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By Dr. Linda Folden Palmer
“A recent study published in the journal Pediatrics, (May 2004), titled “Breastfeeding and the Risk of Postneonatal Death in the United States,” reports a 21% reduction in infant death for having EVER breastfed.
When they compare 3 months of any breastfeeding to less or no breastfeeding, the reported reduction is 36%. That’s 36% fewer infant deaths! If they were to compare 3 months of exclusive breastfeeding to no breastmilk, their number would have been closer to 50%.”
“This brings us face to face with the safety and effectiveness of infant formula as a breast milk substitute. Is formula actually as safe as we have been led to believe? In fact, the answer is a resounding “no.” In fact, the use of infant formula doubles the risk of infant death for American babies.”
“Below are the percentages and total numbers of U.S. infants who die from various leading causes, according to the 1999 National Vital Statistics Reports.
Total U.S. births in 1999: 4,000,000
Total U.S. infant deaths in 1999: 28,000
20% Congenital abnormalities (birth defects) 5,500
16% Low birth weight and premature birth 4,500
10% Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) 2,700
8.5% Complications during pregnancy and birth 2,400
6% Respiratory distress: lung collapse, influenza, pneumonia 1,750
3% Accidents (unintentional injuries) 850
2.5% Bacterial sepsis (infections) 700
2.4% Circulatory system diseases 650
1.4% Necrotizing enterocolitis 400
1% Intestinal inflammations (diarrhea) 300
0.3% Meningitis 100
0.3% Cancer 100
Numbers account for 70% of total infant deaths”
“Answering the Detractors
Criticisms are often spread about studies that find increased illness and death rates associated with formula feeding. For just this reason, each later study aggressively attempts to take into account any factors that have been purported as distorting previous study outcomes.
These research papers address as many aspects as possible, from maternal education, to smoking, to income level, to day care usage and many more possibilities. The results continue to reveal the risks of formula feeding.
It’s commonly said that formula feeding does not risk lives in industrialized nations where education and medical advances prevent increased deaths. The evidence is quite to the contrary. Some insist that the blame for the United States’ relatively high infant death rate lies with underprivileged communities.
Again, it has been shown that elevated death rates among U.S. blacks cannot be attributed to poverty. Hispanic Americans rank similarly to African-American populations for socio-economic factors, but they match non-Hispanic whites in their lower infant mortality rates. The difference is not socio-economic; rather, it’s in rates of formula use versus breastfeeding.
A New York study sought to establish the connection between education, income and infant survival. It concluded strongly that the number of illnesses is increased by two to three times in formula-fed babies regardless of socioeconomic status or level of parental education.
A later study in Israel confirmed the effects of formula feeding across all classes and education levels. The most recent analysis of this issue, again performed in the United States, reiterated that higher illness rates among formula-fed or formula-supplemented infants “did not differ among income groups.””
“What Your Doctor Doesn’t Tell You
Pediatricians spend much time frightening parents with 1 in 100,000 risks from vaccine-preventable diseases when parents question the utility and safety of vaccines. “Would you want to risk the life of your child?” they demand.
Yet these very same professionals offer formula samples with the other hand — when the magnitude of health risks associated with the use of formula is 500 times greater.
Parenting is all about making choices and weighing risks and benefits. Many parents need to make the riskier choice of formula feeding in order to balance other factors that benefit the family.
Yet some parents who have lost their children, possibly based on pediatric advice condoning or encouraging formula-feeding, would surely wish that they had been informed of the very real risks related to using formula.”
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Jenny Hatch
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