For whoever needs them. They're all from public health agencies. Hopefully everyone already knows this stuff...but then again maybe not so check it out and then pass them on. 
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services says:
http://www.4woman.gov/Breastfeeding/index.cfm?page=227
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says:
http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/895_brstfeed.html
The American Academy of Pediatrics says:
http://aappolicy.aappublications.org...rics;115/2/496
An extensive list of links to many of the relevant studies can be found at the bottom of the page.
The American Dietetic Association says:
http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg...8_ENU_HTML.htm
http://www.eatright.org/ada/files/servenp.pdf
The World Health Organization says:
http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/.../en/index.html
http://www.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA55/ea5515.pdf
UNICEF says:
http://www.unicef.org/nutrition/inde...stfeeding.html
Dr. Miriam Labbock, UNICEF's Senior Advisor on Infant & Young Child Feeding and Care says:
http://www.unicef.org/nutrition/2396...ctpromote.html
The Pan American Health Organization says:
from their publication, Quantifying the Benefits of Breastfeeding: A Summary of the Evidence:
http://www.paho.org/english/ad/fch/bob-main.htm
So...do you want to learn more about the studies that were used by all these health organizations to draw such strong conclusions?
Ginna Wall, MN, IBCLC, in "Outcomes of Breastfeeding Versus Formula Feeding" lays out in meticulous annotated detail many, many studies on various health topics impacted by breastfeeding and provides complete references to the appropriate benchmark studies. If you are wondering why all the health organizations above have drawn such strong conclusions, this document will do much to answer your questions. Some of the topics are new areas being studied and preliminarily affirm that human milk may play a protective role. Other topics have been better studied and are considered conclusive evidence of breastfeeding as the protective physiological norm.
Topics covered: candidiasis, diarrhea, gastroenteritis, giardia, haemophilus influenza, meningitis in preterm infants, necrotizing enterocolitis, otitis media (ear infection), pneumococcal disease, respriatory infections (both general and protective effect against exposure to tobacco smoke), respiratory syncytial virus, salmonellosis, sepsis in preterm infants, urinary tract infections, anemia and iron deficiency, autoimmune thyroid disease, constipation and anal fissures, cryptorchidism (undescended testicle), esophageal and gastric lesions, gastroesophageal reflex, inguinal hernia, lactose malabsorption, morbidity and mortality, pyloric stenosis, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, toddler illnesses, wheezing, allergies in general, allergic rhinitis, asthma, eczema, bedwetting, brain activity in infants of depressed mothers, brainstem cognitive and motor development in preterm infants, gastrointestinal and immune development, hormones, immune development and vaccine response, IQ, neurological psychomoto and social development, thymus development, visual acuity, appendicitis, bone mass, cancer, cardiovascular disease and cholesterol concentration, celiac disease, diabetes mellitus, helicobacter pylori infection, haemophilus influenzae meningitis, inflammatory bowel disease, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, menopause (timing of), multiple schelerosis, obesity, oral and dental health, parent-child relationships, schizophrenia, stress resilience, tonsillitis, transplant recipients. Maternal effects: breast cancer, endometrial cancer, esophageal cancer, hodgkin's disease, ovarian cancer, thyroid cancer, uterine cancer, cardiovascular health, diabetes, emotional health, fertility, menopausal symptoms, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, postpartum weight loss, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, urinary tract infections. Societal effects: child abuse, child spacing, environment, financial costs to government and families (food expenses, medical expenses), vaccine effectiveness.
Outcomes of Breastfeeding Versus Formula Feeding
Hope this helps someone.
