: Breastfeeding In The 21st Century: Still
Best For Baby!
DEAR DR. PAUL: I am breastfeeding my new baby girl.
I recently read about a study linking breast feeding to obesity
later on in life. Should I be concerned?
PEDIATRICIAN DR. PAUL Answers: I am glad you asked
this question as we need to get facts straight. The main point
of this article will be that despite this one isolated study,
breastfeeding is the best nutrition for baby. The World Health
Organization's position is that breast milk is sufficient nutrition
for the first 6 months of life. Some of the many advantages of
breastfeeding include protection against ear, intestinal and urinary
infections.Also, breastfeeding may help protect against SIDS(Sudden
Infant Death Syndrome). There are numerous nutritional benefits
as breast milk contains all the necessary nutrients to support/ensure
normal growth and development. From the social stand point we
know that breastfeeding promotes mother-infant bonding. As well,
there are numerous benefits of breastfeeding to the mother. Now
that I have cleared my position let me briefly discuss the study
you refer to. This is only one study and even its authors caution
that they did not take into account the dietary and lifestyle
patterns of children as they were growing up beyond the period
of breastfeeding. Given that there are so many other studies proving
the many health and social benefits of breastfeeding, I think
that this one particular study is not a reason to be concerned
at all.
We have known of the many benefits of breastfeeding for many years,
however I want to take a " new millennium" look at some of the
issues specific to our "present day and age". Breastfeeding is
very inexpensive, practical and quite portable; It is not necessary
to purchase bottles, infant formula or other accessories. From
the ecological point of view, breastfeeding is very "environmentally
friendly. "
Another modern day issue that has arisen with the evolution of
both parents working, is breastfeeding at the workplace and /or
providing time for working mothers to express and collect their
milk at work. Actually, this should be considered a right of all
working mothers. As a matter of fact, there is a large concerted
political lobby effort to make this into law. The advantages extend
beyond those mentioned above; By allowing mothers to breastfeed
or to express their milk at work, job satisfaction and hence productivity
will increase to everyone's benefit, including the employers.
I urge parents to apply the necessary political pressure to include
this right into legislation.
On a final note, one of the issues that has appalled me is the
attitude toward breastfeeding in public. I think that anyone who
perceives breastfeeding in public places as "obscene or indecent"
is very wrong. There was a recent incident in a large city where
a mother was asked to leave a shopping mall by security because
she was breast-feeding. On the contrary, not only should breastfeeding
be allowed in public places, I think that they should facilitate
breast-feeding on their premises. The fewer barriers to breastfeeding,
the longer it will continue. How long should a mom breastfeed
for? For as long as possible.
The information provided in this site is
designed to be an educational aid only. It is not intended to
replace the advice and care of your child's physician, nor is
it intended to be used for medical diagnosis or treatment. If
you suspect that your child has a medical condition, always
consult a physician.
