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Lactation Information and Discussion

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Subject:
From:
Teresa Pitman <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Mon, 21 May 2007 20:13:16 -0400
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I think we don't actually know what the differences between these two may 
be, since it simply hasn't been researched. But I think there are lots of 
questions we need to be considering, such as:

1. We know that the composition of breastmilk changes from one feeding to 
the next and from day to day, and we don't really know all the reasons, 
causes or effects of these changes. What are the (possibly subtle) effects 
on the baby of being fed milk in the evening that was pumped that morning?

2. Some of the benefits of breastfeeding are related to the improved oral 
development when the baby suckles at the breast, rather than from a bottle. 
So the bottlefed baby will miss out on those.

3. We know that breastfeeding mothers co-sleep with their babies differently 
than mothers who are bottlefeeding formula. Where do pumping mothers fall? 
We don't know. We know that breastfeeding mothers talk to their babies more 
and touch their babies more than mothers who bottlefeed with formula. Again, 
we don't know if pumping changes this or not.

4. We know that formula fed babies are more likely to be obese. Some of the 
difference may be in the milk itself, but some may be related to the feeding 
method - the baby feeding at the breast can self-regulate feedings more 
effectively than babies feeding from bottles, and can adjust the composition 
of the milk by how he feeds. So babies fed exclusively pumped milk may be at 
a higher risk of obesity than breastfed babies (but again, we don't really 
know).

5. We don't know all the ways that nutrients, antibodies and other 
components may be lost during the pumping and/or storage of milk. We know 
that freezing breastmilk destroys at least some antibodies, that some 
nutrients are destroyed by exposure to light, that some components may cling 
to the sides of tubes and bottles. How different is the milk the bottlefed 
baby receives from the milk that originally came from the breast? We don't 
know the whole answer to this either.

This is not to say that breastmilk in a bottle is not better than formula - 
it clearly is. But there are still a lot of questions.

Teresa Pitman 

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