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services says:
Quote:
| "...infants who are not breastfed have a 21% higher postneonatal infant mortality rate in the U.S." "Recent studies show that babies who are not exclusively breastfed for 6 months are more likely to develop a wide range of infectious diseases including ear infections, diarrhea, respiratory illnesses and have more hospitalizations." |
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says:
Quote:
| "Breastfed babies are healthier and have fewer infections than formula-fed babies." "Breast-fed babies have fewer illnesses because human milk transfers to the infant a mother's antibodies to disease." " Human milk contains at least 100 ingredients not found in formula. No babies are allergic to their mother's milk, although they may have a reaction to something the mother eats. If she eliminates it from her diet, the problem resolves itself." |
The American Academy of Pediatrics says:
Quote:
| "Breastfeeding is best for babies, mothers, and families. It is as simple as that." "Human milk is species-specific, and all substitute feeding preparations differ markedly from it, making human milk uniquely superior for infant feeding. Exclusive breastfeeding is the reference or normative model against which all alternative feeding methods must be measured with regard to growth, health, development, and all other short- and long-term outcomes." "Research in developed and developing countries of the world, including middle-class populations in developed countries, provides strong evidence that human milk feeding decreases the incidence and/or severity of a wide range of infectious diseases including bacterial meningitis, bacteremia, diarrhea, respiratory tract infection, necrotizing enterocolitis, otitis media, urinary tract infection, and late-onset sepsis..." "Some studies suggest decreased rates of sudden infant death syndrome in the first year of life and reduction in incidence of insulin-dependent (type 1) and non–insulin-dependent (type 2) diabetes mellitus, lymphoma, leukemia, and Hodgkin disease, overweight and obesity, hypercholesterolemia, and asthma in older children and adults who were breastfed, compared with individuals who were not breastfed." |
An extensive list of links to many of the relevant studies can be found at the bottom of the page.
The American Dietetic Association says:
Quote:
| "Breastfeeding is also a public health strategy for improving infant and child health survival, improving maternal morbidity, controlling health care costs, and conserving natural resources." "Breastfeeding, especially exclusive breastfeeding, during the first 6 months of life is an important factor in reducing infant and childhood morbidity and mortality. Breastfeeding decreases the risk for a large number of acute and chronic diseases. Breastfeeding decreases the incidence and severity of diarrhea and gastrointestinal illnesses, lower respiratory infection, otitis media [ear infections], bacterial meningitis, necrotizing enterocolitis, malocclusions or misalignment of teeth, allergic diseases, childhood asthma, childhood leukemia, childhood obesity, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Evidence continues to accumulate confirming the benefits of breastfeeding in reducing the risk for cardiovascular diseases and type 1 diabetes. Breastfeeding also has been linked with enhancement of cognitive development, with some studies showing evidence that these cognitive developmental benefits increased with the duration of breastfeeding and extended through the school-age years." |
http://www.eatright.org/ada/files/servenp.pdf
The World Health Organization says:
Quote:
| "The vast majority of mothers can and should breastfeed, just as the vast majority of infants can and should be breastfed. Only under exceptional circumstances can a mother’s milk be considered unsuitable for her infant." "Infants who are not breastfed, for whatever reason, should receive special attention from the health and social welfare system since they constitute a risk group." "Mothers, fathers and other caregivers should have access to objective, consistent and complete information about appropriate feeding practices, free from commercial influence. In particular, they need to know about the recommended period of exclusive and continued breastfeeding; the timing of the introduction of complementary foods; what types of food to give, how much and how often; and how to feed these foods safely." |
http://www.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA55/ea5515.pdf
UNICEF says:
Quote:
