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Tip 46: Breastfeed for as Long as Possible
Healthy Child
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Posted by Isabel Kallman, Alpha Mom
In early September of 2003, I was in the throes of a panic attack. Headlines in major national newspapers read Toxins in Breastmilk. Or, something along those lines. That’s how my weary mother-shocked brain processed the news reports, at least.
The press reports focused on environmental contaminants many of which I had never heard-- DDT, dioxins, mercury, PBDEs, PCBs, POPs.
They were found in large fish, many consumer products, or stored for decades in a lactating mom’s fatty tissues.
I was ill with worry. All of a sudden all I could think of was my poor newborn son’s future ruined by the mother’s milk I had lovingly provided for the past four months.
In the midst of my research I stumbled upon a name, Philip J. Landrigan, MD. He runs a research center at Mt. Sinai Hospital in NYC that focuses on protecting children from environmental health threats.
He is also on the Science Advisory Board of Healthy Child. So, I cold called Dr. Landrigan. Within 24 hours, his office called back and they talked me off the breastfeeding-ledge. The doctor from his office was informed, very smart, really nice, non-judgmental and most importantly… rational.
We discussed my history, I asked many frantic questions, including whether I should continue to nurse my son. The answer was a straightforward YES!
That episode, although frightening, was a breakthrough for me on so many fronts. Already I knew very well the Breast is Best logic with a child’s health benefits as its cornerstone: stronger immune system (evidence of lower rates of meningitis, diarrhea, and ear, respiratory and urinary tract infections), decreased likelihood of SIDS, obesity and diseases and infections like diabetes, asthma and certain types of cancer later in life.
However, I then discovered that legions of organizations, including the World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics continued to endorse breastmilk as the superior choice even given what we know about the possibility of contaminants in breastmilk. Moreover, in some studies where they compared babies exposed to some chemicals like PCBs, the breastfed ones managed better than the formula-fed ones, with strong evidence about breastfeeding reducing the impact of toxic chemicals.
I’m not going to start a breastfeeding versus formula discussion here—it’s not the point. Sometimes vitriol and hysteria mask the importance of underlying messages. Particularly when you’re a new mom it’s common to be blinded by your emotions at first, much like I was, before you can understand the situation rationally.
My takeaway from this early experience was not to fear the possibility that toxins may or may not be in my body already, but rather to educate myself on the far-greater health benefits of breastfeeding AND channel my energies to learning and adopting easy and safe practices that could protect my family from preventable environmental risks in our home, school and community for the long-term. And, thus began the longer winding path… parenting.
