Breastfeeding 1-2-3 » scientific study

Study Results on Infant Feeding Practices

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 07:02:27 +0000

Over 2,000 mothers were studied from the third trimester of pregnancy through the first year of their infants’ lives. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surveyed the mothers about their infant feeding practices. Results from this Infant Feeding Practices Study II will be available publicly from the CDC at the end of 2008, but in the meantime the American Academy of Pediatrics reports:

Among the study findings were that one-fourth of mothers do not place their child on their backs to sleep, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, and 34 percent regularly co-slept with their infants. In addition, only 8 percent of mothers experienced six “baby-friendly” hospital practices that encourage and assist mothers with breastfeeding. The more of these practices experienced, the greater the likelihood that mothers would breastfeed for six weeks or longer. Pertaining to food practices, nearly all mothers who fed their infants formula used an iron-fortified product, and more than 20 percent of infants had a food-related health problem, including 6 percent with allergies.

It is not at all surprising to me that mothers are not receiving proper encouragement and assistance in hospitals for breastfeeding. Those findings are consistent with the 2007 CDC National Survey of Maternity Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care, which found that 70 percent of birth facilities continue to undermine breastfeeding by marketing formula to new mothers.

Those findings are also consistent with my experience when I prepared to give birth this past July. I researched Baby-Friendly Hospitals and did not find any in my area. When I examined the breastfeeding rates in the hospitals near me, they were disappointingly low. I was glad to have a home birth and a successful start to breastfeeding.

Hopefully the results of the Infant Feeding Practices Study II will inspire additional practice-specific research and lead to greater support for breastfeeding.

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Breastfeeding May Cut Rheumatoid Arthritis Risk in Half

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:24:53 +0000

A study for the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases revealed new ideas about the ability of breastfeeding to prevent rheumatoid arthritis. BBC News reports:

They found women who had breastfed for 13 months or more were half as likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis as those who had never breastfed. Those who breastfed for between one and 12 months had a 25% decreased risk. The study also found that simply having children and not breastfeeding did not seem to protect the women against developing rheumatoid arthritis.

More study is needed in this area to determine exactly what role breastfeeding and lifestyle choices play in the prevention of rheumatoid arthritis. In the meantime, add this to the list of reasons extended breastfeeding is beneficial for both mother and baby!

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New Study Supports Link between Breastfeeding and IQ

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:54:50 +0000

Researchers just released results from a study of 14,000 children over the course of six-and-a-half years (the abstract claims it’s the largest randomized trial ever conducted in human lactation!) The study attempted to determine whether any associated link between breastfeeding and IQ is due to breastfeeding alone, or the differences between mothers who choose to breastfeed and mothers who formula-feed. To take out the differences between mothers, the 14,000 mother-baby pairs were divided randomly into two different groups, one of which was given encouragement to breastfeed and one of which was not. The encouragement group was more likely to breastfeed and to do so exclusively. Children in the encouragement group scored 5% higher on IQ tests and did better academically. Researchers say what is still unclear is how exactly breastfeeding benefits intelligence. MSNBC quotes researcher Dr. Michael Kramer from McGill University in Montreal, Canada:

“It could even be that because breast-feeding takes longer, the mother is interacting more with the baby, talking with the baby, soothing the baby,” he said. “It could be an emotional thing. It could be a physical thing. Or it could be a hormone or something else in the milk that’s absorbed by the baby.”

See the abstract from the Journal of General Psychiatry for more on the strong evidence that prolonged and exclusive breastfeeding improves cognitive development.

(Thanks to reader Kelley for the tip on this story!)

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U.S. Breastfeeding Rates Reach Potential All-Time High

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:54:21 +0000

Study results just released yesterday indicate that the breastfeeding rate in the United States has risen to three out of every four mother-baby pairs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reported the breastfeeding initiation rate at 77% for babies born in 2005-2006. Key points of the report include:

~ The percentage of infants who were ever breastfed increased from 60% among infants who were born in 1993-1994 to 77% among infants who were born in 2005-2006.

~ Breastfeeding rates increased significantly among non-Hispanic black women from 36% in 1993-1994 to 65% in 2005-2006.

~ Breastfeeding rates in 1999-2006 were significantly higher among those with higher income (74%) compared with those who had lower income (57%).

~ Breastfeeding rates among mothers 30 years and older were significantly higher than those of younger mothers. There was no significant change in the rate of breastfeeding at 6 months of age for infants born between 1993 and 2004.

Race and ethnicity factor significantly in breastfeeding initiation rates. “In the 2005-2006 birth cohort group, 65% of non-Hispanic black infants were breastfed compared with 80% of Mexican American and 79% of non-Hispanic white infants.” As reported above, the great news is that the 65% breastfeeding initiation rate for African-Americans has increased from 36% for babies born in 1993-1994.

Of the rise in breastfeeding rates, CDC spokesperson Jeff Lancashire says, “It looks like it is an all-time high” based on CDC surveys since the mid-1980s, according to an Associated Press report.

Where do Americans still need to make the most progress? The Associated Press summarizes the CDC report as indicating that breastfeeding rates were lowest among women who are unmarried, poor, rural, younger than 20, and have a high school education or less.

Click here for the full data brief issued by the CDC/NCHS.

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