Breastfeeding
Promotion of successful breastfeeding has been one of my major interests since I started in practice. In talking to prenatal classes and other groups hundreds of times over the years, I came up with an acronym to remind me of all the advantages of breastfeeding that I wanted to remember to include in my talks.
N is for Nutrition, the first priority of breastfeeding. Only human milk can give your new baby exactly the right types and amounts of all the chemical ingredients needed for optimal development. The more we learn about nutrition, the better breast milk looks. It contains types of fatty acids not found elsewhere in nature. Its salt and protein contents are low to protect your baby’s kidneys. As your baby grows and needs different amounts of protein, carbohydrates, etc., your milk changes to accommodate him or her. Should your baby arrive prematurely, your breasts will “know” and will produce different milk than they would for a full-term baby. Your milk contains very little iron, but because of a special delivery system, the baby absorbs about 50% of it, whereas 95% of the iron in iron-fortified formulas is not only wasted, but is then available to nourish dangerous bacteria in the baby’s intestinal tract. It is the absence of such extra iron in the breastfed baby’s gut that provides much of the immunity those babies have to diarrheal diseases. There is just enough of all the vitamins and other minerals as well; even if a nursing mother takes in excessive amounts of these, the baby is protected.
I is for Immunity, and here is where breast milk really shines. The immune system is incredibly complex, consisting of two major parts that work together to protect us from harm; they are known as the cellular (white blood cells, etc.) and humoral (antibodies, gamma globulin). Breast milk, and even more so colostrum, contain every component of these systems, often in higher concentrations than in any part of the body. Any mother’s colostrum, even if diluted several-fold, can neutralize every virus, bacterium, or toxin known to man! That includes agents like anthrax (Saddam Hussein’s favorite), tetanus and diphtheria toxins, polio, influenza, hepatitis, and hundreds of others. When the newborn takes in its first few feedings of colostrum, an “invisible shield” of special antibody coats the internal passages and protects the baby from the invasion of germs that ensues with subsequent feedings. The artificially-fed baby gets none of that advantage. Human babies usually survive without colostrum since they receive antibodies from their mother across the placenta, but the immunity received that way is not as durable or reliable. Most familiar domestic animals cannot survive without colostrum.
Do colostrum and breast milk really make a difference any more? After all, we have antibiotics and immunizations for many diseases. The answer is a resounding YES. In communities like ours, babies who are breast fed exclusively in the early months have far fewer ear infections, intestinal problems, and are hospitalized less than 5% as often for infection. In the pre-antibiotic era, a bottle-fed American baby was thirty times as likely to die of an infectious disease in the first six months of life! Even now, over a million babies die of diarrhea and dysentery every year around the world, largely because of feeding formula mixed with polluted water.
P is for the Psychological benefits afforded by mother’s milk. Here I refer to more than the obvious fact that nursing feels good and creates a bond between mother and baby that is one of the keystones of all human behavior. I use “psychological” in the broader sense of the development of the baby’s brain. It has been known for generations that breastfed infants have higher IQ’s, usually about 8-10 points in most studies. It has been assumed by most that the difference comes from the way nursing mothers handle their babies, since we know how important touching and other stimulation are in assuring full brain functioning. (Babies raised in foundling homes in Victorian England, and more recently in Romania and China have shown consistent lack of physical, emotional and intellectual growth despite adequate calories when deprived of loving physical contact). More recent studies have shown, however, that the greater intelligence of breastfed babies comes from some ingredient in the milk itself, probably a type of fatty acid that is not found elsewhere.
P is for the Physical benefits that nursing imparts to the mother. The hormones that encourage milk production also expel the placenta and control bleeding after delivery. They are also powerful tranquilizers that promote the often-noted sense of well-being that comes with successful lactation, and the strong emotional “pull” that the baby exerts on the mother. Moreover, breastfeeding offers some protection against subsequent breast cancer, which affects 9-11% of all women.
L means Less – of a few things your baby can do without. For one, allergy in some families is one of the strongest arguments for nursing. The immature infant cannot digest anything but mother’s milk in the early months of life with impunity. Formulas can be beset with problems in the baby with a strong allergic background, leading to frequent changes. In some cases, the mother may have to restrict her own diet to control her baby’s reactions, but that is preferable to risking direct exposure of the baby to allergenic foods. Another “less” is obesity. Bottle-fed babies more often become obese, not because the formula is richer (it isn’t – mother’s milk averages 22 Cal/oz., formula 20) but because the baby loses control of its intake to mother, or babysitter, or (gasp) Grandma, who always thinks the baby is too skinny! Introducing solids to artificially-fed babies too early just increases the trend to obesity.
E is for Economy. Think about $20 a can times 365 if you’re lucky; that’s if your baby does well on Similac or Enfamil, Isomil or Prosobee. The others go for about $30 a can. There’s also the added visits to the pediatrician for ear infections, diarrhea, allergies, etc. plus the prescriptions, the time off work…wait a minute, forget what I said about doctor visits…actually, forget this whole discussion…maybe this is why I’m always broke…
S is for safety. Your milk comes pre-mixed, uncontaminated, with no missing ingredients. I shall not mention the “cute containers” part – this is the 00′s, after all. Nobody can accidentally feed your baby the wrong stuff. Much is made of the medications moms sometimes need to take, but in fact almost none are dangerous and require interruption of breastfeeding. Unless that drug you’re taking is radioactive, you should be able to nurse, but do check with us if you’re in doubt! An interesting historic note that underscores the safety aspect: do you know what a cretin is? (If you have older children, they’ve probably called each other that) It’s a baby born with a missing thyroid; by the time it’s diagnosed, the typical IQ is below 25. Same baby but breastfed for a year: IQ is normal. Why? The Swiss, who saw this often before they knew about iodine, found that mother’s milk contains enough thyroid hormone to protect the baby! Who knew? My point is that Mother Nature knows best, and the formula manufacturers have become astute enough not to confuse themselves with her.
If you are about to deliver or are in a position to help someone who is, our office staff are ready to help, and we can also refer you to excellent lactation consultants.