalent in formula-fed infants.
• Gastroenteritis: 6 times more likely
• US formula-fed infants have a 10-fold risk of being hospitalized for any bacterial infection.
• Diarrhea
• Respiratory diseases (bronchitis, pneumonia): 2 to 5 times more likely
• Allergies
• Asthma
• Obesity
• Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS): 3 to 5 times more likely
• Lymphomas: 6 to 8 times more likely
• Type-1 Diabetes: 2 to 7 times more likely
• Formula-feeding accounts for up to 26% of insulin dependent diabetes mellitus in children.
• Necrotising enterocolitis: 20 times more likely
• Inflammatory diseases of the intestine (ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease): 3 times more likely
• Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
• Breast Cancer in girls
• Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Hodgkin's disease
• Gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• Urinary tract infections
• Vision troubles
• Poor development of jaw muscles and malocclusion
• Tooth decay (« bottle caries »)
• Less effective immunisations (vaccines)
• Premature death (in the first year of life): 26.5% increased risk
• *Incidence of all diseases studied is higher in formula-fed babies than in breastfed babies.

For mother, NOT breastfeeding increases the risk for the following diseases (among others)

• Post-partum haemorrhage
• Pre-menopausal Breast Cancer: 2 times more likely
• Ovarian Cancer: 1.6 times more likely
• Endometrial Cancer
• The mother who has Gestational Diabetes is 2 times more at risk of developing type-2 Diabetes later on if she does not breastfeed
• Osteoporosis

Artificial feeding also has an important impact on
FAMILY

• Artificial feeding is very demanding of time and energy: shopping for formula and supplies; preparation, cleaning/sterilising; etc.
• Supplies – milks and accessories - for formula feeding cost, in Canada, between 2000$ and 3000$ per year, per child.
• Medical costs and lost wages stemming from higher illness rates in formula-fed babies are important.

Info taken from:
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/milk/infant-formula.html
and
http://www.breastfeedingtaskforla.org/ABMRisks.htm