breastfeeding is not as beneficial as once thought - Page 2

[Heba]

Yes, very odd slant put on the study. The conclusion of the published abstract is simply: "Maternal androgen levels in mid-pregnancy are negatively associated with breastfeeding."

As Mike Brady from Baby Milk Action so aptly puts it, a more appropriate headline might have been "Excess male hormone leads mothers to bottle feed and harms babies claims scientist."

Great response from the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative in the UK, taking issue with the author's claim that breastfed babies are only "slightly" healthier than formula-fed babies"
http://www.babyfriendly.org.uk/items...l.asp?item=620

Has anyone managed to see the original research paper yet? You need access to the journal, so I've only seen the abstract. I'm particularly interested in the funding, and what prompted Professor Carlsen to make such prepostorous claims about breastfeeding versus formula feeding when his research simply does not seem to back this up.

[sweetpeppers]

"the baby's overall health is all determined before he or she is born."

That's like saying, because my mom formula fed me and we ate nothing but processed foods growing up, that I shouldn't bother eating healthy now, because well my health is already spoken for. You can always improve health, by improving nutrition! And a living food, is always going to be nutritionally superior to a chemical concoction like formula!

[PatioGardener]

Does anyone have the full citation for the study? I can't find it. Thanks.

[smpayne]

It's the whole environment/lifestyle vs genetics debate. The truth is, both play a significant part and neither should be overlooked. I also believe that the environment/lifestyles of our ancestors can effect the gentetics of future generations.

[BabyMae09]

That article doesn't even use proper English. The phrasing was odd and the headings were unprofessional. Not valid. IGNORE!

[MonkeysRUs]

Below is a link to an article that I received today that has a very good
explanation of what the original study is about and why it does not back
up the claims being made in the newspapers:

http://www.nhs.uk/news/2010/01Januar...stfeeding.aspx

[Claire and Boys]

What I don't understand is this:

So the research found that babies born to mothers with high androgen levels were less likely to be breastfed. They were also likely to have poorer health.

The media reports seem to indicate that the poorer health was linked to the androgens NOT the lack of breastfeeding. But how would they know this? I mean, how do we know that androgens affect infant health? That wasn't at all clear to me from the research or any of the media reports I read.

[pacificbliss]

I can't find any primary literature on this. Does anyone have a journal name for it?

[MonkeysRUs]

Originally Posted by pacificbliss

I can't find any primary literature on this. Does anyone have a journal name for it?

Mid-pregnancy androgen levels are negatively associated with breastfeeding. Sven Magnus Carlsen, Geir Jacobsen, Eszter Vanky Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, January 2010, Vol. 89, No. 1, Pages 87-94.

[MonkeysRUs]

Originally Posted by Claire and Boys

What I don't understand is this:

So the research found that babies born to mothers with high androgen levels were less likely to be breastfed. They were also likely to have poorer health.

The media reports seem to indicate that the poorer health was linked to the androgens NOT the lack of breastfeeding. But how would they know this? I mean, how do we know that androgens affect infant health? That wasn't at all clear to me from the research or any of the media reports I read.

The only thing the research showed was that women who have high levels of androgens (male hormones) mid pregnancy tend to breastfeed less. There was nothing in the research about the health of the babies, or other reasons why the women may not be breastfeeding.

The comments about the health of babies having more to do with hormones than breastfeeding is a hypothesis. It is speculation on the part of the researcher, and not very logical speculation at that! The researcher has made many ignorant comments about formula being just as good as breastmilk (if he is being quoted correctly), but his comments are personal opinion. They are not backed by any research.

[annettemarie]

This article had some interesting info about the study.

[Heba]

Originally Posted by PatioGardener

Does anyone have the full citation for the study? I can't find it. Thanks.

I'm sorry, I referred to it not realising that it had not been given earlier in the discussion.

MonkeysRUs has already given the citation - the abstract can be found here:
http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs...16340903318006

I'd really like to read the whole article, but the price per view is just too much .

[Claire and Boys]

So in other words -

What the study does show is that mothers who have higher than normal androgen levels during pregnancy are more likely to have breastfeeding problems, and therefore their infants are also more likely to suffer poorer health as a result of less breastfeeding. So, the ideal response would be, this could be used to identify women who are most likely to have breastfeeding issues pre-birth by testing hormone levels and offer them additional support and help to enable them to breastfeed.

[Pirogi]

I find this article extremely offensive, from a feminist perspective. Your baby is sick a lot? Has asthma? Well, it's because your body sucked at growing a baby, and you are mannish.

Or how about: see that lady over there? The one who insists on exercising? Yeah, the one who acts like a man, always having her own opinions and using her brain? Well, she can't grow babies well at all. Someday maybe we can stop "those women" from growing their defective babies all over the place.

Really, even with the current level of complete social mistrust of women's bodies, this is just too much.

[kriket]

Originally Posted by sweetpeppers

You gotta figure someone who eats real food is going to have a healthier nursing babe than someone who lives on processed food, coffee and soda.

eh, he seems to be doing alright.

[Equuskia]

So breastfeeding is perfectly fine for the other ~5400 mammals on earth, but for humans, it's just not that great...