Re: Ruth's posting about baby dying in bed with mom proving that bf and
co-sleeping don't protect against SIDS, as well as this post:

>I remember a couple of years ago a mother called concerned
>with family risk of breast cancer despite the 'fact' that her mother had
>breastfed eight children. I remember having to carefully state that
>there is breastfeeding and there is 'breastfeeding' (with supplements,
>token duration, early addition of solids [early weaning], etc.) as a
>possible explanation as to how her mother ended up having breast cancer
>despite nursing so many children.


We need to keep stressing and education and keeping in mind that formula use
INCREASES THE RISK of SIDS and breast cancer (or conversely, breastfeeding
DECREASES THE RISK of SIDS and breast cancer).  There will always be cases
of SIDS and breast cancer (and allergies, and multiple sclerosis, and NEC,
etc.) even where the mother did breastfeed exclusively for 6 months and
continued to breastfeed for several years.  The mom who breastfed 8 children
may have exclusivly breastfed each of them for 6 months and continued to
breastfeed each of them for 4 years, and she STILL got breast cancer.  That
in no way contradicts the epidemiological evidence suggesting that
breastfeeding reduces one's risk.  There are many many variables, both
genetic and environmental, that help determine whether or not one gets a
disease.  There is no magic formula (!) to follow that will guarantee you
100% protection against ANYTHING.  So yes, there is breastfeeding (token,
with supplements, short duration) and there is breastfeeding (exclusvie for
6 months, no supplements, long duration) but even the latter will not give
you a 100% guarantee of any kind of health for mother or baby.

This seems to be one of the most difficult concepts for folks to understand.

Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Anthropology and Nutrition
Texas A&M University