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Study published in the Journal of
Perinatal and Neonatal Nursing found
that parents of infants who were
breastfed in the evening and/or at night
slept an average of 40-45 minutes more
than parents of infants who were fed
formula. The parents of the formula-fed
babies also reported more sleep
disturbance than parents of exclusively
breastfed babies.
Published
in
Mothering Magazine, Nov/Dec. 2007
Evenflo is in the process of becoming
the first US maker of baby bottles to be
compliant with the World Health
Organization’s International Code of
Marketing of BreastMilk Substitutes.
The WHO Code was created in 1981 as a
guide for manufacturers to ensure that
breastmilk substitutes, feeding bottles,
and nipples are not marketed in a way
that underminds breastfeeding.
Published in Mothering Magazine;
Jan./Feb. 2008
World Health Organization documents
results of searches of the Medline
(1966-March 2006) and Scientific
Citation Index databases. The report
confirms that those people who were
breastfed:
-
Had lower blood pressure
-
Had lower mean cholesterol in
adulthood
-
Were less likely to be overweight
and obese
-
Were less likely to have type-2
diabetes
-
Had higher intelligence scores
-
Showed better school performance in
late adolescence and young
adulthood.
Published
in Mothering Magazine; Jan./Feb. 2008
Israel’s Bar-Ilan University suggests
that some mothers are more “maternal”
than others due to the hormone Oxytocin.
By measuring oxytocin levels in woman
during pregnancy and in the first month
postpartum, and by observing the
interactions of mothers and babies,
researchers determined that first
trimester levels of the hormone
predicted later bonding behavior:
Mothers with high initial levels of
oxytocin engaged in more attachment
interactions with the babies after
birth. Attachment was defined in four
areas: gaze, affect, touch and
vocalization. Additionally mothers who
had higher levels of oxytocin throughout
pregnancy and in the first month
postpartum reported more behaviors
indicative of an exclusive bond with the
infants, as well as more preoccupation
with thoughts related to their infants’
safety, well-being, and future.
It is know that oxytocin is produced
when breastfeeding so this research
supports that breastfeeding promotes
more intuned motherly instincts.
Published in Mothering Magazine;
Jan./Feb. 2008
The Collaborative Group on Hormonal
Factors in Breast Cancer, which
conducted the study, concluded that the
short duration of breastfeeding among
women in developed countries makes a
major contribution to the higher
incidence of breast cancer in these
areas. The researchers said their
findings suggest that if women had an
average of two-and-one-half children and
breastfed each one an extra six months,
five percent of breast cancers would be
prevented each year; if they breastfed
each child for an additional 12 months,
11 percent of cancers would be prevented
each year.
July 20, 2002, issue of
The Lancet
Breastfeeding can offset the increased
risk of breast cancer faced by women who
have their first baby after they turn
25, new research suggests.
"Breastfeeding offers protection against
breast cancer for all women, even those
who have their first full-term pregnancy
later in life," says Giske Ursin, MD,
PhD, associate professor of preventive
medicine at the Keck School of Medicine
of the University of Southern California
in Los Angeles.
The new study shows that women who first
gave birth after age 25 were about twice
as likely to have either type of breast
cancer as women who never gave birth.
Breastfeeding protected against both
types of breast tumors regardless of
when a woman first gave birth, Ursin
says.
April 2007;
Keck School of Medicine of the
University of Southern California in Los
Angeles.
Full term infants given breast milk are
less likely to develop diarrheal
diseases, skin allergies, ear
infections, or upper respiratory
infections. Some studies indicate that
they are less likely to be overweight or
obese as adults. To conduct the study,
the researchers tracked the breast milk
intake of 773 extremely low birth weight
infants in the neonatal intensive care
units at 12 sites in the NICHD Neonatal
Research Network, between 1999 and 2001.
The children in the current study were
divided into five groups by the quantity
of breast milk they had ingested while
in the NICU. The majority of the infants
had been given at least some breast milk
while in the NICU. Only about one-fifth
of the children in the study had not
been fed any breast milk.
The researchers found that the benefits
of breast milk first seen at 18 months
were still present at 30 months.
Children who had been given breast milk
received higher scores on the Mental
Developmental Index (MDI), a test
measuring the children's overall
intelligence. The average MDI score was
76.5 for children who had not received
any milk in the NICU, compared to a
score of 89.7 for children who had
received the greatest amount of breast
milk. Children who had been given breast
milk also showed greater ability to
control and appropriately respond to
emotions and were also less likely to
have been readmitted to the hospital
after their discharge and before 30
months.
Betty R. Vohr, M.D., of the Department
of Pediatrics at Brown Medical School,
conducted the study.http://www.nichd.nih.gov/.
