In defense of researchers here - just because a study finds a "deficiency"
in breastmilk, doesn't mean it was supported by a competitor. We design
studies as carefully as we can, and often do try to tweak the design a
little bit to show what we want the outcome to be - but once the results
are in, there's nothing you can do about it! You can tweak design, but you
can't tweak results, and you're under ethical obligation to report what
you found. And - the saddest part - you have NO control over how the media
reports your work.
I mean, what does this study show? It shows pretty conclusively that in
desalivated rats, previously frozen human milk leads to dental caries.
Well, interesting, but relevant to breastfeeding mothers? Maybe, maybe
not. To me, knowing that the immune and antibacterial properties of
breastmilk are reduced after freezing, it seems to point, at a minimum, to
repeating the study with fresh milk. And - what about repeating it with
expressed rat milk? Anyone want to volunteer to milk the rats ;-) And yes,
what about including formula?
So - if mothers ask about this, let them know the details - these were
rats, the milk was frozen, and - the desalivation part is important -
saliva helps remove the cavity-forming bacteria from our mouths. I call it
an interesting addition to the field, but not leading to any conclusions
that I find applicable to breastfeeding mothers.
Just my trying-to-be-humble opinion, of course. But let's not start to
vilify Ruth Lawrence (bless her!) for being involved in something that's
not being reported how we want to see it.
Kirsten Berggren
www.workandpump.com
aspiring breastfeeding researcher
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