>One step forward.... > >"The sheer physical effort involved in breastfeeding may leave >babies with stronger lungs well into childhood, researchers >suggest.* * > Interesting research, but I'm put off by the sub-headline emphasis on "sheer physical effort". This reinforces the widely-held misconception that breastfeeding is hard work for babies. We know that breastfeeding, when it is proceeding normally, is a comfortable and 'easy' thing for babies. During and after feeding, breastfed babies have stable and appropriate heart rates, oxygenation, respiration, and temperature. This is in contrast to artificially fed babies, whose physiologic parameters are less stable and less likely to fall within normal ranges. Which looks like more 'work'? By emphasizing how much more suction a breastfeeding baby generates than a bottle feeding baby (3x), they make it seem as if the breastfeeding babies are putting forth a greater-than-strictly-necessary amount of effort. But the breastfeeding babies are the ones who look as if feeding is easy. This begs to be Wiessingerized. Bottle-fed babies use only 1/3 the amount of suction they ought to. This unnatural feeding style causes distress and may lead to underdevelopment of other systems. I'm thinking that the growth- and development-promoting factors in breastmilk may play a larger role in lung function than the researchers seem to have considered. Epidermal growth factor [EGF] and transforming growth factors [TGFs] are present in human milk. It is known that they promote expansion and maturation of epithelial cells in the breastfed baby's gut; why not in the lungs as well? Margaret LLLL, IBCLC Longmont, CO *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome