The Benefits of Breastmilk Outweigh Any Risks

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The Benefits of Breastmilk Outweigh Any Risks

Guest Blogger

Sunday, August 01, 2010

Stories in the media about the chemical contamination of human milk have made many mothers wonder if bottle-feeding might be an equally healthy alternative to breastfeeding. It is not.

The choice is very clear: Your own breast milk is, hands down, the best food for your baby - far better than its inferior pretender infant formula. This is the conclusion I reached after more than two years of studying the data on the chemical contamination of breast milk. It's why I nursed Faith for more than two years.

Let's first look at the benefits breast milk offers your baby. And then we'll examine the contamination issue.

Breast milk is not just food. It is also medicine. It swarms with antibodies and white blood cells drawn from your own body. By drinking it, your infant comes to share your immune system.

And benefits mightily from it. Breastfed infants:

have lower rates of hospitalization and death;
develop fewer respiratory infections, gastrointestinal infections, urinary tract infections, ear infections, and meningitis;
succumb less often to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome; and,
produce more antibodies in response to immunizations.

Studies also consistently show that children who were breastfed as infants:

suffer less from allergies, asthma, diabetes, colitis, and rheumatoid arthritis;
have higher I.Q. scores; and
are less likely to develop obesity and cancer.

Breast milk even contains special substances that help guide the development of the brain after birth.
And breastfeeding protects your own health. You will:

bleed less after childbirth;
lose less blood during the chaotic days of early motherhood, because breastfeeding suppresses menstruation;
be at lower risk for hip fracture after menopause; and
have lower rates of ovarian and breast cancer.

And there are practical benefits, too. Breastfeeding can be done one-handed. (Indeed, I'm nursing my son as I'm writing these words.) Bottle-feeding, which takes two hands, makes multi-tasking impossible. Breast milk is so digestible that comparatively little comes out the other end. Less poop. And it has no offensive odor. Really.

On the other hand, the chemical contamination of breast milk is not a trivial issue. When it comes to persistent organic pollutants, breast milk is the most contaminated of all human foods. It typically carries concentrations of organochlorine pollutants, such as dioxin, PCBs and DDT, that are ten to twenty times higher than those in cow's milk. And children who were breastfed as babies have higher levels of chemical contaminants in their bodies than those who were formula-fed. (Remember, in spite of this fact, breastfed children are healthier, less prone to cancer, and smarter.)

Breast milk is particularly vulnerable to chemical contamination because it exists one rung higher on the human food chain than the food that we adults eat. For chemicals that magnify as they move up the food chain - and the most serious toxins do - our breasts offer the poisons one more chance to concentrate.

DDT and PCBs remain the most widespread contaminants in human milk around the world. Other common contaminants of mother's milk include ingredients of flame retardants, pesticides, wood preservatives, toilet deodorizers, and dry-cleaning fluids.

Take these steps to provide your baby with the best nutrition possible:

Breastfeed. Your milk is unsubstitutable. Your baby needs it and will thrive on it. Indeed some researchers believe that breast milk can actually help "rescue" the baby from certain kinds of prenatal toxic damage. The healing powers of breast milk are unsurpassed.
Avoid home and garden pesticides after your pregnancy. These chemicals can easily find their way into your milk through breathing and skin contact. For information on alternatives to pesticides, see Pest Control Without Pesticides.
Eat healthy by choosing a low-contaminant diet. While most chemical contaminants in breast milk are drawn from fat reserves that have been laid down over the mother's lifetime, you can at least reduce your current daily intake of harmful chemicals by:
- eating organic when possible. See Why Go Organic and Ten Fruits and Vegetables to Buy Organic.
- watching your fish consumption. The U.S Food and Drug Administration advises nursing women to avoid eating shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish. But, the Environmental Working Group and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group recommend greater caution, suggesting that nursing mothers avoid tuna steaks, sea bass, oysters from the Gulf Coast, marlin, halibut, pike, walleye, white croaker and largemouth bass.
Avoid dry-cleaning fumes and other solvents from paints and finishes, glues and other building products.
Support efforts to phase out any and all toxic chemicals that accumulate in mother's milk. To help, contact World Alliance on Breastfeeding Action.

Find Out More:

Adapted with permission from Having Faith: An Ecologist’s Journey to Motherhood

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and not necessarily those of
Healthy Child Healthy World.

Posted by ChristineKH on 09/01/2010 at 07:14 PM

Wow, heated discussions here!

