For many years doctors told pregnant women, “Infant feeding is your choice; your baby will be fine with either breast milk or formula.” This advice was still given long after research showed the value of breast milk to infants and the health benefits of breastfeeding to the mother.
Some physicians gave this advice in part because they didn’t want to appear “anti-woman.” If a woman wanted to return to work in a timely fashion, it was felt that telling her the advantages of breastfeeding over formula feeding might appear to interfere with her career choice.
The problem with this line of reasoning is that it is not evidence-based. Certainly, a woman may choose to (or need to) return to work after giving birth. This may make breastfeeding more of a challenge or shorten its duration. However, women need to be given the best evidence medicine can give. They can consider this evidence as well as their own life circumstance as they make infant feeding decisions.
A woman who feels that her life circumstances prevent breastfeeding should not be made to feel guilty any more than the mother who buys canned vegetables instead of buying fresh vegetables because of a very limited budget. However, the time has come to treat all parents with honesty and say, “Breastfeeding is the standard for infant nutrition; there are health risks to not breastfeeding.”
Here is the latest evidence about the risks of not breastfeeding (Pediatrics 2012: 129(3)).
Health Condition | % Lower risk for breastfed babies |
Otitis media | 23-50% |
Recurrent Otitis media | 77% |
Upper repiratory tract infection | 63% |
Lower respiratory tract infection | 77% |
Asthma | 26-40% |
RSV bronchiolitis | 74% |
NEC | 77% |
Atopic dermatitis | 27-42% |
Gastroenteritis | 64% |
Inflammatory bowel disease | 64% |
Obesity | 24% |
Celiac disease | 52% |
Type 1 diabetes | 30% |
Type 2 diabetes | 40% |
Leukemia | 15 – 20% |
SIDS | 36% |
The American Academy of Pediatricians has encouraged breastfeeding for quite some time. In 2005 they first published their current position: “Every infant should begin life with six months of exclusive breastfeeding, followed with another six months or longer with foods gradually added to the child’s diet.”
The academy recently strengthened their statement by adding, “Recently, published evidence-based studies have confirmed and quantitated the risks of not breastfeeding.”
Women over the centuries have looked for the best choices available to them when it came to feeding their children. Giving them accurate information will inform those decisions. Cheers to the American Academy of Pediatrics for honest discussions about infant feeding.
For further information, read Breastmilk, the Healthiest Diet for Babies and Breastfeeding: A Woman’s Health Issue.
This section contains articles and guidance for healthy eating whether you are working on becoming pregnant, expecting or have a new baby. Articles cover information including what to eat, controlling nausea, breastfeeding and vitamins.