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Birth, Joy, & Raspberry Leaves
-a new video compiled by Catherine and Amanda Young
of The Compleat Mother

Go HERE for more information on the waterbirth video! 

Click here to read: The Farmer and the Obstetrician

Click here for the Home Sweet Homebirth (Video)

Side Effects of Not Breastfeeding Newborns

By the year 2000, the US Department of Health and Human Services wants 75% of new mothers to initiate breastfeeding.

The lofty goal is unlikely. Data from 1996 indicate only 58% of American  moms breastfeed their newborns, says Karin Cadwell, Ph.D. The number of women who don't   breastfeed is troubling, given the wide range of benefits to mothers and infants, said the faculty member of the
Healthy Children 2000 Project and director of Baby-Friendly USA, the organization that implements the UNICEF Baby-Friendly hospital initiative in the United States.

Maternal benefits of breastfeeding include an earlier return to prepregnant weight, delayed resumption of ovulation with increased child spacing, improved bone remineralization postpartum, reduced risk of ovarian cancer, and a reduced risk of premenopausal breast cancer, said Dr. Cadwell, who
is also a registered nurse.

The disadvantages to infants, children, and adults of not being breastfed include:

Gastrointestinal Illness   At least 400 infants die annually in the United States from diarrheal disease; an estimated 250-300 of these deaths are attributed to not being breastfed.  Other gastrointestinal disorders such as
Crohn's disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and celiac  are minimized  in people who were breastfed.

Respiratory Illness. Between 500 and 600 infants die annually in the United States from acute respiratory disease attributed to not being breastfed. The risk of fatal or nonfatal respiratory infections is two- to fivefold higher among
formula fed infants.

Otitis Media occurs more frequently in infants who are not breastfed. Bacteremia and Meningitis  There is a fourfold higher risk of bacteremia and meningitis among babies who are not breast-fed.

Juvenile Diabetes  More than 100 studies indicate that breast-feeding can delay or prevent the onset of diabetes in  children said Dr Cadwell.

Malignant Lymphomas  A six- to eightfold increase in the risk for developing lymphomas among children younger than 15 years has been found in children who were not breastfed for at least 6 months.

Breast Cancer  Having been breastfed as a child  reduces breast cancer risk in women over 40 by more than 25%.

Pediatric News 33(1):37, 1999

Greg Cryns
The Compleat Mother Magazine
5703 Hillcrest
Richmond, Illinois 60071
Phone: (815) 678-7531