Is it a correlation?

[Angie676]

http://desertwind.us/images/bfrates.jpg

I took the chart (in black) from Kelly.mom, and added the infant mortality rates (in red) from the CIA WorldFactbook.

What do you think of the correlation? Is it just coincidence? How many would I have to do to show a correlation? (Who's into statistics around here :LOL )

Does anyone know of a more complete listing of breastfeeding rates by country?

[IdentityCrisisMama]

I’m interested in the stats. I think there are many other factors to consider.

I’m sure there are many countries with a high IFM and high BFing rates so I’m not sure what that would do to your hypothesis.

Somewhere in BFing and Advocacy is a good link to some medical article on the relationship btw. IFM and BFing. Did you see that one?

[Angie676]

Thanks for your input!

I wanted to try with different countries but I need to find out if there is bf data anywhere that have been collected in a relatively consistant manner, from country to country. I guess I'd have to separate countries by level of development, as well.

No, I hadn't seen that article, does anyone have the link? It may take me a while to locate it.

Do you suppose it is irresponsible to put these numbers together, then (by irresponsible, I mean misleading)? I was thinking that you can "correlate" without implying a direct relationship. It is an awfully small number of countries, though.

[IdentityCrisisMama]

I don’t think it’s irresponsible, per say, but I’m not sure there would be any relevance.

I do think that the graph could be misleading if there’s no statistical or scientific significance *unless* you make it quite clear that you’re just experimenting with the data.

I’ll find that article for you!

[Angie676]

Okay, I added a big, red, "For discussion only" at the top.

[IdentityCrisisMama]

http://pediatrics.aappublications.or...ull/113/5/e435

Something that might be good for you to look into if you’re going to pursue this is the charts that deal with prenatal, labor and birth culture and IFM. Some of those charts are very well done from what I remember.

I think they give the stats and *more importantly* explain the correlation (if that’s the correct term).

I think you would have to kind of give an overall explanation for each country (or region) because, even with FF rates, the reasons for IF vary ~ same thing with high BF rates and high IFM.

[IdentityCrisisMama]

Originally Posted by Angie676

Okay, I added a big, red, "For discussion only" at the top.

Cool! For the record, I think it’s a good ~ responsible thing to discuss.

[velcromom]

You may find the charts here interesting and helpful :

http://www.naturalfamilyonline.com/B...la-report2.htm

[IdentityCrisisMama]

Great link!

[IdentityCrisisMama]

Incidentally, there’s a big discrepancy between the actual annual number of lives saved between the article I linked and the one VM linked.

I’m inclined to believe the information in VMs link partially because the article I linked seems quite on the cautious side.

[Ruthla]

You might want to email that to Kelly (of kellymom) and get her input as well. She might even want to add some of that info to her site.

[yamilee21]

Here are some more links that could provide you with further information:

From the World Health Organization, infant & child (under 5) mortality rates:
2002 - http://www.who.int/child-adolescent-...y_Rates_02.pdf

2000 - http://www.who.int/child-adolescent-...y_Rates_00.pdf

From UNICEF, international breastfeeding data (excludes Western Europe, Canada and the United States):
http://www.childinfo.org/eddb/brfeed/test/database.htm

[Bleu]

One reason the United States has such a high rate of infant mortality is poverty and the lack of universal healthcare. The health care the poor and/or uninsured receive is completely different than what more affluent infants have access to. I don't have the stats handy, but take a look sometime at the gap between white and nonwhite infant mortality. It's disgusting that a country of such affluence can so wholly fail its most vulnerable.

I speculate that in years past, the lack of healthcare access actually helped many infants from underserved families -- higher rates of breastfeeding and home births because they couldn't afford (though they may have aspired to) bottle-feeding and hospital births. My mom will tell you that her grandmother and mother birthed at home because they were "so old country." They had midwives from their ethnic community and, while I don't know what their skill level was, they respected their clients and didn't introduce any freaky resistant staph infections.

Sorry, kinda drifty, but this is a really thought-provoking thread!

[IdentityCrisisMama]

Actually, the link in post #8 disputes the race or poverty link:

"It’s commonly said that formula feeding does not risk lives in industrialized nations where education and medical advances prevent increased deaths. The evidence is quite to the contrary. Some insist that the blame for the United States’ relatively high infant death rate lies with underprivileged communities. Again, it has been shown that elevated death rates among U.S. blacks cannot be attributed to poverty. Hispanic Americans rank similarly to African-American populations for socio-economic factors, but they match non-Hispanic whites in their lower infant mortality rates. The difference is not socio-economic; rather, it’s in rates of formula use versus breastfeeding.82-84"





Here we get into this other problem that these really are “just” studies and one will say one thing and the next another.


Like you Blu, I have a hard time seeing that privilege, health care and money *aren’t* a significant factor.

Perhaps the link is saying is that it isn’t these things that actually contribute to the IFM (the higher IFM is related to the formula (in their study). But, maybe we can still say that the *formula* is caused by poor health care, lack of certain privilege and poverty.

[Angie676]

Thank you ALL for taking the time to pull up those links, post them, and summarize them.

I assure you I will read them, perhaps not this week, but soon!

Thanks again, for making good points and supporting them. That's why I love this site.

[Sustainer]

Thank you for collecting that data and putting that chart together and sharing it!