Working With Kids

Formula in Hospital Gift Bags

This recent article discusses the recent decision by New York State hospitals to stop including formula samples in gift bags for new parents. The article discusses the extensive health benefits of (and risks to a baby of not) breastfeeding and recommends that babies be breastfed for at least a year if at all possible. It also references the studies that have shown that gifts of formula can interfere with successful breastfeeding. Parents (even if only unconsciously) get the impression that formula must be just as good as or better than nursing, since their doctor gave it to them, and this can undermine other information about the importance of breastfeeding--especially if a mother experiences complications or difficulties nursing in those early weeks.

The article also discusses the importance of proper support for new mothers in getting nursing well-established and addressing issues such as an improper or painful latch (most babies have to be taught how to nurse properly; nursing can be quite uncomfortable if they aren't attached right). Of course, returning to work is a huge issue for many women and can have a big impact on their decision whether to start breastfeeding and how long to continue. But for women who have access to babies-at-work programs, knowing that they will be able to stay with their babies and easily continue to nurse their baby when they return to work can make a substantial impact on their decision to start nursing in the first place. Also, especially for mothers who go back to work in the first several weeks of their baby's life, having access to advice and encouragement from their coworkers can be very useful in feeling empowered to continue breastfeeding.

Breastmilk Kills Cancer Cells

I recently stumbled onto this very exciting article from 1999 and this follow-up article from late 2006 about a team in Sweden that has confirmed that human milk actually causes cancer cells to commit suicide.  Here's a fascinating quote from the article: 

“This is a substance that kills lots of tumor cells, every cancer we test it against,” Svensson says. “Lung cancer, throat cancer, kidney cancer, colon cancer, bladder cancer, lymphoma, leukemia, and pneumococcus bacteria too.” 

I guess I shouldn't be surprised, considering that it's been known for a while that breastfeeding protects against cancers for both moms and babies (for example, from the first article:  "The relative risk of childhood lymphoma is nine times higher in bottle-fed infants, and the risk for carcinoma is also elevated").  What did surprise me, though, is that I consider myself pretty informed about breastfeeding benefits, but I had never before heard anything about this.  In the media (although coverage has been getting better in recent years), the primary comparison between breastfeeding and formula-feeding is made based on nutrition.  Although human milk actually changes day by day to meet the baby's exact growth needs, formula manufacturers argue that formula provides adequate nutrition, too, so they argue that a baby will be "just fine" if she's only given formula.

To me, the immune system benefits from nursing a child are what really count.  This is something formula really can't compete against--and it's why some breastfeeding is highly beneficial even if a baby is being given formula much of the time.  It's really important to me that, by breastfeeding, I directly lowered my children's lifelong risks for dozens of major diseases and day-to-day illnesses.  A mother's body makes antibodies for germs that are in her baby's body and then passes those antibodies to her baby during breastfeeding--which is one reason that breastfed babies tend to get sick less often and less severely.  Breastmilk can even be used topically (on a cut, say) and is a powerful germ killer.

I think most people in our society aren't really aware of the tremendous immune system benefits of breastfeeding.  Several highly-educated mothers have told me that they believed that "formula is just as good as breastfeeding for a baby's immune system," even though formula (even a brand that contains probiotics) is greatly inferior to human milk when it comes to building a baby's immune system. 

Maybe this knowledge gap is because risk comparisons don't tend to sink in very well.  I recently read a great book about how to make ideas "stick" in people's minds.  It turns out that a key component of a "sticky" idea is that you can easily visualize it.  Maybe "breastfeeding will lower your baby's risk of infections" just doesn't have the same memorable effect as a glitzy formula ad.

But can't you just "see" the molecules in a mother's milk actually killing cancer cells in her baby while he nurses?  Now THAT's memorable.