Dear Editor,
        I am writing in response to Mark D. Somerson's column in the
December 28th edition of the Columbus Dispatch, "Health Benefits of Nursing
Evade This Toddler."  I am sorry that Mr. Somerson's daughter Caroline has
been so sick.  I have three children, one of whom has an impaired immune
system due to Down Syndrome, so I am very familiar with the stress and
strains of coping with a frequently sick child.  I, too, wonder "what the
heck is going on with [his] daughter."  I am not a medical doctor, but it
does seem as though his daughter has had more than her fair share of
childhood illnesses, considering that she doesn't have a diagnosis of some
other mitigating circumstance.
        I must say, though, that it is unrealistic to expect breastfeeding
to protect your child against all illnesses.  Nor is it fair to use one case
to malign breastfeeding.  Does my bloomingly healthy, big-for-his-age,
bright, funny, happy six year old son Alexander, who nursed until he was 5.5
years of age, cancel out Caroline's experiences, and exalt breastfeeding?
Certainly the medical research overwhelmingly supports Alexander's
experiences, not Caroline's.  I found Mr. Somerson's comment "I guess we
will just continue to scratch our heads, wipe Caroline's nose, and bite our
tongues when expectant parents ask our opinion" to be rather disingenuous,
given that he published this implied criticism of breastfeeding in a widely
read newspaper.  I wouldn't call that "biting one's tongue."
        It is extremely unlikely that Caroline would have been healthier if
she had been formula-fed, as Mr. Somerson implies.  I would like to gently
point out that there is a distinct possibility that if Caroline had been
bottle-fed with formula she might be dead by now.  It may, in fact, be
breastfeeding that is keeping her alive through all of her sicknesses.  It
may even be that breast milk is keeping her symptoms of cystic fibrosis so
mild that she has not yet been diagnosed.  I certainly hope that she has
just been "unlucky" in catching a variety of illnesses brought home by her
big sister, and I hope her health gets better in the near future.


Sincerely,
Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Anthropology and Nutrition
Texas A&M University
Co-editor of "Breastfeeding: Biocultural Perspectives"
Not a member of La Leche League, but proud to be a foot soldier of "La Army"