October 1, 2007 issue of
Pediatrics
Breastfeeding is good for every part of
baby's body--from the brain to the
diaper area. Here's a list:
-
Brain.
Higher IQ in breastfed children.
Cholesterol and other types of fat
in human milk support the growth of
nerve tissue.
-
Eyes.
Visual acuity is higher in babies
fed human milk.
-
Ears.
Breastfed babies get fewer ear
infections.
-
Mouth.
Less need for orthodontics in
children breastfed more than a year.
Improved muscle development of face
from suckling at the breast. Subtle
changes in the taste of human milk
prepare babies to accept a variety
of solid foods.
-
Throat.
Children who are breastfed are less
likely to require tonsillectomies.
-
Respiratory system.
Evidence shows that breastfed babies
have fewer and less severe upper
respiratory infections, less
wheezing, less pneumonia and less
influenza.
-
Heart and circulatory system.
Evidence suggests that breastfed
children may have lower cholesterol
as adults. Heart rates are lower in
breastfed infants.
-
Digestive system.
Less diarrhea, fewer
gastrointestinal infections in
babies who are breastfeeding. Six
months or more of exclusive
breastfeeding reduces risk of food
allergies. Also, less risk of
Crohn's disease and ulcerative
colitis in adulthood.
-
Immune system.
Breastfed babies respond better to
vaccinations. Human milk helps to
mature baby's own immune system.
Breastfeeding decreases the risk of
childhood cancer.
-
Endocrine system.
Reduced risk of getting diabetes.
-
Kidneys.
With less salt and less protein,
human milk is easier on a baby's
kidneys.
-
Appendix.
Children with acute appendicitis are
less likely to have been breastfed.
-
Urinary tract.
Fewer infections in breastfed
infants.
-
Joints and muscles.
Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is
less common in children who were
breastfed.
-
Skin.
Less allergic eczema in breastfed
infants.
-
Growth.
Breastfed babies are leaner at one
year of age and less likely to be
obese later in life.
-
Bowels.
Less constipation. Stools of
breastfed babies have a
less-offensive odor.
Taken from Dr. Sears website:
www.askdrsears.com
Breastfeeding for just one month has a
lasting impact on health during the
first 14 years of a baby's life.
Although formula milk does not negate
all the protection offered by
breastfeeding, feeding babies under six
months on both breast and bottle milk
still provides them with a certain
amount of protection from infections.
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of
osteoporosis and cancer of the ovary for
the mother.
BBC Word News:
National
Childbirth Trust research; May 2005
Women who were breastfed as infants,
even if only for a short time, showed an
approximate 25% lower risk of developing
premenopausal or postmenopausal breast
cancer, compared to women who were
bottle-fed as an infant.
Source: Freudenheim, J. "Exposure to
breast milk in infancy and the risk of
breast cancer." Epidemiology 1994
5:324-331
Uterine Cancer
A protective effect against uterine
cancer was found for women who
breastfeed.
Source: Brock, K.E., "Sexual,
Reproductive, and Contraceptive Risk
Factors for Carcinoma-in-Situ of the
Uterine Cervix in Sidney. " Medical
Journal of Australia, 1989.
Ovarian Cancer
Breastfeeding should be added to the
list of factors that decrease ovulatory
age and thereby decrease the risk of
ovarian cancer.
Source: Schneider, A.P. "Risk Factor
for Ovarian Cancer. "New England
Journal of Medicine, 1987
Endometrial Cancer
Lactation provides a hypoestrogenic
effect with less stimulation of the
endometrial lining. This event may
offer a protective effect from
endometrial cancer.
Source: Petterson B, et al.
"Menstruation span- a time limited risk
factor for endometrial carcinoma". Acta
Obstet Gyneocol Scand 1986;65:247-55
1.5 million babies died from unsafe
bottlefeeding in 1998 (1)
For every 1000 babies born in the US, 4
will die from formula feeding (2)
The US Government buys $600 million
worth of formula each year (3)
(1) W.H.O./UNICEF
Estimates, 1996
(2) Study by U.S.
National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences.
(3) US Government
Statistics for formula provided under
the WIC (Women, Infants and Children)
program in the US.
BREASTFEEDING BUILDS BRIGHTER BRAINS
Taken from
www.askdrsears.com
We can't promise that breastfeeding will
make your child a Nobel Prize winner,
but research shows that babies who are
breastfed are smarter when they get
older.
-
Children who were breastfed have I.Q. scores
averaging seven to ten points higher
than formula-fed infants. It's
important to remember that these
numbers represent averages for
hundreds of children, not the effect
of breastfeeding on a specific
individual. So, if you want to raise
the intelligence level of an entire
generation of children,
breastfeeding would be a simple and
cost-effective way to do it.
