Mother's milk is a miracle tonic. Make sure your baby gets her share.
   By Karen Springen

   Breast milk is the mother of all medicines. Babies who drink it get the nutrients they need for proper brain
development, while lowering their risk of everything from allergies and infections to diarrhea, eczema and pneumonia.
Nursing works wonders for women, too, speeding postpartum weight loss and lowering the risk of breast cancer. The
American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Dietetic Association urge mothers to nurse for at least a year. Even
the pope and the federal government endorse breast milk. Yet this exceptional resource goes largely untapped. Some 38
percent of American moms never even try breast-feeding, and only 15 percent nurse their babies for a year. That's one
of the lowest rates in the world.
   What's going on here? Why do we spend $3 billion a year on infant formula when our kids could get better nutrition
for nothing? Sometimes there's no choice. Nursing isn't an option for adoptive mothers or for those undergoing cancer
chemotherapy. Likewise, no one advises women with HIV to breast-feed. But the real obstacles are social, not medical,
and they're surmountable.
   One of the biggest barriers to breast-feeding is misinformation. New moms often doubt they can produce enough milk
to keep their babies healthy. When researchers at the University of Minnesota interviewed women who had stopped nursing
early, many thought their children needed other foods by 4 months. The fact is, most moms can meet all of a child's
nutritional needs until 6 months, when solid foods are gradually added to the diet. And no matter what else they're
eating, kids as old as 2 can benefit from the antibodies and fatty acids in mother's milk.
   After carrying a fetus for nine months, most women are ready to reclaim their bodies. Nursing may seem like a step
in the wrong direction, but it actually helps restore your figure. Twenty-nine-year-old Ellen Zagorsky Goldberg nursed
her daughter Batsheva for nearly two years. Nursing helped her burn so much energy that she was ready to return to
work--as a model--just weeks after giving birth. "What else can you do where you sit still and burn calories?" she
asks.
   Even if you want to breast-feed, the demands of a job can make it difficult. Women who work more than a few hours a
day have to pump their breasts regularly and store the milk. Many employers complicate the task by denying nursing
breaks or providing no private place other than a toilet stall. Nearly half of the moms in the Minnesota study cited
work as an obstacle. But attitudes are changing. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney of New York is now pushing legislation
that would grant women unpaid breaks of an hour a day to pump milk. The New Mothers' Breastfeeding Promotion and
Protection Act would also give employers tax breaks for setting up lactation stations.
   Meanwhile, technology is easing the task. Women whose young infants need large milk supplies can rent heavy-duty
pumps for $1 to $3 a day. For moms with older babies, a sleeker option is Medela's Pump In Style, an electric unit that
looks like a briefcase and comes with a built-in cooler. The $250 device is nearly silent and has enough power to empty
both breasts in 15 minutes, about the time it takes a hungry infant. Sheila Spencer, a 37-year-old Los Angeles business
analyst, keeps a big pump at the office and a smaller one at home. Her 5-month-old son, Ryan, has yet to taste formula.
"I thought it would be harder than it is," she says. "I just pump the milk and zip up the bag."
   The makers of infant formula concede that their products, though useful to some women, are less nutritious than
breast milk. They say they want women to nurse, especially during the first days after delivery, when their bodies
produce an antibody cocktail called colostrum. "There are a couple hundred compounds in breast milk that are not in
formula," says Dr. William MacLean of Ross Products. Accordingly, neither Ross nor formula maker Mead Johnson
advertises directly to consumers. But critics say that they achieve the same end by extending patient "education"
grants to hospitals, which in turn send new mothers home with free samples of infant formula. The companies say the
hospitals are merely providing a service to their patients, and they insist their samples are meant only to influence
"brand choice."
   Nutrition aside, mother's milk is a terrific bargain. It's always available and always warm. It doesn't cost $1,000
a year (a low estimate for formula), and it requires no late-night runs to the store. So if you're among the 99 percent
of new mothers who are physically able to breast-feed, it's worth considering.

Newsweek 6/1/98 Lifestyle/Focus on Health: The Bountiful Breast



--
Andrea Eastman, MA, CCE
Granville, Ohio
mailto:[log in to unmask]

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