Sheena --
I pulled this from from Diane Wiessinger's website:
http://www.normalfed.com/Why/scary.html
You've probably heard many times that breastfed babies are
"healthier". That they have "fewer illnesses." That they have a
"special" bond with their mothers. Maybe even that they tend to be
"smarter". Some of those reasons may be why you decided to breastfeed.
The scary thing is, none of those statements is really true.
Breastfeeding is merely the way human infants are built to eat, just
as air is what they are built to breathe, or walking is the way they
are built to move when they get older. Breastfeeding is nothing extra
or special. Breastfeeding is just... normal.
Fine. So breastfeeding is normal. What's so scary about that? Ah,
well if breastfeeding is normal, what happens when a baby is not
breastfed? The scary reality is... he's much more likely to get sick,
in infancy, in childhood, as an adult. His life expectancy is a little
bit shorter and his IQ is a little bit lower. His relationship with
his mother is different. In short, he suffers from not having a normal
start to life.
You probably know breastfed people who are sicker than many
formula-fed people. Breastfeeding is no guarantee. It's like the yeast
in bread: every loaf turns out differently, because of different
temperature, moisture, timing, kneading. But for any particular loaf,
if you leave out some of the yeast it's not going to rise as high as
it could.
Here's part of the scary list:
People who were not breastfed tend to have:
poorer vision
a lower IQ
more appendicitis
more breast cancer
more hernias
more diabetes
more childhood cancer
less well-developed nerves
a thymus smaller than normal during infancy
a less effective immune system
more trouble with cholesterol
more emotional problems
more intestinal disorders
more allergies
more risk of crooked teeth or underformed jaws
a higher risk of SIDS
Women who don't breastfeed tend to have:
more premenopausal breast cancer
higher anxiety
lower self-esteem
more osteoporosis
more cervical cancer
less pleasure in early parenting
There are about 13,000 studies showing problems with
formula-feeding, so why haven't you heard any of this before? Maybe
someone thought it was too scary for you, that you would feel guilty,
that you wouldn't be interested, that it doesn't really matter that
much. But wouldn't you rather know now, instead of finding out later?
Breastfeeding. It's just plain normal.
©2000 Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC www.normalfed.com
Hope that helps,
Michelle Adelewitz, RN BSN
On Thu, Jun 24, 2010 at 2:57 PM, Sheena Carnes <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I mostly lurk here on Lactnet, I'm an RN and LLL Leader, sitting for the
> exam in July. My question is I very much understand the need for us to
> change how we discuss breastfeeding as the norm and not "best". I'd like to
> start doing this myself but can those of you have changed your approach give
> me examples of how you do this in real life? I'm so used to saying
> breastfeeding is "best" and "better" that it will take me some practice to
> get it down. Thanks for your input. I've learned so much from Lactnet :)
>
> Sheena Carnes, RN, LLL Leader
> Waverly, Iowa
>
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