Making 'Intelligent' Choices About Infant Nutrition: Nature, Nurture, or
Nutrients?
Leading Multidisciplinary Team Comes Together During the 5th Johns Hopkins
Advances in Pediatric Nutrition' Symposium
BALTIMORE, June 26 /PRNewswire/ -- When it comes to baby's intelligence and
cognitive development, you still just can't beat breastfeeding. Leading
medical and parenting experts gathered today to discuss the impact of infant
feeding choices on baby's brain development and intelligence as well as
strategies to get more mothers to breastfeed and continue, especially after
they return to work. The panel addressed one of the most hotly debated
topics among infant nutrition experts -- the benefit of adding to infant
formula the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) DHA and ARA,
found naturally in breast milk and linked to brain and eye development. The
session took place during the 5th "Advances in Pediatric Nutrition" Symposium
sponsored by The Johns Hopkins Children's Nutrition Center and the Johns
Hopkins University School of Medicine Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology
and Nutrition with exclusive support from an educational grant from the
Nestle Nutrition Institute of Nestle USA, Inc.
Although the health advantages to infants of breastfeeding are well
established, the link between breast milk and intelligence has gained
significant attention recently. The most recent study on the issue,
published in the May 8th Journal of the American Medical Association, was the
first to show a positive association between breastfeeding duration and IQ in
adults. That study found babies who were breastfed for seven to nine months
had higher IQs than those who were breastfed for two weeks or less.
Researchers have not specifically identified what is responsible for this
association.
"It is possible that the bonding and interaction between mother and baby that
are so intimately tied to breastfeeding are just as important for
intellectual development as the composition of the milk," said Jose Saavedra,
M.D., Conference Co-director, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Johns
Hopkins University School of Medicine and Medical Director, Nestle USA
Nutrition Division.
New infant formulas containing DHA and ARA have recently entered the market
accompanied by reports that these formulas can also enhance babies' learning
ability. Do these new formulas offer the same advantages as breast milk?
Supplemented formula may seem like an attractive option to a generation of
parents who try any tactic to give their child an edge, but no long-term
studies on the effectiveness of adding DHA and ARA to infant formulas have
been completed. Plus, babies who are fed standard iron-fortified infant
formulas already have a source of DHA and ARA. Those formulas contain
alpha-linolenic acid and linoleic acid, two essential fatty acids derived
from vegetable oils that healthy, full-term babies convert into DHA and ARA.
According to Dr. Saavedra, "Feeding breast milk is not the same as
breastfeeding. Adding one or two components of breast milk to infant formula
does not necessarily mean these infants will realize the same benefits they
gain from breastfeeding. Further research is needed to determine whether
DHA/ARA supplementation will truly make a difference in the long run.
Meanwhile, encouraging breastfeeding and breast milk feeding should continue
to be our main objective."
Bottom line for babies: making breastfeeding work
Although the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding for at
least 12 months to provide optimal nutrition for babies, many mothers
struggle to balance the responsibilities of work with the demands of
breastfeeding. Women with infants and toddlers are the fastest growing
segment of the workforce and 83 percent of new mothers are back at work by
the time their babies are six months old. A 1991 Johns Hopkins University
study found that less than one half of working mothers who were breastfeeding
their infants at three months of age were still breastfeeding at six months,
compared to two thirds of non-working mothers. Significant barriers to
breastfeeding include lack of a quiet, private, sanitary room where women can
pump their milk and access to a refrigerator or cooler in which to store it.
One of the most important ways to overcome these barriers and encourage more
women to start and continue breastfeeding is through successful workplace
breastfeeding strategies. In keeping with their philosophy that the
breastfed baby is the gold standard in infant feeding, Nestle USA has been an
early leader in implementing a model lactation support program in its
Glendale, California headquarters. Furthermore, companies have found that
investing in a lactation support program can save significant amounts of
money through decreased health care costs and reduced absenteeism.
Recognizing that breast milk is the ideal food for babies and that too many
mothers of infants returning to work find it too difficult to continue to
breastfeed, the states are stepping in with legislative support. Nine states
have already enacted workplace breastfeeding laws and five more states have
legislation pending. The latest state to join the trend was California with
a law that became effective January 1, 2002.
Other panel participants were: Craig Jensen, M.D., Assistant Professor of
Pediatrics, Texas Children's Hospital; Carol Ann Friedman, R.N., I.B.C.L.C.,
Program Director for Mothers at Work at Lifecare, Inc. and Nicole Wise,
co-author of "The Overscheduled Child" and editor,
http://www.hyperparenting.com.
About Nestle and the Nestle Nutrition Institute
The Nestle Nutrition Institute is a multidisciplinary, educational
organization dedicated to the science of healthy nutrition for people of all
ages. The Institute provides information, guidance and support to health
care professionals by bridging the latest scientific discoveries and their
application to achieving optimal nutrition. The Nestle Nutrition Institute
is part of, and is solely supported by the Nutrition Division of Nestle USA,
Inc.
Meeting the nutritional needs of America's infants, the Nestle USA Nutrition
Division is responsible for the manufacture and marketing of such well known
baby formula brands as Nestle(R) Carnation(R) Good Start(R), Alsoy(R),
Follow-Up(TM) and Follow-Up Soy(TM). In addition, the Nutrition Division
publishes the very best baby magazine series and http://www.verybestbaby.com.
These initiatives support expecting and new parents with expert advice on
infant feeding, baby's development, and mother's nutrition and fitness. For
more information, health professionals can call the Medical Professional
Information Line at 1-800-628-BABY (2229); parents can call 1-800-365-9184.
Headquartered in Glendale, Calif., Nestle USA has 16,000 employees, more than
$8 billion in sales (for 2001) and is part of Swiss-based Nestle S.A., the
world's largest food company.
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SOURCE
CO: The John Hopkins Children's Nutrition Center; John Hopkins
University School of Medicine; Journal of the American Medical
Association; American Academy of Pediatrics; Texas Children's Hospital;
Mothers at Work at LifeCare, Inc.; Nestle Nutrition Institute
ST: California, Maryland
SU: CHI SVY WOM
http://www.prnewswire.com
06/26/2002 14:00 EDT
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