I thought it would be helpful for those of you who are being asked to discuss/comment on the bf/asthma study to see some of the comments by the researchers, by Dr. Jack Newman, and by LLL, published in Canadian newspapers this morning. Note the researchers plan a follow-up study. -- Jodine Chase http://www.canada.com/search/site/story.asp?id=F25EFD76-2192-4263-8675-938CF 5897BE0 > > Dr. Malcolm Sears, the lead researcher and a professor of medicine at McMaster > University in Hamilton, expects an onslaught of criticism after the study is > published in The Lancet, a British medical journal, tomorrow. > > "There are many, many reasons why breast-feeding is good," he said in an > interview. > > "All we're saying is that it doesn't protect against asthma and allergies > long-term, and in fact seems to increase the risk. If there are 100 reasons > why it [breast-feeding] is good and one reason why it's bad, then you go for > the 100 reasons why it's good." <snip> > > Dr. Sears was shocked by the results because they countered the research > team's expectations. He initially assumed someone had erred while crunching > the numbers. > > What sets this study apart is its length: Most people's assumptions about the > link between asthma and breast milk are based on the results of short-term > studies, Dr. Sears said. Breast-feeding may indeed protect against asthma and > allergies, but that trend reverses itself over the long term, he explained. <snip> > > Dr. Jack Newman, a leading Canadian breast-feeding advocate who established > the first hospital-based breast-feeding clinic in the country, is skeptical of > the new findings. Almost all newborn babies are fed at least one or two > bottles of supplementary formula before they leave the hospital, which can > skew the results of any study comparing breast-feeding and formula-feeding, he > said. > > "Why does this study invalidate other studies that came before it? I don't > think it does," he said. > > The researchers acknowledge most of the children probably received some > formula feeding in their first days of life, but stress that fact does not > affect their results. > And from the Globe and Mail: http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/front/RTGAM/20020920/wbreast 0920/Front/homeBN/breakingnews > Britain's National Childbirth Trust, which encourages breastfeeding, said most > of the scientific studies have shown a positive effect against asthma. > > "This new research is just one study looking at the link between breastfeeding > and asthma, with the body of evidence firmly supporting the view that > breastfeeding helps to reduce the risk of asthma in early childhood," Rosie > Dodds, the policy and research officer at the trust, said in a statement. From the Hamilton Spectator: http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=hamilton/L ayout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1032473017919&call_pageid=1014656273827 > The La Leche League of Canada, part of an international support network for > breast-feeding women, was caught off guard by the results. > > "I have a lot more questions than answers from this study," said spokesperson > Kimberley MacKenzie of Barrie. "It's all very surprising and we would like to > see more research." <snip> > (Sears) couldn't believe it when results turned out to be exactly the > opposite. In > fact, Sears was so surprised he asked his data manager to doublecheck to > insure there hadn't been a coding error. > > She told him it was too late. She was so upset by the findings, she checked > the data three times. "It's not just been doubled-checked," Sears said. "It's > been checked and rechecked." > > He said he knows the results will be controversial "but we made thoroughly > certain that it was all absolutely watertight information before we went to > press." > > Sears expects people will be concerned. He agrees with the La Leche League > that a lot of new questions about what is actually going on will arise from > his study. > > As his next step, he is gearing up to launch a solely Hamilton-based study > which will be bigger than the New Zealand study but will ask the same > questions about the impact of breastfeeding. > > In an accompanying commentary, Peter Sly from the Telethon Institute for Child > Health Reteach, and Patrick Holt from the Centre for Child Health Research in > Perth, Australia, said various researchers have come up with different > findings, creating a confusing picture for scientists and parents. > > "Although there are many valid reasons for encouraging breastfeeding during > the first four to six months of life, based on the current evidence, the > prevention of asthma and allergies is not one of them," they said. *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. 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