The breast-kept secrets about mother’s milk

Nothing beats breast milk as nutrition for babies. Absolutely nothing. Health authorities (such as the United States Surgeon General, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the World Health Organization) pour on the thousand and one benefits of breast milk. Consider these: Mother’s milk contains environment-specific antibodies that help the baby protect itself against the infections it is most likely to encounter in the first weeks of life. To reinforce this tough army of antibodies, there’s an arsenal of protein molecules and immune cells that can only be found in breast milk. This battle-ready army intercepts the harmful bacteria and viruses and then zaps them. More, breast milk encourages the growth of lactobacilli, the helpful bacteria that protect against many disease-causing bacteria and parasites. Breast-fed infants have 10 times more lactobacilli than formula-fed infants.

Fact is, nature has so imbued human milk with all types of immunoglobulins as found, for instance, in colostrum, the pre-milk exclusively available from the breast in the first three to five days of the baby’s life. Then there’s the secretory IGA, that’s abundant in breast milk throughout the first year, to protect the baby’s ears, nose, throat, and the GI tract, even before it is digested in the stomach. The colostrum is also high in lactoferrin, an iron-binding protein, that is only found in breast milk and not in formulas. It is available throughout the first year of a baby’s life and has an antibiotic effect on bacteria like E. coli. Breast milk also has lysozyme, a potent digestive ingredient that’s 30 times more than what’s found in formulas.

According to Dr. Alan Greene (visit drgreene.com), the main long-chain fatty acids (important structural components, particularly in the substance of the brain and the retina) found in human milk are still not present in many formulas in the US.

The good doctor can’t stress this enough: "Breast milk is a dynamic fluid that changes in composition throughout the day and throughout the course of lactation. It provides for the baby the specific nutrients that are needed at each age and in each situation... Breast milk tastes different from feeding to feeding, which is another advantage over formula, as it prepares babies for the wide variety of foods to which they will be exposed in the future."

Vis-a-vis the bottle, breast milk is readily available – no need to prepare it and no need to worry about storage, spoilage, and the expiration date.

Likewise, Dr. Greene is quick to add, "... the mysteries of this dynamic fluid have not, by any means, been fully deciphered. Nevertheless, it becomes clearer year by year that human milk is precisely designed for human babies. There may well be other important micronutrients or factors that we don’t even have the instruments to measure yet..."

Consider these studies, too: One study by Dr. Natividad Clavano of the Baguio General Hospital involving 10,000 babies revealed that when infant formula was banned from the nursery, the number of infant deaths was reduced by 95 percent. One long-term study of children who were breast-fed showed that breast-feeding reduces food allergies at least through adolescence. Several studies have proven that children who were breast-fed as infants have higher IQs (as much as 10 points higher) than bottle-fed children.

But enough of the statistics. There’s really no quantifying the strong emotional bond that breastfeeding fosters between mother and child. Or how it enhances the psycho-social development of the child.

Through the ages, artists have been so drawn to the beauty of breastfeeding that they have captured that wondrous moment in many a heartwarming artwork (such as the painting on this page) for the future generations of mothers and children to see.

Breastfeeding is good for mothers, too. Breastfeeding prevents maternal deaths because the uterus contracts during breastfeeding, thus averting hemorrhage and uterine prolapse. Women who breast-fed also tend to have lower risks of developing breast, ovarian, and endometrial cancers.

Now you know why breast milk is best. The UNICEF and WHO recommend breastfeeding exclusively for six months – meaning breast milk and nothing but, no other solids or liquids, not even water. "Followed by appropriate complementary foods and continued breastfeeding for two years and beyond," says Dr. Nicholas Alipui, UNICEF country representative to the Philippines.

Dr. Alipui corrects some myths about breastfeeding and dishes out the facts:

• Virtually all mothers can breast-feed and produce enough milk for their babies. Mothers who are starving, sick, recovering from surgery, including Caesarean Section, and those who adopt can breast-feed.

• A mother’s illness is no reason not to breast-feed. Even a mother with tuberculosis can breast-feed as long as she is taking her medications. (Note: The list of drugs that are not compatible with breast-feeding is now very short. Ask your doctor.)

• Even inverted nipples need not impair successful breastfeeding.

• Breast milk is primed through a baby’s sucking. The more the baby sucks, the more milk is produced. Thus, a mother can produce enough milk even for twins or triplets.

Dr. Alipui congratulates Health Secretary Dr. Francisco Duque for recently signing the revised implementing rules and regulations of the National Milk Code (Executive Order 51). He notes, "It is a major triumph in the desperate fight to reduce child deaths and malnutrition in the Philippines and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. The revised IRR will finally allow for rigorous governmental efforts to protect children’s right to the highest attainable standard of health, nutrition, and development, which begins with optimal breastfeeding."

Breastfeeding advocates (do count us in) are happy to note that there are now breastfeeding-friendly hospitals that allow newborn babies to room in with their mommies.

Certainly, mommies have found new breast friends!

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