I think there are a lot of things to consider when looking at the breast/formula debate. What I have realized is that there are many different mothers out there who feed there children formula for many different reasons - First, you have the mothers who began breast feeding and wanted to continue to do so, but encountered a medical problem, which did not allow them to continue. Second, you have the mothers who were not educated by their doctors/family/etc. of the importance of breast feeding or the mothers who did not receive the support they needed to be successful. Third, you have the mothers who just don’t care and choose not to breast feed for selfish reasons. Most of the people I have met that formula feed fall into that second category. Rather than criticize people, or assume that some people are forcing their views on others, we should all work together to get these mothers in the second category the help they need to make the best choice and be successful at it!

Also, I read a comment about a mother who was sick and no longer able to breast feed. One bit of advice I have for you and other mothers to use in the future - bank as much as you can in your freezer! While it won’t last forever, if your milk does dry up, you will at least have some stored to continue for as long as possible. And, make sure to reach out to a lactation consultant or Le Leche League because there are things that you might be able to do to help increase your milk supply after going through a dry spell.

I’m not judging! Hope the info helps!

Posted by Janelle Sorensen on 08/31/2010 at 10:51 AM

Jenny-
I sincerely apologize that you are so upset by this blog and the one about LEED. We really do strive to create a welcoming and non-judgmental community to support parents. And, we don’t expect parents to be able to adopt every single recommendation we make - in fact, our mantra is “No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.”

I know it can be overwhelming and you can quickly feel like nothing you’re doing will be good enough - but I also know that if you’re reading the Healthy Child blog, you’re probably a great mom and doing a great deal to raise healthy, happy children. (Call it mother’s intuition combined with being a part of this community for almost a decade.)

I completely understand the frustration. It’s my job to read the research and news about the toxic risks our children face. I do it all day long and then go home to my own young daughters - to my life on a budget where I’m forced to make the same lifestyle decisions that all of you do. Decisions that may or may not impact my child’s health and development.

People have asked me how I do it - and stay so cheerful. Over the years I’ve learned and accepted that I can’t do everything. I do my best and then silence the little nagging voice in my head. I do my best and then simply enjoy every moment I have with my daughters. We eat healthy, we exercise, we laugh and have fun - and this is the foundation I’m creating to help their bodies battle the toxic exposures. This is the foundation I encourage every parent to build.

My home is not perfect. Far from it. No LEED certification. Some plastics in the cupboard. Conventionally grown cucumbers in the fridge. And, while I breastfed my younger daughter for two years, my eldest was only breastfed for 4 months because I became very ill and my milk dried up. This is my life. I do what I can.

Healthy Child is not in the business of prescribing a perfect life and condemning anyone who can’t achieve it. We aim to inform and trust you’ll do what you can. Only you know what’s best for your family.

And, we support every single little step everyone takes. It may not always seem that way - being in the business of educating people about toxic risks kind of predisposes us to sharing a lot of negative information. But, your comment - and many of the others on this blog - are a good reminder for us to be more diligent about emphasizing our supportive intentions.

Thank you all. You help us improve as an organization which helps build the movement we’re all a part of - to better protect ALL children from toxic exposures.

—Janelle Sorensen, Chief Communications Officer, Healthy Child Healthy World

Posted by Jenny on 08/30/2010 at 12:51 PM

I have unsubscribed from this blog based on this article as well as the one recently posted blasting LEED for not focusing enough on indoor air quality. Listen up Healthy Child Healthy World, there are a lot of parents out there doing every thing they possibly can to make the environment their child grows up in a better place. From trying to breastfeed to doing as much as they can inside the walls of their home to make it a safer place. The more you focus on the negative the more you drive the average person (who needs help understanding this stuff the most!) away. You’ll be left behind with the people that need the least convincing (I could call them other things but I’m just not that kind of person). And if you’re job isn’t to provide information to those of us who are just on the cusp of wanting to make these changes then what is? Clearly that would be a mission challenge for you. Not only am I unsubscribing from the blog but I’m also canceling my Healthy Home Party (and sending back the kit). I will still get the information I need to make the best choices for my child but I’m going to find an environment where I don’t feel like I’m a horrible person if I had to feed my premature baby formula or if I spent a little extra on LEED certifying my house but by golly it wasn’t good ENOUGH. Thanks but no thanks.

And to the user that commented on the condition of today’s society and linked it back to formula. Seriously? That’s laughable. Formula or no formula, genetics and exercise are the not so missing link. Oh, and maybe McDonalds.

Posted by adriana on 08/06/2010 at 03:41 PM

breastfeeding is always the best and should not be a choice unless there are some medical issues which in that case would be safer for a baby to have a formula. It is so wrong for these companies making formula, comparing formula to breast milk. Its confusing to some parents and It is just very very sad that MONEY comes before Babies health and development. There is a reason why Mothers have Breast Milk! We are supposed breast feed our babies!
Its sad that we have to even talk about this.

Posted by Lets get real on 08/06/2010 at 08:23 AM

Obesity and poor health are out of control in this country. How can you claim that “many in my generation who had formula are not suffering as a result.” What are you basing that on? These past few generations are suffering immensely. Just because some people are doing alright does not mean everyone is, and it seems that in general most people are not. I do not think all our country’s health issues are from formula (that would be ridiculous) but I do think feeding ourselves fake food starting from birth is a big part of the problem. It is time people viewed formula for what it is, fake food for babies. Breast milk is real baby food.

Posted by M.T. on 08/05/2010 at 12:45 PM

I breastfed my baby until he was 8 months old when he became sick, went on a nursing strike and after an intense need for sleep, I started taking a medication and stopped nursing. I still feel guilty for stopping at the time and I too feel like articles written like this, ESPECIALLY written by a mom, need to offer positive words for woman who chose or must formula-feed their children. Breastmilk is wonderful but we also need to give positive, encouraging and comforting words to mothers who use formula in addition to or instead of breastmilk. I understand that there are empirical studies and forums for information about health and breastmilk, but on a website like this, can’t we at least applaud all mom’s regardless of this choice.

Posted by Amy on 08/04/2010 at 10:11 AM

In my years of studying pediatric and prenatal issues, I too support breastfeeding as the best nutrition for your baby. However, I never condemn moms who are unable to breastfeed, and I don’t believe this author is either. The problem is, formula companies want everyone to believe that formula feeding is equal to, or even superior to breastfeeding. That is simply not the case. The author of this article was sharing statistics and generalities, which do show breastfeeding enhances brain development reduces the risk of obesity. This does not mean that all formula-fed infants will be fat and stupid. The human body has an amazing ability to adapt and grow in less than ideal circumstances. There is a definite need for better support for new moms, so that the majority of moms can breastfeed successfully.

Posted by Chicco Baby Products on 08/04/2010 at 01:57 AM

Indeed, milk satisfies the newborn’s nutritional needs, it protects it from allergies, it reassures him, thanks to the pleasant contact with his mother’s body. Maternal milk is the best food for a baby that’s just born. Even the Worldwide Organization of Health has stated it recently, highlighting the importance for all women to breastfeed their child.

Posted by Formula Mom on 08/02/2010 at 07:21 AM

The purpose of the article was to inform readers about the dangers of chemical contamination and provide suggestions for how to avoid it. I subscribe to articles on this web site to help make my child’s life healthier, not because I want a lecture from another mother who chose to breastfeed for two years and can’t possibly fathom why anyone else would not. I can assure you that many in my generation who had formula are not suffering as a result. My adopted husband who was *gasp* fed formula as a baby is a perfectly healthy, intelligent grown man. He’s not obese and he must have at least an above average IQ to be a civil engineer. And yes, I breastfed my baby because I was able to and because it was the best option for us. Please stop the preaching and anti-formula message and just provide articles that give us information to make the best choices for our family.

Posted by thenon-toxicmom on 08/01/2010 at 06:13 PM

It may be that human breast milk contains some chemicals due to our toxic environment, but that’s hardly a mother’s fault. But how do the formula companies justify the garbage that they knowingly put into their product?

Posted by Shari Criso, CNM, IBCLC on 08/01/2010 at 10:44 AM

Let’s also help moms become educated on HOW to successfully breastfeed. I created a new website www.sharicriso.com/mybabyexperts in honor of World Breastfeeding Week to stream my entire 1 1/2 hour “Simply Breastfeeding” DVD class for FREE online, so ALL parents will have access to learn how to breastfeed and make informed choices regardless of their location or ability to afford the education. (Please feel free to share with you community)
One comment I would really like to offer about the article above is that we always talk about the “benefits” of breastfeeding and how it helps babies to be healthier. Breastfeeding is the biological norm, and therefore breastfed babies are not healthier they are just normal. Breastfeeding does not make them smarter, it only helps them to achieve the intelligence they were genetically gifted with. Let’s start referring to breastfeeding as the norm, and discuss the risks of not breastfeeding.
Thanks for the great information :)

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