The Benefits of Breastfeeding

Once thought to be "no longer worth the bother"1, breastfeeding has been rediscovered by modern science as a means to save lives, reduce illness, and protect the environment. Policy makers are increasingly recognizing that breastfeeding promotion efforts can reduce healthcare costs and enhance maternal and infant well-being. Breastfeeding promotion and support has been recognized as a healthcare priority by the World Health Organization 2,3, the United States Department of Health and Human Services 4-7, the American Academy of Pediatrics 8,9, the American Dietetic Association 10, the American Public Health Association 11, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists 8, the American Academy of Family Physicians and numerous other institutions and organizations concerned with preventive medicine and the healthcare of mothers and infants.

The current recommendation is that infants be exclusively breastfed for approximately the first six months of life and that breastfeeding be continued, complemented by appropriate introduction of other foods, well past the first year of life and as long as both mother and infant wish 9,12. The Healthy People 2000: National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention objectives call for an increase to at least 75% of the proportion of mothers who initiate breastfeeding and to increase to at least 50% the portion who continue to breastfeed until their infants are six months old 4. Breastfeeding promotion and support has now become a preventive medicine focus of the California Department of Health Services 13.

With the extensive research now available on the benefits of breastmilk and the risks of artificial milks, physicians need to be able to support their breastfeeding patients. Unfortunately most physicians currently in practice have had little to no education in breastfeeding physiology and clinical management. Well researched basic principles and guidelines exist, in addition to well educated lactation professionals and mother-to mother resources, to help the physician help his or her patients. Where are the resources we need to support our patients?

Why is Breastfeeding so Important for Infants?

Human milk is uniquely suited for human infants

* Human milk is easy to digest and contains all the nutrients that babies need in the early months of life.
* 14,15 Human milk contains special enzymes to optimally digest and absorb the nutrients in the milk before infants are capable of producing these enzymes themselves.
* 16 Breastmilk contains multiple growth and maturation factors.
* 16-18 Factors in breastmilk protect infants from a wide variety of illnesses.
* 13,19,20 Breastmilk contains antibodies specific to illnesses encountered by each mother and baby.
* 16,21,22 Research suggests that fatty acids, unique to human milk, play a role in optimal infant brain and visual development.
* 23-25 In several large studies, children who had been breastfed had a small advantage over those who had been artificially fed when given a variety of cognitive and neurologic tests, including measures of IQ.
* 26-29 Breastfeeding saves lives
* Lack of breastfeeding is a risk factor for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
* 30-34 Human milk seems to protect the premature infants from life-threatening gastrointestinaldisease and other illnesses.16,35-42 Breastfed infants are healthier
* Infants who are exclusively breastfed for at least four months are half as likely as artificially fed infants to have ear infections in the first year of life.

Nancy E. Wight MD, FAAP, IBCLC