Breastfeeding: Benefits and Disadvantages
Lactation, or milk production in the breasts, begins about one to three days after a woman gives birth. Pituitary hormones stimulate milk production in response to the stimulation of the infant's suckling the nipples. At this point, based on exploration and personal preference, new parents can decide whether they would like to feed their newborn with breast milk or bottles of store-bought baby formula. The following are some considerations parents may want to think about and discuss when making the decision of how to feed their baby.
The Benefits of Breastfeeding
· Positive Emotional Experience
Breastfeeding can be an intensely satisfying sensual and emotional experience for the mother. Nursing provides mothers with a perfect opportunity for close physical contact with their babies.
· Nursing Temporarily Inhibits Ovulation
While breastfeeding alone does not provide reliable birth control, women who feed their babies only breast milk may cease to ovulate for several months. Breastfeeding, coupled with condoms or another barrier method, can increase the effectiveness and contraceptive protection for new parents.
· Antibodies and Immunity-Producing Substances
The immune systems of newborn babies are very immature, and, thus, are less able to fight illness-causing germs. Breast milk is filled with immune molecules, called antibodies, which protect newborns by giving them immunities to many germs and illnesses to which the mother has been exposed.
· Cheap, Reliable, Available Source of Baby Food
A woman's breasts are always with her, so they are a convenient, free source of food for her child. It is easier to utilize a consistent supply of readily available baby food than to run to the store and buy expensive baby formula, bottles, nipples, liners and miscellaneous utensils.
· Supported by Well-Respected Institutions
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· Intelligent Infants
A child's intelligence and cognitive ability has recently been linked to the length of time the child was breastfed. This finding may be due to the fact that the brain is only 1/3 formed at birth, and that breast milk has been evolutionarily honed over millions of years to assist in building the brain during the first two years of life (www.breastfeeding.com).
· Fewer Food Allergies and Food Related Problems
Exclusively breastfed babies are less likely to have food allergies and related problems such as diarrhea, vomiting, eczema, gastrointestinal infections and respiratory infections. Breast milk has several different immunoglobulins that help to protect against allergies, the most abundant being IgA—which binds to foreign proteins, preventing them from passing through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream and causing allergies. By the time the baby is 6 to 9 months old, s/he has begun to produce IgA on his or her own, but, until this time, breast milk is the only available source of this substance.
· Low Nutritional Quality of Store-Bought Formulas
Store-bought baby formulas may contain whey protein concentrate, soy, coconut, high-oleic safflower oils, lactose, salt, potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, soy lecithin, mono and diglycerides, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, and/or folic acid. Whey, one of the main ingredients in almost all formulas, is a waste by-product of producing certain dairy products, particularly cheeses. Palm, coconut and safflower oils are some of the least expensive oils, and, in addition to baby formula, are also used in many snack foods (such as movie theatre popcorn).
· Reforming the Uterus
Nursing induces uterine contractions that help speed the return of the uterus to its pre-pregnancy size.
· Environmentally Friendly
Human milk is delivered without excess packaging or processing and, thus, contributes to the health of our planet by avoiding needless waste.
Disadvantages of Breastfeeding and Related Warnings
· Reduced Estrogen/Decreased Sexual Desire
Nursing causes a decrease in the amount of estrogen in a woman's body. Estrogen conditions and maintains vulvar tissue and promotes vaginal lubrication, which means that nursing mothers may be less interested in sexual activity, and her genitals may become sore from intercourse.
· Negative Emotions About Breastfeeding
Some women may feel uncomfortable about the prospect of nursing, perhaps due to our society's emphasis on breasts as sex symbols.
· Demands of School or Career
Some mothers may find it difficult to handle the sole feeding responsibility of nursing, particularly if they return to school or work shortly after giving birth.
· Unequal Feeding Responsibilities
Child-care responsibilities are harder to share when an infant is breastfed. Bottle-feeding allows the father or same-sex partner to play a greater role in holding, feeding, and bonding with the baby.
· Birth Control Pills
Estrogen-containing birth control pills cannot be used during nursing because the hormones reduce the amount of milk and affect milk quality. Progesterone-only pills can be used because progesterone affects neither milk supply nor quality. However, some couples prefer foam, condoms, or other barrier methods to avoid ingesting harmful hormones while nursing.
· Cigarettes and Exposure to Smoke
Cigarette smoking, as well as environmental (or second-hand) smoke, reduces the amount of milk a mother produces. Mothers who are exposed to smoke generally nurse for shorter durations than mothers who do not smoke and are in smoke-free environments.
· Other Disadvantages
A woman's breasts may become tender and sore while she is breastfeeding, and some women chose to stop nursing because they find it too painful. Also, milk may be ejected involuntarily from a woman's nipples during sexual stimulation, which can be a potentially embarrassing or bothersome occurrence.
References and Websites
www.lalecheleague.org
www.breastfeeding.com
www.aap.org
Merrett, T. G. (1988). Infant feeding & allergies: 12 month prospective study of 500 babies born into allergic families. American Allergies.
Chandra, R. K. (1989). Influence of maternal
diet during lactation and the use of formula feed and development
of atopic eczema in high risk infants.
Saarinen,
U. M. & Kajosaari, M. (1995).
Breastfeeding as prophylaxis against atopic disease: prospective follow-up study until 17 years
old. Lancet, 346: 1065-69.
Riordan & Auerbach. (1999). Breastfeeding and Human Lactation, 2nd Edition.
La Leche League International. (1997). The Breastfeeding Answer Book, revised edition.
Eiger & Wendkos. (1999). The Complete
Book of Breastfeeding, 3rd edition.