Breastfeeding

• Lowers Cholesterol and Heart Disease
• Lowers the Mother's Risk of Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Removing Formula from Hospitals Increases Breastfeeding Rates
• Lower Blood Pressure

Cholesterol and Heart Disease

We are all aware of the short-term benefits of breastfeeding, but in a recent study in the May 15th, 2004 Lancet, the power of breastfeeding was shown to affect a kid’s cholesterol level during their teen years. Specifically, breastfed kids have 14 percent lower cholesterol than their peers – which can be interpreted as a 14 percent reduction in the risk of heart disease. Infant nutrition appears to permanently alter the lipid profile later in life, and breastfeeding reduces the risk of developing atherosclerosis, and therefore cardiovascular disease in general.

Lower the Mother's Risk of Rheumatoid Arthritis

A recent study of 80,000 women compared mothers who breastfed their babies three months or less with women who breastfed their babies accumulatively two years or longer. The study found the women who breastfed their babies longer had a 50% reduced risk of developing Rheumatoid Arthritis, a chronic auto-immune disease in which a person's own immune system attacks their joints. The longer the breastfeeding, the lower the risk.

Removing Formula from Hospitals Increases Breastfeeding Rates

As revealed in the September 2005 Journal of Pediatrics, researchers at Boston University School of Medicine found that hospitals which do not accept free formula samples from formula companies have 80% of their new moms and babies leaving the hospital exclusively breastfeeding. Unfortunately, hospitals that send new mothers home with free formula samples only have a rate of 45% exclusively breastfeeding moms.

This campaign is part of a program referred to as the ‘Baby Friendly’ Hospital Initiative started by the World Health Organization and UNICEF. To earn “baby-friendly” status, a hospital must adhere to ten guidelines pertaining to the support of breastfeeding, including only feeding newborns breast milk, unless a medical indication requires formula, and not giving patients free or low-cost formula. This program was implemented by these reputable world class institutions in order to reduce the instance of unnecessary formula feeding.

Lower Blood Pressure

A study of 4,700 children showed that breastfeeding resulted in lower blood pressure during childhood. Moreover, the longer a baby was breastfed, the lower their blood pressure. While the overall decrease in blood pressure was very slight for each child, the cumulative health benefits in improved cardiovascular health on an entire breastfeeding population would be considerable.