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- Knowledgebase: Newborn Questions: General
- Questions about the care of newborns, rashes, stooling.
- 9. What are the advantages and disadvantages of breast-feeding? - Top
- Q: What are the advantages and disadvantages of breast-feeding?
A: Breast-feeding is the best form of nutrition for human infants. Formulas have tried for decades to match the benefits of breams milk but many of its advantages are still beyond our scientific knowledge.
Children who are breast-fed have less infections than children who are not. The breast milk both delivers directly immunity factors and indirectly promotes the baby's own immune system to be more active. The proportions and type of nutrients in breast milk promote better growth with less long term weight problems. There are yet unknown factors in breast milk that reduce allergies and asthma or decrease the severity of these problems Breast-fed babies have lower- incidences of some cancers and inflammatory diseases of the bowels. Breast milk may increase intellectual functioning in all children and has been shown through research to increase premier IQ by 8.3 points when tested. There is some recent research showing that the contents (fat, protein, minerals and lactose) appear to change as a baby grows, apparently adjusting to the needs of the child. The only disadvantage to breast-feeding is the fact that only a mother can do it.
As with many things, nature provides the best answer and the obvious answer is for human babies to receive human milk. Despite this, the percentage of mother's breast-feeding ranges from 20 to 50 percent depending on location.
- Updated: March 25, 2001
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- Knowledgebase: Newborn Questions: General
James L Horwitz, MD
David C. Thomas, MD
Barbara Lindberg, PNP