BETTER HEART HEALTH WITH BREASTFEEDING?

The Journal of the American Heart Association recently released results from a study of more than one million mothers that showed there was a significant risk reduction for developing cardiovascular disease or stroke later in life amongst those who breastfed their children.

Compared to women who never breastfed, women who reported breastfeeding at some time in their life had a 11% decreased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, were 14% less likely to develop coronary heart disease,12% less likely to suffer strokes, and 17% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease. Previous research has noted that additional benefits include a lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and some cancers.

The WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding until a baby is 6 months old, followed by breast feeding + complementary feeding until the baby is 2 years or older. 

 

 

FOOD ALLERGIES LINKED TO BREAST MILK

An interesting study published by The American Medical Association strongly suggests that some allergies occur when babies are sensitized by foods passed along in breast milk.

In order for a food allergy to develop, the person must be exposed (sensitized) to the food in some form. For example, many children who have peanut allergies have their first reaction when given a small portion of peanut butter. The initial exposure, however, may occur after a breast-feeding mother has eaten peanuts.

A specific study looking at peanut allergies passed along in breast milk was done and recently published. Twenty-three lactating women, age 21-35 years, ate about 1/3 cup of dry roasted peanuts. Breast milk samples were taken at hourly intervals to try and detect peanut allergens. Within 2 hours of ingestion of the peanuts, 11 of the 23 mothers tested positive for the peanut allergens (there were 2 allergens being looked for).

The researchers concluded that peanut protein is secreted into breast milk, thus sensitizing a baby who is at risk for developing an allergy .**  This information has helped in our understanding of why up to 85% of children with peanut allergies develop symptoms the first time they ingest peanut products.

** A baby born into a family with allergies.

BREASTFEEDING REDUCES RISK OF ASTHMA

It appears that we can add a reduced asthma risk to the growing list of benefits of breast feeding. A recent Australian study strongly suggests a decreased incidence of asthma in babies breast fed for at least 4 months.

The study involved 2,602 infants and followed their asthma-related health for 6 years. An important outcome of this study suggests that infants born to mothers with a history of asthma were also more likely protected. This is good news in that there is a known increased risk for asthma in infants whose mothers have the disease.

“Given our findings, we continue to recommend that infants with or without a maternal history of asthma be exclusively breastfed for 4 months and beyond,” the researchers conclude.

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BREASTFEEDING MAY REDUCE RISK OF SIDS

The documented benefits of breast-feeding are well known by most expectant and new parents. Yet, a new study just released in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, suggests even more good news about breast-fed babies…a reduced chance of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Perhaps the strongest message was the emphasis on sleeping position, reminding parents that back-sleeping offers the greatest reduction in SIDS that we know of.  Yet, the question of breast-feeding, and in particular how long an infant is exclusively breast-fed was on the mind of researchers.

After controlling for external factors, such as smoking during pregnancy, paternal employment, infant sleeping position and infant age, researchers found some interesting new data. They compared SIDS rates in exclusively breastfed babies. One group was breast-fed for less than 4 weeks, the other for more than 16 weeks. Results suggest that the shorter-term breast-fed babies were 5.1 times more likely to experience SIDS than the longer breast-fed group.

It turns out that mixed feeding during the first week of life did not appear to increase the risk of SIDS. Research concluded by emphasizing that this study suggested that longer breast-fed babies seemed to have additional protection against SIDS. They added that…”the mechanism of the protective effect of breast-feeding is not clear, “ and added an important note that stated…”It is also possible that frequent feeding of the infant, and the resultant closer contact between mother & child, decreases the risk of SIDS.”