Who was waiting for "the other shoe to drop?"  (Anti-bfing or pro-formula
press release during World Breastfeeding Week).  Here's a big bang on the
bedroom floor with a nasty shoe, complete with incorrectly quoting from the
AAP statement.

Ruth Scuderi
Westfield, MA

Baby Formula to Resemble Breast Milk

By LAURAN NEERGAARD
.c The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (July 30) - Some brands of infant formula should become more like
breast milk as early as year's end.

The government has cleared the way for companies to begin enhancing formula
with two fatty acids - found naturally in breast milk - that are important
for brain and vision development.

Some studies show that infants fed formula enriched with these nutrients,
called DHA and AA, score higher on baby IQ scales than babies fed today's
formulas. The fats seemed most important for premature infants, who miss
absorbing them from their mothers during that last trimester of pregnancy
when there's a huge brain-growth spurt.

Make no mistake - breast milk is best. It protects babies from infection,
lowers risk of certain chronic diseases and seems to foster brain
development. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that most babies
be breast-fed exclusively for six months, and that mothers try to continue
until babies are a year old.

But not all mothers can or will breast-feed, so health officials tightly
control infant formula to guarantee that formula-fed babies thrive, too.

The Food and Drug Administration's approval of DHA and AA in formula is
''very exciting,'' says Eileen Birch of the Retina Foundation of the
Southwest in Dallas. She has studied the nutrients for 15 years, and contends
that enriched formula will offer babies an advantage.

Controversy remains, however over how significant that advantage will be and
whether it's worth the anticipated 10 to 20 percent price increase.

''It's impossible to walk out on the street and pick out a baby who was
breast-fed or formula-fed, so you know you're not talking huge differences,''
cautions Dr. William Heird of the Children's Nutrition Research Center at
Baylor College of Medicine.

DHA and AA are among the brain- and heart-healthy ''omega-3 fatty acids''
found in fish and certain other foods. People's bodies manufacture DHA and AA
by eating various fats.

Newborns, especially premature infants, can't manufacture all the DHA and AA
needed for optimal cognitive and visual development, says Dr. Gilman Grave, a
National Institutes of Health child nutrition expert.

Studies show that supplemented formula can enhance visual acuity in young
babies. Birch found that mental development among 18-month-olds who were fed
enriched formula for four months was increased by about seven IQ points over
babies fed regular formula.

In much of Europe and Asia, DHA-supplemented infant formula has long been
sold, often by U.S.-based companies.

But the FDA debated for five years whether to let DHA and AA be added to U.S.
formula, due to arguments over how should be added and possible sources of
the fatty acids. After all, DHA amounts in each woman's breast milk differ
according to diet. Initial sources of DHA from fish oil turned out to contain
other fats that actually hindered babies' physical growth. And no one knows
if the enhanced development Birch uncovered is a lasting difference or if
babies fed regular formula catch up as they grow.

Still, most experts say adding the fats can't hurt. ''Whether it's going to
be a boon ... remains to be determined,'' Grave says.

So in May, the FDA notified a small biotechnology company, Martek
Biosciences, that its versions of DHA and AA - purified from algae and fungal
sources - are safe ingredients. Now formula makers that want to add the
ingredients must formally notify FDA, which has 90 days to object before the
product can be sold. The agency also requires that makers track enriched
formula to ensure the ingredients cause no unsuspected side effects.

Martek expects enriched brands to begin selling by year's end, but can't say
which will debut first. Formula giant Mead Johnson, for example, still is
deciding whether to make the switch. Competitor PBM Products, which sells
formula made by Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories under store brand names, is meeting
with numerous retailers to determine which will launch enriched formula.

Once enriched formula hits store shelves already packed with different
varieties, how will parents know which to pick?

''That's a tough one,'' Birch acknowledges. She advises talking with your
pediatrician to determine which formula suits each infant's unique needs.
These fats ''are not the only consideration.''

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