New Report Confirms “Breast is Best”
By Tine Reese
April 6, 2010I was pleasantly surprised this week to see ABC News reporting that a new study confirms that babies who are solely breastfed for the first 6 months of life can ward off ailments, including diabetes, sudden infant death syndrome, childhood leukemia and stomach viruses. Breast milk is rich in antibodies that boost immunity and can help regulate insulin levels to prevent childhood diabetes. The study in this week’s Pediatrics Journal reads, “The United States incurs $13 billion in excess costs annually and suffers 911 preventable deaths per year because our breastfeeding rates fall far below medical recommendations.”
I was, however, dismayed to see that the story on ABC took a nosedive when the experts interviewed began to focus almost solely on the costs they perceive would be associated with increasing the breastfeeding rate in the U.S—or whether long-term breastfeeding is even possible for most moms. So the big question is, is the choice to breastfeed or not a lifestyle issue or a public health dilemma?
You should check out the report for yourself, but I have found some interesting criticism and further thoughts about the report and the major news agencies that are covering the story.
In response to ABC’s coverage of the story, Best for Babies says, “Actually, the biggest barrier to continuing to breastfeed is not the workplace, but the fact that 70% of hospitals perform poorly on breastfeeding support. If moms can’t even make it through the first few days without 25% of healthy, full-term babies being unnecessarily supplemented, often against the parents wishes, how are they supposed to continue breastfeeding when they go back to work?”
That same article goes on to say, “Women who can not breastfeeding should not be stigmatized; they should have access to donor milk. However, far too many women are being “booby-trapped” by doctors like Dr. Beard, who portray breastfeeding as an ”ideal” instead of inspiring, preparing and empowering mothers to succeed.” I should clarify that Dr. Lillian Beard, who is interviewed in the ABC News article, is a medical adviser and consultant to the International Formula Council, and also answers questions on the Nestle/Gerber website. Figures!
So, it’s no surprise to me that this latest news has yet again ignited the old debate of Breast v. Bottle, but I’m happy to imagine that it will get women thinking. If we naturally possess the ability to positively impact the health and well-being of our babies by making the choice to breastfeed, we should do everything within our power to make that happen. Oh yeah, and it would be nice if hospitals instituted policies to help new moms along that path!
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Comments
I wanted to follow up with this link to a post on the Crunchy Domestic Goddess Blog. She summarizes how the new health care reform laws supports breastfeeding moms and questions whether it does enough. Great article!
http://crunchydomesticgoddess.com/2010/04/09/health-care-reform-lends-support-to-breastfeeding-moms-but-is-it-enough/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CrunchyDomesticGoddess+%28Crunchy+domestic+goddess%29