Nutritionally adequate it may be, but certainly not without consequences.  

 

Parents (and the WIC counsellors who love them) shouldn't have to choose
between starvation and poor health for their babies:

 

U.S. researchers who monitored the weight gain and health outcomes of 653
formula fed during infancy for 2 to 3 decades (Stettler et al., 2005) found
that greater weight gain during the first 8 days of life was associated with
increased incidence of overweight 20 to 30 years later.  They concluded that
the first 8 days may be a 'critical' period during which human physiology is
programmed.  During this critical period, the greater weight loss and slower
return to birth weight of babies fed human milk may help activate a
healthier metabolic program, which reduces the risk of overweight and
obesity during childhood and beyond.

 

Early exposure to cow's milk (formula) may be one of the environmental
triggers of Type-1 diabetes (Perez-Bravo et al., 1996; Rosenbauer et al.,
2008).

 

Formula-fed infants have an increased risk of Type-2 diabetes and have
higher blood sugar levels later in life, according to a U.K. review of 23
studies (Owen, Martin, Whincup, Smith & Cook, 2006).

 

U.K. research has found that at 6 days of age formula-fed newborns had a
more prolonged insulin response than babies fed human milk, which U.S.
research has found is associated with more fatty tissue, greater weight gain
and obesity (Lucas, Boyes, Bloom & Aynsley-Green, 1981; Odeleye, de Courten,
Pettitt & Ravussin, 1997).

 

A preliminary U.S. study on babies five months old found that those fed
formula had elevated insulin levels (Dewey, Nommsen-Rivers & Lonnerdal,
2004).  This mechanism may explain in part the association between
formula-feeding and increased risk of Type-2 diabetes later in life (Young
et al., 2002).  Formula is also missing hormones such as leptin and
adiponectin, which help babies regulate appetite and energy metabolism (Li,
Fein & Grummer-Strawn, 2008).

 

Breastfeeding reduces risk of developing Type-1 diabetes; longer duration of
breastfeeding is associated with lower incidence of Type-1 diabetes later in
life (Holmberg, Wahlberg, Vaarala & Ludvigsson, 2007; Karavanaki et al.,
2008; Rosenbauer, Herzig & Giani, 2008).

 

Children never breastfeed or those breastfed for less than 12 months are at
greater risk for diabetes mellitus (Type 1 and Type 2), lymphoma, Hodgkins
disease, overweight and obesity, and celiac disease and other inflammatory
bowel disorders (Ip et al., 2007; Ip et al., 2009).

(Source: Breastfeeding Answers Made Simple, N. Mohrbacker, 2010)

 

Ingrid 

 

Ingrid Tilstra

La Leche League Canada Leader

International Board Certified Lactation Consultant

 


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