Please tell me exactly why breastmilk is so amazing..

[Sheeta]

Was talking about this with a friend the other day, we know that BM is best for baby etc, but it struck me that I don't know exactly WHY..

I know it boosts the immune system, but don't understand how. I know it can provide everything your baby needs, but don't understand exactly.

I know I sound like a bit of a muppet here, but can someone please just give me the facts about the benefits of BFing?

stigaloid - no one is saying we shouldn't 'live and let live'. But the way babies are fed matters, doesn't it? Wouldn't be a good thing for babies in general if more of them were breastfed, and breastfed for longer? We can say that, surely, without being suspected of not being in favour of 'live and let live', can't we? Especially as most women want to bf, and give up sooner than they wanted to....

at the risk of sounding like an obsessed lunatic - it is SOO much better for the baby and mother than formula - here are a few exerpts from that link i posted earlier

-reduction in the risk of atopic dermatitis by 42 percent

-Comparing ever breastfeeding with exclusive formula feeding, the risk
reduction of acute otitis media (ear infection) was 23 percent. When comparing exclusive
breastfeeding with exclusive formula feeding, either for more than 3 or 6 months duration, the reduction was 50 percent

• infants who were breastfeeding had a 64 percent reduction in the risk of non-specific gastroenteritis compared with infants who were not breastfeeding.

• 72 percent reduction in the risk of

hospitalization due to lower respiratory tract diseases in infants less than 1 year of age who were exclusively breastfed for 4 months or more

this is just a tiny portion - lots of it didnt suit soundbites. I feel like jumping up and down shouting "its better its better its better" until everyone agrees . Not sure thats a very helpful way forward though
thi

"Can someone explain how an exclusively BF baby can contract chicken pox when the mother has had chicken pox herself. Would she not pass on her immunity to the baby?"

I think I've read on here that if the mother has had chicken pox, then while BFing the infant also has her antibodies to the infection. I think this resistance goes when BFing is stopped though (please someone correct me if I'm wrong, just going on info i've read on here)

Thalia and blueshoes: some antibodies - secretory IgA - stick to the mucosa in the upper respiratory tract to protect against respiratory infections.

It's not just about antibodies though, there are lots of different immune components in human milk.

Another interesting fact: babies who aren't breastfed have smaller thymus glands than those who are. The thymus is an organ of the immune system; it produces T cells (a type of white blood cell). Human milk contains components that promote the growth of the thymus. So it's not just about providing immunity in the here and now, but about helping the immune system to develop properly.

some fascinating details on this thread, thanks for the info everyone!

This is quite interesting on the anti-bacterial properties of human milk. It looks at the effect of pasteurisation on breastmilk's anti-bacterial capacity (since milk banks pasteurise donated milk).

They say "Untreated milk, low-pasteurized milk, and high-pasteurized milk yielded a reduction in E. coli growth of 70.10%, 52.27%, and 36.39%, respectively." I think it's really interested that even after being heat-treated, human milk can still reduce E. coli growth.

It is free

Regarding chicken pox - even when bf a newborn only has about 7 days immunity from the mother providing she is immune to it.

This is rather pertinent for me as had dc3 10 days ago whilst ds2 in the throes of chicken pox. Took a lot of hassle to get a correct answer from the paeds in hospital. One told me it was 6 months immunity but further research revealed it was actually about 7 days full immunity if newborn exposed to chicken pox.

Oh and for me i think bf is wonderful for bonding.

Thanks, NoHotAshes, that is interesting.

It actually smells and tastes so much nicer than formula too and comes at exactly the right temperature.

Breastfeeding helps mum get her figure back more quickly and releases some kind of 'Happy' hormone which I think helps prevent PND.

Sorry about the very unscientific post

My DS had awful, horrible chickenpox when he was 2yr and 9months and DD was 3mo. I was exclusively BF DD at the time. The HV said I'd have to accept that DD would get chickenpox as the two of them spent so much time together. However, we waited and waited and waited and she never got it, despite DS being all over her like a rash when he would have been at his most contagious. I'd had chickenpox when I was 6. Without sounding too evangelical about it, i was dead chuffed that BF could have stopped DD from getting the dreaded pox.

lol, a couple more non-scientific reasons:

I second that it is free , and add that

it is always ready (on the bus, in the waiting room, at my super-chatty friend's house),

always the right temperature, and

doesn't have any equipment to sterilise!!

(I suppose that last one could be made into a sciencey reason about growth of dangerous bacteria on equipment/in milk... and the recent scare in China used as an example)

Re my comments further up the thread...yes I totally agree with how amazing mother nature is...could talk for hours about it.

...but wrt BFing I think it's quite dangerous to talk about in these kinds of terms because it puts in on a pedestal as something aspirational for people 'try' or 'have a go' at.

Until we start seeing it as the normal way of feeding, with other methods only being used in an emergency/for medical reasons we will never succeed in raising rates

hello - my DS was exlusively BF when he caught Chicken Pox at 5 mths (and I'd had it when I was 13). So unfortunately it didn't help him (although I guess he may have had a less severe dose due to my antibodies). The best bit though was that when he was feeling really grumpy and sick he could still feed. This meant he got plenty of fluids and comfort - if I'd been FF he'd have been stuck with only a bottle of water. Not so great.

Aside from the health risks of FF, the best thing about BM is that it's ready at 4.30 in the morning and you don't have to run around with scalding water and fiddly things when you're shattered. Will get my vote every time.

