Benefits of bfing over ffing?

[you]

Okay I'm writing this on the back of reading the bfing thread in aibu but putting it here as I'd really like it to not turn into a gunfight if at all possible please :)

With regards to the risks of formula feeding an otherwise healthy term infant in this country, and presuming all other environmental and social factors are the same, what are the risks, really? I've rad the leaflets and been on a UNICEF course and am totally pro breastfeedibg, however I can't help but think a lot of the benefits are emotional rather than physical especially as the child gets older.

I've read a lot of research but a lot if it does show extra factors to be involved such as making up bottles indifferent.

So, IF a mother makes up the bottles correctly thus vastly reducing her chances of gastroenteritis, feeds baby in arms rather than with a bottle propped up against a cot side which seemed contribute to most babies ending up with ear infections, feeds on demand as would a bf mother etc what is a baby in this country really likely to end up with, risks wise? I believe the allergy link is pretty poor evidence wise so all were really left with is 3 points worth of iq and of course the not insignificant lack of antibodies, so more coughs/ colds pressumably but anything long term?

I really am interested so please let's not turn this into a debate as they all go the same way are boring :)

And sorry for any silly typos am on my iPod and the spell check is dire.

Essentially the most robust evidence shows the higher levels of gastro, respiratory infection and eat infections during infancy for formula fed babies.

Typically this might be a bit of croup, mild stomach bug, ear infection, or perhaps mild bronchiolitis (if that can be considered mild). Others of course will have it more serverly...and some not at all.

These are not really going to have long term effects...unless they trigger a general susceptibility, problem after the illness or long periods of treatment.

However they are not fun or something you want your child to have. If they can be avoided most people would want that.

Allergies, asthma, obesity...all possible and more difficult to ascertain.

IQ - no overall this is not considered a main benefit (although I do think it has a more considerable effect for prem babies)

Saying that a baby's life and development has been ruined by formula is of course not true.

rollittherecollette I couldn't agree more. The information presented is very onesided and never seems to include references to papers. It also often includes statements like "FF babies are 3x more likely to get X" but not mention that X is rare and 3x more likely is still rare.

Rollit - I am not sure how to take your use of 'repeatedly posted'. I only put it on these threads (which come up time and time again so I presume people are genuinely asking not just winding others up) and it is a pretty good report - well as good as they get for this type of area. Is pretty reserved in its claims as well which is good

Ok the checmical issuse aside as that is actualy a problem for the whole food chain. Even food that is labled organic is offten contaminated by water suppiles. So unless you can elliminate all chemicals from the enviroment then we are all going to be exposed. Plus it's a non argument as cows are pumped full of chemicals in order to produce more milk and our water supplies are contaminated so formula fed babies are exposed as well.

I feel although not directly a healt benifit to the baby the one big issue that is overlook with formula feeding is the enviromental impact. Just think how many cows we would need to feed all babies with formula, there wouldn't be space on the planet or enough food to feed the cows and then there is all those bottles and cleaning.

Many women may see feeding as an individual choice but as with many other choices we make they do effect our envoroment as a hole, which a lot of us don't even consider. Even on this issue alone everyone should try to BF.

I agree with you actually MigGril regarding the grass/cow thing. But there are a couple of things - one of the arguments put forth earlier was that mothers' milk screens out the contaminants. In that case, bovine mothers' must do the same. Hormone supplements, while still used in the US, are now banned in the EU I think. And if you want to avoid things like pesticides there is the option of using organic.

None of this of course means I am not going to try BFing. But for those who can't, it is a little bit more to consider.

LeonieDelt

"breastmilk is the biological norm, formula is a paler substitute" is a meaningless phrase in answer to the OP - it doesn't represent the findings of research or narrow down the risk.

What exactly do you think the benefit of stem cells in breast milk would be to a baby - given that the cells are those of the mother.

Enterobacter sakazakii is killed by correctly making up the formula, alternatively cartons of milk without enterobacter sakazakii are available - the OP specifically asked what the evidence is if you correctly make up formula.

I'm not convinced that having stem cells of the mother develop into tissue in the baby would be beneficial - wouldn't the body reject them like a transplant? What you are suggesting is very hypothetical, rather than a concrete, known benefit of breast milk.

As far as being an ethical source of stem cells - yes, but not a particular advantage to a baby over formula.