-
Studies have shown that children who are breastfed
get higher grades in school, even
after other influences on school
performance are taken into account.
-
The intellectual advantage gained from
breastfeeding is greater the longer
the baby is breastfed.
Although intellectual differences
between breastfed and formula-fed
children used to be attributed to the
increased holding and interaction
associated with breastfeeding and to the
fact that
mothers
who breastfed were better educated
and/or more child-centered, new evidence
shows that there are nutrients in
breastmilk that enhance brain growth.
Smarter fats.
One key ingredient in breastmilk is a
brain-boosting fat called DHA (docasahexaenoic
acid), an omega-3 fatty acid. DHA is a
vital nutrient for growth, development,
and maintenance of brain tissue. Autopsy
analysis of brain tissue from breastfed
and formula-fed infants shows that the
brains of breastfed babies have a higher
concentration of DHA, and DHA levels are
highest in babies who are breastfed the
longest. Infant formulas made in the
United States do not contain DHA.
Nutritip.
To insure that babies get enough
nutrients for their growing brains, it's
important that breastfeeding mothers get
enough DHA in their diets. Rich sources
of DHA are fish (particularly salmon and
tuna). Increases DHA will will benefit
mom's health, too. Remember the
nutritional rule of F's: four ounces of
fish a day keeps central nervous system
degeneration at bay.
Cholesterol.
Another fat needed for optimal brain
development. Breastmilk contains a lot
of cholesterol, while infant formulas
currently contain none. "Low in
cholesterol" may be good news for adult
diets, but not for babies--cholesterol
provides basic components for
manufacturing nerve tissue in the
growing brain.
DHA, cholesterol, and other breastmilk
fats provide the right substances for
manufacturing myelin, the fatty sheath
that surrounds nerve fibers. Myelin acts
as insulation, making it possible for
nerves to carry information from one
part of the brain or body to another. So
important are these brain-building fats,
that if mother's diet doesn't provide
enough of them for her milk, the breasts
can make them on the spot.
Smarter sugars.
Lactose is the main sugar in breastmilk.
The body breaks it down into two simpler
sugars - glucose and galactose.
Galactose is a valuable nutrient for
brain tissue development.
Anthropologists have demonstrated that
the more intelligent species of mammals
have greater amounts of lactose in their
milk, and human milk contains one of the
highest concentrations of lactose of any
mammal milk. Cow milk and some cow milk
formulas contain lactose, but not as
much as human milk. Soy-based and other
lactose-free formulas contain no lactose
at all, only table sugar and corn syrup.
Smarter connections.
During the first two years of your
baby's life, the brain grows rapidly,
and baby's everyday experiences shapes
brain growth. Brains cells, called
neurons, multiply and connect with each
other until the brain circuitry
resembles miles of tangled electrical
wires. Every time a baby interacts with
her environment, her brain makes a new
connection. Because breastmilk is
digested faster, breastfed babies feed
more often and therefore probably
interact with their caregivers more
often. Breastfeeding itself, with its
skin-to-skin contact, the variations in
milk flow, and the closeness between
mother and baby, is usually a more
interesting, more interactive experience
than bottle-feeding. This is nature's
way of insuring that babies get the
stimulation they need for optimal brain
development.
DHA and A.d.d.
Taken from
www.askdrsears.com
Studies have
shown that children with ADHD tend to
have low blood levels of DHA and
arachidonic acid, two key brain fats.
Perhaps this is why other studies have
shown that children who have been
breastfed are less likely to have ADHD,
and the longer the period of
breastfeeding, the less the likelihood
of having ADHD. The reason seems to be
that breastmilk is high in important
fatty acids, such as DHA, GLA, and ALA,
arachidonic acid, and others, but prior
to 1997 most formulas contained none or
little of these fatty acids. Studies at
Purdue University in Indiana suggest
that many boys with ADHD have low levels
of the omega fatty acids DHA, GLA, and
AA in their blood, and tended to have
lower levels of ALA and LA precursors in
their blood than boys without ADHD,
suggesting that these children were
unable to make the fatty acids their
brain needs from the fats in their diet.
The boys with ADHD who had the lowest
levels of DHA, GLA, and AA, exhibited
the most anxiety, impulsivity,
hyperactivity and conduct disorders. The
researchers suggested three possible
explanations for their findings: the
children's diets were deficient in
essential fatty acids, the children had
a metabolic problem that prevented the
body from converting dietary nutrients
to essential fatty acids for the brain,
or various lifestyle and dietary factors
reduced the level of essential fatty
acids available to the brain. For more
information on ADD and ADHD
Click Here
(http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/t101000.asp).
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