I'm still, more or less, the only source of food for my 14mth old and have
to say am not surprised by this article. Why else would I have a healthy,
well nourished child?
I know not everything natural is good for us, but why do they presume that
this high fat content could be harmful.
Again the question of "would mother nature get it so wrong" comes to mind.
Megan and a happy, happy Hugo.
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of leanne wynne
Sent: Saturday, 10 September 2005 7:39 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [ozmidwifery] interesting article FYI
Fat Content of Breast Milk Increases with Time By Amanda Gardner HealthDay
Reporter TUESDAY, Sept. 6 (HealthDay News) -- The longer a mother
breast-feeds, the higher the fat and energy content of her breast milk .
However, experts are not sure what this finding, which appears in the
September issue of Pediatrics, signifies.
"This is the first study to analyze the fat and energy content of breast
milk of mothers who breast-feed for longer than a year," said study
co-author Dr. Ronit Lubetzky, who is with the department of pediatrics at
Dana Children's Hospital at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in Israel.
"There are more and more women who choose to breast-feed for longer time
periods, and not many studies about the nutritional value of their milk
during this prolonged lactation."
"This is a nicely done study which looked at a question that really needed
to be answered," added Dr. Ruth Lawrence, a professor of pediatrics at the
University of Rochester School of Medicine and a member of the executive
committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics' section on
breast-feeding.
"I think many people's general impression is if you continue to
breast-feed
beyond a year, probably the nutrient value drops, and this is quite
different information and very important."
No one is sure how long mothers should breast-feed, although the American
Academy of Pediatrics recommends that "breast-feeding continue for at
least
12 months, and thereafter for as long as mutually desired."
A reduction in cardiovascular risks in adulthood is one oft-cited benefit
of
this practice. Others, however, have said it might have the opposite
effect.
To determine the fat and energy content of human breast milk at longer
periods, Lubetzky and colleagues sampled the breast milk of 34 mothers who
had been breast-feeding for 12 to 39 months, and compared that with the
milk
of 27 mothers who had been breast-feeding for only two to six months.
They found a startling difference: the fat content in the mothers who had
breast-fed for longer periods of time was 17.5 percent, versus only 5
percent in the short-term group.
The researchers said that, while it was possible that something other than
duration might be affecting the findings, they still felt this was the
most
likely explanation for the difference.
It's not clear what the effects of this higher energy and fat content are
on
a child's health.
"We showed that the milk of mothers who breast-fed more than a year had a
very high fat content," Lubetzky said. "That contradicts the claim that
breast-feeding at this stage has no nutritional contribution. On the other
hand, the long-term effect of such a high-fat intake has not been
studied."
"The constituents of fat and human milk are very different than what we
provide in formula today. One of the most important constituents of human
milk is cholesterol. Formula does not," Lawrence said. "There are many
people who think that probably one of the problems with cholesterol today
occurs because infants have not had any cholesterol in the first few
months
of life; perhaps the body doesn't learn to deal with it. There are studies
that show that young adults have much lower cholesterol levels if they
were
breast-fed than if they were bottle-fed."
Still, Lawrence added, this is an area that needs to be researched
further.
Lubetzky agreed. "Further studies should analyze this milk fat
qualitatively, and try to sort out the influence of prolonged
breast-feeding
on cardiovascular issues," she said.
Another study in the same issue of the journal found, not surprisingly,
that
American hospitals designated as "Baby Friendly" by the World Health
Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund had higher
breast-feeding rates than other hospitals. These hospitals follow WHO's
"Ten
Steps to Successful Breast-feeding."
At Baby Friendly institutions, the rate of women beginning breast-feeding
was 83.8 percent, versus 69.5 percent nationally. The initiation rate at
hospitals with a higher proportion of black patients was only 70.7
percent.
The overall rate of women who breast-fed exclusively during their hospital
stay was 78.4 percent at Baby Friendly hospitals compared with a national
mean of 46.3 percent.
More information
The American Academy of Pediatrics has a policy statement on
breast-feeding.
SOURCES: Ronit Lubetzky, M.D., department of pediatrics, Dana Children's
Hospital, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel; Ruth
Lawrence,
M.D., professor, pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine,
Rochester, N.Y., and member, executive committee, section on
breast-feeding,
American Academy of Pediatrics; September 2005 Pediatrics
Copyright C 2005 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
Leanne Wynne
Midwife in charge of "Women's Business"
Mildura Aboriginal Health Service Mob 0418 371862
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