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Date: | Fri, 11 Apr 1997 23:35:16 -0200 |
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I've been following the "when should one introduce bottle?" discussion.
Have I been missing something?
I feel that one of the risks of bottle-feeding is bottle-feeding itself,
not just the contents of the bottle. This is anecdotal:
In my experience it is leaving the bottle in the infant's mouth for long
periods (with juice or milk in) that rots teeth and leads to
iron-deficiency through discouraging a healthy diet. Bottle-fed toddlers
are prone to use whole milk as a junk food with no fibre and no iron.
In many years of practice I do not recall ever seeing dental caries in a
healthy breastfed toddler. My recollection of the typical bottle-fed
toddler, however, is a bottle of whole-milk or juice propped in the
sleeping infant's mouth with numerous cavities, a hemoglobin of 60, and
neurological impairment from iron deficiency. I have looked after several
anemic, bottle-fed infants who required multiple extractions as a result of
excessive cow's milk. I wonder whether dentists should be recommending a
warning on bottles: is there anyone from a dental association out there who
can back me up on my biases?
Young term infants do not require anything but breastmilk, of course; but I
suggest to breast-feeding mothers who wish to give their older children
other drinks (or EBM) that a cup is quite adequate and more easily cleaned.
I do not recommend that they ever purchase a bottle-feeding system.
I hope that people don't find my opinion too extreme.
Khalid
Khalid Aziz
Memorial University of Newfoundland
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