Study: Breast Milk Better for Preemies
“NewsMax.com Wires
Wednesday, July 5, 2006
Chicago – The tiniest premature infants fed with breast milk in the hospital did better on tests of mental development later in life than did others fed only formula, a study has found.
The research, outlined in the July issue of Pediatrics, is the first to show the benefits of breast milk for babies born weighing less than 2 pounds, 3 ounces. With medical advances, hospitals are saving more of these babies, some born more than three months early.
For these infants, brain development that normally would occur in the womb during the third trimester of pregnancy must occur in the neonatal intensive-care unit of a hospital, said study co-author Dr. Betty Vohr of Brown Medical School. Ingredients in breast milk, particularly fatty acids, seem to help the brain develop properly, she said.
Even when the researchers took education and income into account, the breast milk babies scored higher on tests of mental development when they were 18 months old than the formula babies.”
I will refuse to believe America is an educated and enlightened society unless and untill the vast majority of mothers in America are happily nursing their own babies.
Cows milk is for building the bones of a baby calf. So if you want your child to be a bone head, be sure to feed them formula derived from cow’s milk.
Breast milk is Brain Food so, if you want your child to be smart, be sure to feed them mothers milk.

Paul, Allison, Jenny, and Ben
So far in our family Allison holds the record for years breastfed. She demanded that she be fed Mommas milk well into her fourth year. Ben is still nursing at three and a half. Whenever I ask him when he plans to wean he holds up five fingers, and says, “when I’m five”.

Allison with Ben
“What Makes Human Milk Special?
Sally Myer
Nebraska
From: NEW BEGINNINGS, Vol. 23 No. 2, March-April 2006, pp. 82-83
The most common reason mothers probably choose to breastfeed is the knowledge that human milk is the superior infant food. It contains live cells, like those in blood. Some components of human milk also enhance the effects of others, so the ingredients of human milk work together. In contrast, only a small percentage of some ingredients of formula are absorbed; mixing ingredients in formula does not guarantee they will act together the way they do in human milk.
Human Milk Is Designed for Babies
Human milk is species-specific. The milk of each mammal species has adapted to supply its offspring with what is needed for optimal growth and survival.
Some species’ milks are relatively high in fat to lay down a thick layer of body fat, while those with high protein use it for rapid growth and maturation. Those species that need readily available sources of sugar to meet the needs of their rapidly growing brains have milk that is higher in carbohydrates. Humans are the slowest growing and maturing mammals, but also have the most advanced brains. So it makes sense that the protein content of human milk is relatively low while the level of carbohydrates is high.
Human milk contains levels of vitamins and minerals appropriate for the healthy, full-term, human infant. It is ever-changing — from the beginning of the feeding to the end, from feeding to feeding, and from day to day. The infant provides many signals that stimulate some of the changes in his mother’s milk. When following her infant’s feeding cues, a mother can be assured that her child will benefit from those changes.
For instance, if the milk taken at a particular feeding is lower in fat (fat is the most variable constituent of mother’s milk), the infant will become hungry again sooner. If his cues are followed and he receives the next few feedings close together (cluster feeds), the higher fat milk he receives (fat content goes up when the breast is less full) will ensure his overall fat intake is adequate.”
Jenny Hatch

Written by Veronika Robinson, Editor, The Mother magazine ~ as seen on Richard and Judy, Channel Four, February 1st, 2006
“My family’s story is simple. We chose to let our daughters wean themselves when they were ready. They both weaned at a similar age. Bethany was seven (despite stating on the documentary that she was five) and Eliza was a couple of months shy of her eighth birthday. Bethany drew huge media attention by the fact she requested to breastfeed for a 9th birthday present. The media played on her statement that breastmilk is better than a million melons. Better than mango, even.
In the media frenzy around the publicity, there were many factual errors. The Daily Mail, to whom I gave an interview, fabricated quotes left, right and centre and in one particular quote, wrote the exact opposite of what I said. They hounded me for a family photo on the day of my mother in law’s funeral. Not only was my story fabricated, but the other two women involved also had their stories altered in favour of how the Daily Mail thinks their stories should be! In Sophie’s case, they stated (wrongly) that breastfeeding caused the break-up of her first marriage.
I also gave an exclusive interview to NOW magazine by email, but they too, sadly, managed to misquote and change the tone of what I said, despite it being written in black and white.
It was an honour to be a guest on the Richard and Judy show a few hours before the documentary went to air. They publicly stated that they could find no medical or psychology expert to come out against full term breastfeeding. Of course they couldn’t! Studies show that it is psychologically beneficial to breastfeed this way.”
The longest I have breastfed a child was my oldest daughter Allison who was four and a half when I pried her off. I would have let her continue, but I was expecting my fourth and still nursing Jeff, and just felt like I was overwhelmed being pregnant and nursing two children. She did NOT want to wean, but we convinced her it was best for the new baby.
I am still nursing three year old Ben. He just loves to nurse all day long.
I was a columnist for Veronikas magazine for a couple months. Subscribe if you can, it is an excellent introduction to all facets of natural Mothering.

Jenny Hatch
More Here
“Helen Neumann remembers running into her parents’ bedroom during a nighttime thunderstorm and climbing into their bed. Four years old, she opened the snaps of her mother’s flowered flannel nightgown and nursed. “I remember it as warmth,” explains Helen, who lives in Iowa City. “The flannel was soft; I felt safe there.”
Although her older sister weaned herself at 11 months, Helen continued to nurse at night until she was about five years old. Now, at age 30, with a baby of her own, Helen is still close to her mother, talking to her on the phone almost every day and visiting frequently.”