I know there have been a few posts recently from people who had positive
reactions to the newly-issued Special 2000 Edition of Newsweek, "Your Child"
which summarizes recent research related to children ages zero to three.
First, I have to say I am impressed that in a special edition such as this,
there are no ads for formula, pacifiers or baby bottles.  Major underwriting
appears to be from Johnson & Johnson so there are ads for their baby
products, as well as a few for pharmaceuticals from Ortho-McNeil.

There are references to breastfeeding scattered throughout this issue.  Most
are positive or neutral, including those which relate to the sweet taste of
breastmilk (p. 18 notes that "...if women eat a varied diet during pregnancy
and while nursing, their babies are more likely to accept new foods.
Scientists have confirmed another bit of folk wisdom:  babies are born with
a sweet tooth, probably because breast milk is sweet.  In our drive to
survive, we have a natural preference for the taste of that first food.
(Formula manufacturers try to mimic the sweet taste of human breast milk.)"

Not surprisingly, most of the breastfeeding information is in the section
entitled, "The New Face of Nutrition."  On page 44, the role of long-chain
polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) are discussed as "nutrients that
lately have take center stage in the study of children's brain development.
Two of these fats, DHA and AA, make up half of our neural membranes.  The
body can convert common vegetable oils into AA, but most of our DHA comes
directly from food.  Wild fish, which live on DHA-rich algae, are the most
important dietary source, but fish is not a staple in the United States.
The DHA level in American women's breast milk is only half as high as that
of European or Asian women.  Because DHA is so critical to infants and may
ward off postpartum depression, nutritionist Barbara Levine of Rockefeller
University advises pregnant and nursing mothers to take a plant-based 200 mg
DHA supplement every day."

I have never heard about this "deficiency" in the breastmilk of American
women.  Is anyone else familiar with this?  Does the recommendation for
taking supplemental DHA make sense?

By the way, a few paragraphs later, the article makes the classic statement
of "But don't feel guilty if you can't breast-feed (sic).  Most formula-fed
babies do fine, and some experts believe they'll do better when products
fortified with LCPUFAs reach the US market."  And on page 45 there is a
sidebar discussing the efforts to develop this fortified formula.

Sara Dodder Furr, MA, breastfeeding volunteer and advocate
who wants her children to do better than FINE
Lincoln, Nebraska

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