I appreciate Dr. Palmer's article on the death rates in breastfed versus formula fed babies. However, one paragraph in it brings up a topic I have been meaning to post about: "A multitude of studies demonstrate that when breastfeeding is accompanied by formula supplementation, illness and death rates are much closer to those of babies who are fully formula-fed. Studies also reveal conclusively that the longer breastfeeding lasts, the greater the measurable difference in illness and death rates." The way this statement is written concerns me, for several reasons. For one, most of the moms I work with have adopted their babies and do not have the opportunity to provide nothing but breast milk. Some are able to dispense with supplements fairly soon, but many need to supplement over the long-term. Also, these moms usually have to work much harder for whatever amount of milk they do provide, than mothers who have given birth do to provide all the milk their babies need. Also, there are bio moms who are having trouble with milk supply, have to go back to work and don't feel like they can pump, etc.. Isn't it much, much better for these mothers to feel like even partial breastfeeding is worth doing? Another VERY important question, is something I haven't heard discussed, specifically. If formula supplementation interferes so much with the benefits of breast milk, wouldn't other foods do that too? I haven't ever seen anyone suggest that for a breast fed baby to start eating cereal and bananas at six months old (for example) results in illness and death rates much closer to those for formula fed infants. There are many kinds of formulas. I don't think it is possible to say that anything that could be called "formula", given to a nursing baby, increases death rates, but other foods don't. I don't think anyone would want to suggest that adding any other foods to a breast fed baby's diet results in illness and death rates closer to formula fed babies. That would be like saying that breastfeeding isn't really that important for older babies and toddlers which is, of course, a myth that is still quite pervasive. We know that even occasional sips from the breast, for a child who gets 95% if his diet from other foods, is beneficial. Don't get me wrong. If I'd had the choice, not a drop of formula would have passed over the gums of my babies. However, I think we need to be careful not to villify formula more than is justified and, in the process, contribute to the "polarization" that occurs, in the breastfeeding versus bottlefeeding debate. Alot has to do with how things are said. I would suggest that, instead of saying that formula is so bad that even giving some of it brings the death rate up, we should say something more on the order that breast milk is so good that even a small amount of it results in a lover death rate. It depends somewhat on who the audience is. However, with the breastfeeding rate as low as it is, especially for babies who are beyond the newborn period, I think there is a huge amount of potential for increasing the percentage of babies recieving at least some amount of breast milk, if their mothers didn't feel like it had to be all or none. I certainly don't mean to criticize this article, however. It is excellent! With all of the discussion on the news about influenza, lately, I think all the time about what a crime it is that so little is said about how much less risk there is for babies and children who are recieving breast milk. I see mothers on the new, standing, helplessly, by the hospital beds of their infants, and wonder if that mother was ever told that breastfeeding would protect her baby, or if everyone she came in contact with, who did know something, refrained from saying anything like that, because they "didn't want to make anyone feel guilty" (so they let their babies be exposed to serious illness or death instead). That brings up another topic. What are those of you who work in hospitals seen, as far as breastfed babies coming in with influenza? Aloha, Darillyn _________________________________________________________________ Our best dial-up offer is back. Get MSN Dial-up Internet Service for 6 months @ $9.95/month now! http://join.msn.com/?page=dept/dialup *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html