Rotovirus

Oops!

I copied and pasted from a lecture I do and then quickly fiddled around with it to make it in sentences - I think the rotovirus bit is meant to be on the line above lol

Re. the chicken pox, from what I have read the mother's antibodies get passed on in the womb, NOT through breast milk. So the baby's immunity decreases over time and that's why a 4 month old baby can still get the pox, even if bf. I read a lot about this because CP was going round DD1's nursery when I was heavily pregnant. She did get them in the end and very badly, when DD2 was 8 weeks old, but DD2 never caught them off her. I do however know babies who were also bf and did get the CP at 2 months.

Do not have published studies to back this up!, but..
BFing helps develop the pancreas. In AF babies the initial development does not happen in the same way at all. This can lead to probs in adulthood.
The amino acids are laid down differently in a BF baby. If you were to perform an autopsy on a baby, you could tell if it was BF or AF just by looking at this. It affects the very make up of a person.

Has anyone mentioned they are less likely to get colic?
The BF mother is less likely to get cervical & breast cancer, osteoporosis, & diabetes.

Hi,

I'm breastfeeding my 6 week old DS at the moment (first child). To be honest, I'm struggling as I've been told he is not putting on as much weight as he should for his age, and I don't know how much he is really getting each feed. I think I'm able to judge when each breast is empty, and he is coming off the breast himself looking very content.

With this in mind, I'm thinking of switching to formula feeding. Or, I could continue to express and switch to bottle feeding with my milk - at least we'd know how much food he is really getting.

I've been exclusively breastfeeding since my son was born, is there any minimum period which is recommended to do this in order to pass on as many benefits as possible, before a possible switch to formula?

Thanks

I would say it is best because it is free, it is instant and you don't have to faff around preparing it.

great thread, marking my place

Maeve, with BFing you don't need to faff about tying yourself in knots about amounts. If he falls off looking happy, that's good! One of the benefits.

Talk to your HV. Ask them to put you in touch with a BF councilor.

The main benefit of breastfeeding is sheer laziness (and this isn't emphasised enough). No shopping, washing, sterilising, boiling, mixing, cooling etc - just whop them out and off you go. I am so disorganised my DC would both have starved if we ever left the house if I had FF.

Maeve, both of my boys have been exclusively breastfed and neither of them put on any weight between 2 and 4 weeks, not a milligram. They were both fine in the end. DS2's chart looks like a heart monitor!

I would say (although I'm no expert) that if he is content, having wet nappies and generally seems well, then throw away the chart and carry on, you are clearly doing a great job.

He might have grown in length and not bulk. Also, do you feel like you have a lot of milk? I think (although it is only my own opinion and may be gibberish) that I produced a lot of milk so both DSs were only ever getting lots of foremilk, not the fatty stuff. By about 8 weeks my milk supply had settled down and their weight took off.

I don't think it matters how much milk they are getting if you express as you cannot tell what the constitution of the milk is. You might be producing gold top or semi skimmed .

The first 12 weeks are definitely the hardest but my advice is to stick with it and, if in doubt, feed him. You will be glad you did.

IrishMaeve

I'd really recommend you start a new thread, just so your post doesn't get lost in the discussion.

Having said that - do you want to continue breastfeeding exclusively? There are many people here who are excellent at giving advice and support, something that seems to be sadly lacking in real life unless you go hunting for it. You may want to try contacting a BF counsellor:

La Leche League or the NCT have helplines with BF counsellors.

6 weeks is notorious for a big growth spurt, where the baby seems to feed and feed and feed...the best advice I can give really is to let him.

I would also say not to worry about the 'amount' he is getting - if he is coming off the breast himself happy, then that's a good sign.

WRT not putting on weight - is he actually losing weight? Or slipping slightly down the centiles. It unfortunately seems to be very common for HVs to worry new mothers about how much weight their DCs are or aren't putting on (mine suggested not feeding on demand when DS started zooming up the centiles as a newborn, and then putting him on formula once his growth slowed down...I ignored her both times). Is he alert, happy, hitting any developemental milestones? It may be that there is no problem and he's just putting on weight at his own rate. Without knowing exactly how his weight gain is going though, I don't want to mislead you, but from what you have said in your post, there doesn't seem to be a big problem.

If you choose to switch to formula because you decide it is best for you, there is nothing wrong with that - you've done an amazing job exclusively breastfeeding your son for 6 weeks, and you should be proud of that. But be sure it's what you want to do, and that you don't feel pressured into it by a HV who want s your son to hit a line on a chart.

It doesn't smell so offensive at the other end! (Although I will grant you it can be copious and explosive!)

Maeve there is a thread on this forum called From Tiny Acorns Mighty Acorns Grow. It is a support thread for mums who are breastfeeding and their babies are slow weight gainers.

It is not uncommon for breastfeeding mums to be made to worry about weight gain by health care professionals when their babies are doing fine. A lot of HCPs are not used to seeing breastfed babies and become over anxious when these babies do not gain weight like what they are used to seeing.

If your baby is normally content after feeds, has frequent wees and poos for his age (by 6 wks they can poo infrequently), gaining weight albeit slowly, then ask her for an appointment with a paediatrician to give the baby a full physical examination to ascertain that the baby doesn't have an underlying physical problem which was undetected at birth. Slow weight gain on its own should not be a reason to switch feeding method. (And some babies will remain slow weight irregardless of feeding method.)