This is a bit long but one thing leads to another.
A couple of years ago, Prof. Katz a pediatrician from Tel Aviv University 
did a study of Israeli infants under one year old who were exposed to 
peanuts compared with British infants of the same age who were not.
There is a popular snack here called Bamba made from peanuts (I would never 
give this to an infant for fear of choking!)
Bamba is made by a local firm called Osem and guess who owns it - Nestle!
The study was published in the International J. of Allergies and was funded 
by the American Peanut Board.

More recently, the same paediatrician published in the same journal a study 
on exposure of young infants to cows milk showing how this prevented later 
allergies.  The study was funded by the Israel Dairy Board.

I do not understand how responsible professional journals can publish 
research that is blatantly funded by interested parties.

My answer is that the WHO and every regional Health Ministry have to fund 
research on the benefits of breastfeeding.
It seems such a waste to spend thousands of dollars to research issues that 
are so logical but this is the only way to get the attention of the health 
professions so that they influence and support mothers to breastfeed. That 
money would be better spent on paying to train lactation consultants and 
employing them in hospitals and community clinics.

It reminds me of a totally anecodotal study I did before I was a BFC.  When 
I gave birth to my 2nd and 3rd babies in the late 60`s in England, home 
birth was encouraged and supported by local GPs.  I noted that among the 
babies of all my friends and women relatives who gave birth at home, there 
was almost no newborn jaundice compared to those born in hospital.  Since 
this jaundice is not infectious, why should it be more common in a hospital 
environment?  I assumed that it was because in a home birth, mothers and 
babies are not separated, breastfeeding gets off to a better start and 
something in the colostrum was preventing the jaundice.
Upteen years later I read studies  which showed that colostrum is a laxative 
and helps the baby to expel meconium more quickly in those first hours of 
life - along with much of the bilirubin contained in the meconium.
So when we discuss breastfeeding in the prenatal course, we talk about using 
this as preventative of jaundice and I always suggest full rooming-in in 
order that the baby will get the maximum exposure to the breast in those 
first hours and days. (for this and for many other reasons).  This is an 
uphill task because the mothers and mothers-in-law of these couples tell 
them that women need rest after the birth and if they leave the baby in the 
nursery they can get a good night`s sleep.
This opens up an interesting discussion - what is more restlful - sleeping 
with the baby next to the bed so that the mother is attuned to the sounds of 
the baby or running up and down the corridor all night to check whether the 
baby is crying hysterically in the nursery?
Do we need studies costing thousands of dollars to prove what is so logical? 
Yes we do if we are going to abolish central nurseries in hospitals and 
encourage women to breastfeed as soon as possible.
Wendy Blumfield
NCT Trained Tutor Prenatal Teacher/BFC
Israel Childbirth Education Centre 

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