By Michelle Kelly, MD
As printed in Around Town Publishing, November 2007
Although the vast formula market in the United States would have you believe otherwise, human milk is best for infant feeding. The health benefits for your child are numerous with the strongest evidence in the area of infection prevention. Breastfeeding has shown a decreased incidence of meningitis, blood infection, diarrhea, respiratory illness, ear infection and urinary tract infection. The rate of sudden infant death syndrome is also decreased in breastfed infants. Other medical conditions that are now thought to be reduced in older children and adults who were breastfed include diabetes, lymphoma, leukemia, obesity, hypercholesterolemia, and asthma. Beyond these medical benefits, breastfeeding has now been associated with enhanced cognitive performance! And your child isn’t the only one who benefits. Moms’ benefits include decreased bleeding after delivery, earlier return to prepregnancy weight, and decreased risk of breast and ovarian cancer.
Of course, the health benefits seem huge but there are certainly practical benefits to breastfeeding. Most obvious is the cost of formula, which has been estimated at $1000 to $1500 annually. Another plus is the convenience of an always-available feeding source without much preparation. This especially helps in the middle of the night, when traveling outside the home, etc. Furthermore, a healthy breastfed infant has the potential to limit family stress from infant illness or parental absenteeism from work.
Unfortunately, there are some situations in which breastfeeding is not an option. Certain medical conditions (usually infection) in Mom or baby (usually genetic disorder) can prevent this experience. Beyond medical limitations, there can be some technical difficulties with breastfeeding, particularly if this is your first baby. Some helpful ways to optimize the breastfeeding experience are: 1) attend a prenatal breastfeeding class 2) work with your hospital nurse or lactation specialist quickly after delivery of your newborn and 3) arrange quick follow-up care with your pediatrician who can observe your technique and further advise you or refer you to a lactation specialist outside the hospital. Most of all, be patient with yourself and enjoy that newborn! Browse the websites of the American Academy of Pediatrics and La Leche League International for further information, http://aap.org/healthtopics/breastfeeding.cfm and llli.org respectively.