Reaping the Rewards of Breastfeeding

Today b5media Health and Wellness bloggers write on a fall theme of Harvest. What better time to discuss reaping the rewards of breastfeeding! There is a lot of debate in the breastfeeding community about whether it’s better to say “breast is best” or “breastfeeding is the norm” (and there is increased risk with formula-feeding). Any way you say it, there are many ways breastfeeding benefits baby, mother, the family, and even society in general!

Benefits for Baby

~ A meta-analysis of several studies found “There is good evidence that breastfeeding reduced infants’ risk of ear infections by up to 50 percent, serious lower respiratory tract infections by 72 percent, and a skin rash similar to eczema by 42 percent. Children with a family history of asthma who had been breastfed were 40 percent less likely to have asthma, and children who were not prone to asthma had a percent reduced risk compared to those children who were not breastfed. . . . The report also found that breastfeeding was associated with . . . decreased incidence of childhood leukemia, and decreased deaths from sudden infant death syndrome. . . . In premature infants, breastfeeding decreased the occurrence of necrotizing enterocolitis, a serious gastrointestinal infection that often results in death.”

~ “Deaths from respiratory infections and diarrhea were eight to ten times higher in babies who were artificially fed than in those who were even partially breastfed for six months.” (The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, 7th Revised Edition, page 350).

~ Breastfeeding offers protective effects against obesity in childhood.

~ Breastfeeding helps a child reach his or her full potential IQ.

~ Breastfeeding conveys babies with long-term heart-health benefits.

~ Babies who are breastfed have a reduced risk of developing diabetes later on in life.

~ Breastfed baby girls have a 25% lower chance of developing breast cancer as adults.

~ Breastfeeding promotes mental health in children. One study found “children that were breastfed had particularly lower rates of delinquent, aggressive and anti-social behaviour, and overall were less depressed, anxious or withdrawn.”

Benefits for Mother

~ Studies indicate a decrease in a breastfeeding mother’s breast cancer risk after just three months of breastfeeding, and the risk goes down even further thereafter. “[W]omen who breast-fed for a total of six years or more (all children combined) over the course of their lives had as much as a 63% decrease in breast cancer incidence compared to women who never breast-fed.” (Cornell University fact sheet.)

~ Breastfeeding for more than a year offers some protection against ovarian cancer as well.

~ “Non-breastfeeding women have a four times greater chance of developing osteoporosis than breastfeeding women and are more likely to suffer from hip fractures in the post-menopausal years.” (7 Ways Breastfeeding Benefits Mothers)

~ “Breastfeeding has been shown to reduce stress and protect maternal mood. Breastfeeding also reduces stress of babies of depressed mothers and protects them from the harmful effects of maternal depression.”
“A new paradigm for depression in new mothers: the central role of inflammation and how breastfeeding and anti-inflammatory treatments protect maternal mental health.” Kendall-Tackett, Kathleen. International Breastfeeding Journal 2007, 2:6.

~ Women who breastfed for 13 months or more are half as likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis as those who never breastfed.

~ The aforementioned meta-analysis found that “there is good evidence that women who breastfed their infants had up to a 12 percent reduced risk of type 2 diabetes for each year they breastfed.” A diabetic breastfeeding mother may require less insulin.

Benefits for the Family

~ Many couples rely on the Lactational Amenorrhea Method of birth control for natural child spacing.

~ Breast milk can clear a stuffy nose, much like saline drops.

~ Breast milk cures pink eye (conjunctivitis) and treats blocked tear ducts.

~ Breast milk makes it easier for the family to run errands, go places, and travel — no bottles, formula cans or ice packs required, the milk is always ready, and the milk stays at just the right temperature!

~ Breastfed babies’ poop smells better!

~ Breast milk does not stain clothing like iron-fortified formula does.

Benefits for Society

~ Breastfeeding is the green choice compared to the manufacturing, energy, and transportation costs of producing formula and formula cans, not to mention the added waste to landfills.

~ Breastfeeding benefits employers by reducing lost work hours, combating health care costs, and improving maternal health and employee morale!

~ After a study showed breast milk killed cancerous lung cells, scientists isolated the anti-cancer component in breast milk and are developing and studying it for clinical use.

~ According to the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee, “Costs to support a breastfeeding mother in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) are about 55 percent of those for a formula-feeding mother. $578 million per year in federal funds is spent by WIC to buy formula for families who could be breastfeeding.”