Dear all:

How many times has a single study been spread around the news media claiming that formula is not harmful.  Typically the sample size is low, the definitions of feeding sloppy, and the outcome consider is multi-causal. And we all know that those studies prove nothing at all except that even scientists can allow their biases to prevent the from thinking more deeply.

So while there may be a single study out there that didn't detect an impact on a single indicator of outcome from slow gain, it doesn't negate a huge body of literature that shows GROWTH matters.  One only has to actually read the documents from the World Health Organization to find a long reading list that documents the negative health impact when babies are not growing to their own genetic potential.  Between the Chapter I worked on the cost-effectiveness of interventions to reduce Protein-energy Malnutrition for the World Bank and my doctoral dissertation on the impact of supplementation on 3-6 month old babies in that interval and at 2 years of age, I literally have read hundreds and hundreds of articles on the topic.  I really can't bear the thought of copying the bibliography of my dissertation here.  

Perhaps the best synthesizer of this information is Reynaldo Martorell who blew out of the water the flawed logic of "Small is Beautiful" that was popular in the 1970s.

Best regards, 

Susan Burger, MHS, PhD, IBCLC, RLC

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