Breast Is No Longer Best

The shocking news for most people is not that breast is no longer best, but that formula is not benign.

http://tiny.cc/oqMNN

The risks of formula break down into the product itself, the absence of breastfeeding, and the making of the formula.

Formula is made from modified cow's milk. On contact with the gut, formula changes the ph balance of the baby's stomach, and this alters the ability of the gut to mature properly. This impacts on both the gut's ability to absorb nutrition, and to act as an immune defense against infection.

http://tiny.cc/onebottle

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Lack of breastfeeding means that babies on formula miss out on a complex range of basic building blocks for normal growth.

http://tiny.cc/buildingblocks

And even if they add in fake building blocks, they don't always work:

http://tiny.cc/mother

Some of these are major life threatening building blocks, such as the oral facial development that keeps sleep apnea at bay in later life, some are small and much more difficult to track. Who is going to miss 5 IQ points if you are an A+ student? No one. But if you are a D+ student, and those 5 points would have taken you to C, that's a life changing big deal. Happy thriving and healthy babies have gone on to develop heart disease or diabetes in later life, and lack of breastfeeding was the cause of it, but who sees that 30 years later?. And the shocking facts are that more formula fed babies die than breastfed ones - even in the 'West'.

http://tiny.cc/infantdeath

Formula feeding increases the risks that your baby will have an illness, and for a few, that's a life threatening illness. It's appalling that this info is not common knowledge - but a fortune in shareholder's profits rests on the facts being kept away from consumers:

http://tiny.cc/washpost601

Finally, powdered infant formula is not sterile. Manufacturing makes it impossible to produce it that way, and as many as 14% of all batches of formula are contanimated by bacteria such as salmonella and E.sakazakii.

http://tiny.cc/paed

http://tiny.cc/file164

That's why you have to heat the water - not to make the water safe, but to make the powder safer. Because of the presence of these bugs, the WHO recommends that newborns under 8 weeks old do not receive powdered formula, but only have UHT sterile liquid packs.

http://tiny.cc/taintdeath

Info that has been around for a very long time:

http://tiny.cc/belgium

Not only are there bugs in some batches of powdered formula, once made up, formula is an excellent growth medium for them. So formula safety is crucial if you're using it. In the UK, 5 times more formula fed babies are treated in hospital for gastroenteritis than breastfed ones. Good hygiene is vital in protecting your baby:

http://tiny.cc/safeprep

Left over formula that's been fed to a baby should be thrown away after one hour.

These risks from contanimated formula are bad enough, but if you live in a resource poor area, where there is poor hygiene and dirty water, formula feeding kills 3500 babies every day. And formula companies relentlessly push their products in these areas, regardless of the death toll:

http://tiny.cc/guardian837

http://tiny.cc/formula

There is an international code to protect babies' health by restricting advertising and promotion of breastmilk substitutes:

http://tiny.cc/TheCode

Dr Gribble was speaking at the ABA's "Hot Milk" conference in August 2007. http://uk.youtube.com/user/MumsRight http://www.breastfeeding.asn.au podcasts are at http://mumsright.libsyn.com

Category:

Education

Tags:

• lactivism
• lactivist
• breastfeeding
• formula
• code
• risks
• safety
• lactation
• nursing

[quadruplelatte]

Wonderful video and I'm amazed you only have 53 comments and not about 1000 vicious comments saying formula has zero risk, because the few times I have stuck my neck out online (message boards) and even hinted at the fact that formula has risks, I've been flamed and, sadly, it was made painfully obvious that many women do not know there are risks and refuse to believe any evidence to the contrary.

Kudos to you!

[BreastfeedingBabies]

@quadruplelatte We don't let the poison and aggression through. Somewhere has to be a safe space for accurate information. :-)

[AloutkaKazawa]

If I understand it right: "Breast is no longer best" means, in real, the "Breast is the only option"? If not breast than what?

I was breastfeeding my daughter 2,5 years, and was lucky to have a support from my friend who is IBCLC - it was one of a kind experience. But it wasn't easy at the beginning - nurses at the hospital were trying to scare me that she has too short tongue-tie and recommended formula. But I was stubborn - breastfeeding her was nurturing me as well :)

[BreastfeedingBabies]

@AloutkaKazawa The underlying message is that breast is normal. Anything else, is less than breast. Formula increases health risks to the mother and the baby: breast is normal.

[BreastfeedingBabies]

@theXadorist Fantastic! Go Mama! :-)

[theXadorist]

@BreastfeedingBabies eventually we got it i called everybody for help, nobody helped me, at the time i posted this my daughter had a known and clipped tongue tie i later discovered she also had a lip tie. our latch was never perfect and is still not... my baby will be 2 in june and i am proud to say that i never gave up on nursing her. she still nurses and its never been comfortable but we both benefited from it so much ....thank you

[aslenagem10]

Breast isn't best. Breast is NATURAL. Breast is how it's supposed to be.

[fizz141]

Breast feeding = free!

[GothyPingu]

I'm a breastfeeding peer supporter and its true many people don't know the risks they see it as if i breastfeed i can't go out and drink but if i formula feed i can, very good video was watching this while my one year old had his evening feed

[LimboGeezer]

I live in Ireland and work in a restaurant.As you may or you may not know last 20 years there has been a "Baby Boom" in Ireland.In my work of line every day i come across newborns and their mothers.I can't even recall the last time i saw a breastfeeding mother.A whole generation of weakened babies and a life full of health issues awaiting them.It is just disturbing.I am not with an Irish.She is breast feeding.