By Martha A. Simpson, D.O., M.B.A.
Assistant Professor of Family Medicine
Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine

READER’S MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW BEST – AT LEAST ABOUT BREASTFEEDING

Question: I’m pregnant and expecting my first child in December. My husband is a big advocate of breastfeeding, but my mother –- who bottle fed me and my brothers –- says breastfeeding is too much of a hassle. As a female physician, what advice would you give me on this topic?

Answer: Thank you for your very timely question. World Breastfeeding Week begins in a few days on August 1. It was first celebrated in 1990, when 32 governments and ten United Nations agencies signed the Innocenti Declaration on the Protection, Promotion and Support of Breastfeeding.

This declaration states: “As a global goal for optimal maternal and child health and nutrition . . . all infants should be fed exclusively on breast milk from birth to four to six months of age. Thereafter, children should continue to breastfeed while receiving appropriate and adequate complementary foods for up to two years of age or beyond.” Breastfeeding does, indeed, have many exceptional health benefits. We have known for several years that breastfed babies have a lower incidence of respiratory infections, ear infections and diarrhea as well as greater protection against measles, chicken pox and other communicable diseases.

Other studies in recent years have shown that breastfed children also have a lower rate of juvenile diabetes, celiac disease, childhood cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, urinary tract infection, multiple sclerosis, dental caries, severe liver disease and even acute appendicitis.

There is also substantial evidence that the risk of a baby dying from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is lower among breastfed infants.

Human milk cannot be duplicated. It’s the very best food available for infants, and it’s free. Even in affluent countries such as the United States, infant mortality rates would drop and health-care costs would decrease if more babies were breastfed. Research conducted by a U.S. health insurance company in 1995 showed that every baby receiving breast milk for six months saved the company an average of $200 in reimbursable health-care costs.

In addition, Dr. Miriam Labbok, of the United States Agency for International Development, has analyzed this nation’s health-care costs and concluded that nearly $3 billion could be saved each year if women breastfed their babies exclusively for the first three months.

Many women, like you, have grown up in families where they did not see their mothers, aunts or sisters breastfeeding. In order to get the kind of support you need, I’d recommend that you ask your family physician for information on breastfeeding and that you contact a La Leche League group in your area. You are lucky that your husband is supportive of breastfeeding. That can be a great source of support to you as well.

Family Medicine® is a weekly column. To submit questions, write to Martha A. Simpson, D.O., M.B.A., Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, P.O. Box 110, Athens, Ohio 45701. Medical information in this column is provided as an educational service only. It does not replace the judgment of your personal physician, who should be relied on to diagnosis and recommend treatment for any medical conditions. Past columns are available online at http://www.FamilyMedicineNews.org.