Organic, I for one am very interested in your info RE the properties of BM and why it has the effects it does. I only wish I knew more and about donor banks when DS was born. He wasn't prem but was very sick and rushed to nicu at birth and I had a section so couldn't go with him. I was asked to sign a form to say he could have formula but was not told there was alternative. I thought he wouldn't get fed if I didn't sign it. I went onto ebf for 6 months and mix until 10 months, but had to use special ff as he had cmpi and I've often wondered if that early exposure to ff is what caused his milk intolerance. Am also glad that I managed to bf or I might have had a much harder time as I didn't discover the intolerance until I used a carton of formula to make up baby rice at 6 months.

Organic, I for one am very interested in your info RE the properties of BM and why it has the effects it does. I only wish I knew more and about donor banks when DS was born. He wasn't prem but was very sick and rushed to nicu at birth and I had a section so couldn't go with him. I was asked to sign a form to say he could have formula but was not told there was alternative. I thought he wouldn't get fed if I didn't sign it. I went onto ebf for 6 months and mix until 10 months, but had to use special ff as he had cmpi and I've often wondered if that early exposure to ff is what caused his milk intolerance. Am also glad that I managed to bf or I might have had a much harder time as I didn't discover the intolerance until I used a carton of formula to make up baby rice at 6 months.

jandmmum the reason I "go on and on and on" about milk banking is that so few people know about it, and find out too late. A good place to start is www.ukamb.org. Not all hospitals have a milk bank (in fact most don't, although the numbers are increasing) and UKAMB is trying to get more set up.

Therefore there may not have been a milk alternative at your hospital, although you should have been talked through the options - formula's not the only one - and been given help to express. Well done on BFing to 6 months+ :). After a start like that, that must have been tough.

It's impossible to tell, of course, whether the early exposure to cow's milk protein influenced his intolerance but to be honest I think it's unlikely. More important is that you managed to BF and therefore avoid the awful situation of having a dairy intolerant baby who has no option but to have formula.

LeonieDelt - yes, but they are genetically the mother's cells, even when they change into any cell needed - so if they did turn into, say, liver cells they would effectively be the mother's liver and be rejected by the baby's body.

But beyond all of that - you really aren't answering the OP's question - what risks remain if a baby is formula fed (using correct formula preparation methods) compared to BF. I don't think early stage research into stem cells is really much of an answer unless your answer is "we don't really know as the research isn't sufficient".

Perhaps not but I am fascinated - off to google this Leonie, thanks!

OP, re your original question about the actual relative risks of formula feeding in this country. I remembered reading an article by Zoe Williams in the Guardian here about this last year. She argues that the "formula fed babies are five times more likely to be hospitalised" stat is not relevant in this country as it refers to a WHO stat for the whole world. She states that " it is emerging that breastfeeding definitely protects babies against gastric bugs, but only to the tune of four babies in 100 getting one less bout of a bug, over the period that they're breastfed". She doesn't say which research this refers to, however the article is actually an extract from her book Bring it on, Baby, so I would imagine the statement is properly referenced in there.
I think it would be really hard to screen out all of the social factors involved in bf vs ff to get a "pure" picture of the relative benefits of bfing.

Bloofer, and any others - I can assure you that there are many many reasons to care deeply about whether or not women breastfeed, which go far beyond the acknowledged freedom of choice of an individual woman. I have finally got around to reading "The Politics of Breastfeeding" and it has made me realise the enormous environmental and sociological impact of formula feeding. It is an issue we should all care about frankly.

Yes gaelic and leonie- it is a big picture.
I find studies from 3rd world countries not at all irrelevant. It might well make very little difference to my individual baby whether I bf or ff if I live in the West and make up bottles scrupulously but I am supporting an industry and a culture that may be damaging other women's babies in those countries. I care about that too.

Actually it was very good for my individual baby too that I bf her because my experience was very similar to jand mmummy's. DD was in SCBU at birth and given formula without my being offered any option (later found out the hospital does have a BM bank). We also discovered at 6 months when giving her a yoghurt that she has cows milk protein allergy. I have also always suspected that v early exposure to formula caused or contributed to this.

Rodformyownback - I am 99% sure that that statistic comes from the Gateshead Millenium study - not from developing countries at all!

This paper I think

Wright, C.M., Parkinson, K. & Scott, J. (2006). Breastfeeding in a UK urban context: who breastfeeds, for how long and does it matter. Public Health Nutrition, 9, 686 ? 91.

Anyway look at the link I keep (apparently) putting on these threads as it is one of the only review papers I know of that looks at the stats for just developed countries.

And Zoe Williams is a journalist not a scientist

Peppa, Yes I know who Zoe Williams is, thank you. And I didn't say I agreed with her. I don't have sufficient access to information to have an opinion. You seem a bit stroppy and I don't know what I've done to annoy you.
I have looked at the abstract for the paper you mention and it doesn't mention any stats on hospital admissions.