Pandora II
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2006
- Messages
- 9,613
makemepretty|1321359888|3062059 said:You can find a study that says anything.
My mom was poor she breastfed but one of us ended up having powdered milk used sometimes when she didn't feel like breastfeeding. Is that one child less smart or less healthy? Nope. He's an engineer and the one who hardly ever gets sick.
Family values, loving home and furthering your education matter tons more than if you're breast fed or not. Otherwise, poor third world countries would be filled with brilliant super healthy people because they don't have a choice if they want to breast feed or formula feed.
You can always find A study that says something, but when lots all say the same thing then it's generally because it's true.
Being breastfed won't mean you are never ill, but it does very significantly reduce the incidences of things like ear-infections and gasteroenteritis in babies as well as increasing the efficacy of vaccinations. This is due both to the make-up of breastmilk, the sucking mechanism used by the baby and the fact that breastmilk is sterile. (I can give you links to a load of studies if you are interested.)
As far as studies being skewed by differences in socio-economic status re whether women can be SAHM or whether the child is in daycare, I don't think this is a problem - a lot of the studies were conducted in European countries where a year is the norm for maternity leave.
Breastfeeding also reduces the risk of breast cancer for the mother.
In the third world, breastfeeding is often the difference between life and death and so a breastfed baby will almost always be healthier than a formula fed baby there.
Anecdotal accounts don't really count - my husband and his brother were both FF, both went to Oxbridge... doesn't prove that FF babies are brighter.
This isn't an antiformula post, and in the first world there is little difference on an individual level, but there are definite advantages to society as a whole in having as many babies breastfed as possible.