| "Breastfeeding is the perfect way to provide the best food for a baby’s first six months of life, benefiting children the world over. But breastfeeding is so much more than food alone; breastfeeding protects babies from diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections, stimulates their immune systems and improves response to vaccinations, and contains many hundreds of health-enhancing molecules, enzymes, proteins and hormones." "Attainment of this goal requires, in many countries, the reinforcement of a "breastfeeding culture" and its vigorous defense against incursions of a “bottle-feeding culture.”" " Many mothers neither exclusively breastfeed for the first six months of the baby’s life nor continue breastfeeding for the reommended two years or more, and instead replace breastmilk with commercial or other substitutes. Formula feeding is expensive and carries risks of additional illness and death...." "If every baby were exclusively breastfed from birth for six months, an estimated 1.3 million additional lives would be saved and millions more enhanced every year. Breastfeeding also eliminates the expense of infant formula or other substitutes and the incalculable emotional and economic cost of illness and death resulting from problems associated with artificial feeding." |
Dr. Miriam Labbock, UNICEF's Senior Advisor on Infant & Young Child Feeding and Care says:
Quote:
| "...formula, at its best, only replaces most nutritional components of breastmilk. Breastmilk changes with the time of the day, the duration of suckling and the age of the child. In addition, breastmilk carries passive factors that fight disease, and when breastfed, the infant gets active living cells from the mother that help combat disease." "... in the first few months, it is hard for the baby’s gut to absorb foreign substances. If you give even one feeding of formula or other foods, you may be causing micro-injuries to the gut and it takes weeks for the baby to recover. In any case, you will disrupt the living cells and normal bacteria that inhabit the gut and support digestion. The act of breastfeeding itself stimulates proper growth of the mouth and jaw, and secretion of hormones for digestion and satiety." " There has never been a study that shows any advantage of formula feeding over breastfeeding." |
The Pan American Health Organization says:
Quote:
| "Each year new evidence contributes to our knowledge of breastfeeding's role in the survival, growth, and development of a child as well as the health and well-being of a mother." " This summary of the evidence of breastfeeding's impact on health outcomes makes a powerful case for protecting, promoting, and supporting a life-saving resource that ensures the best start in life for newborns." |
http://www.paho.org/english/ad/fch/bob-main.htm
So...do you want to learn more about the studies that were used by all these health organizations to draw such strong conclusions?
Ginna Wall, MN, IBCLC, in "Outcomes of Breastfeeding Versus Formula Feeding" lays out in meticulous annotated detail many, many studies on various health topics impacted by breastfeeding and provides complete references to the appropriate benchmark studies. If you are wondering why all the health organizations above have drawn such strong conclusions, this document will do much to answer your questions. Some of the topics are new areas being studied and preliminarily affirm that human milk may play a protective role. Other topics have been better studied and are considered conclusive evidence of breastfeeding as the protective physiological norm.
Topics covered: candidiasis, diarrhea, gastroenteritis, giardia, haemophilus influenza, meningitis in preterm infants, necrotizing enterocolitis, otitis media (ear infection), pneumococcal disease, respriatory infections (both general and protective effect against exposure to tobacco smoke), respiratory syncytial virus, salmonellosis, sepsis in preterm infants, urinary tract infections, anemia and iron deficiency, autoimmune thyroid disease, constipation and anal fissures, cryptorchidism (undescended testicle), esophageal and gastric lesions, gastroesophageal reflex, inguinal hernia, lactose malabsorption, morbidity and mortality, pyloric stenosis, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, toddler illnesses, wheezing, allergies in general, allergic rhinitis, asthma, eczema, bedwetting, brain activity in infants of depressed mothers, brainstem cognitive and motor development in preterm infants, gastrointestinal and immune development, hormones, immune development and vaccine response, IQ, neurological psychomoto and social development, thymus development, visual acuity, appendicitis, bone mass, cancer, cardiovascular disease and cholesterol concentration, celiac disease, diabetes mellitus, helicobacter pylori infection, haemophilus influenzae meningitis, inflammatory bowel disease, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, menopause (timing of), multiple schelerosis, obesity, oral and dental health, parent-child relationships, schizophrenia, stress resilience, tonsillitis, transplant recipients. Maternal effects: breast cancer, endometrial cancer, esophageal cancer, hodgkin's disease, ovarian cancer, thyroid cancer, uterine cancer, cardiovascular health, diabetes, emotional health, fertility, menopausal symptoms, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, postpartum weight loss, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, urinary tract infections. Societal effects: child abuse, child spacing, environment, financial costs to government and families (food expenses, medical expenses), vaccine effectiveness.
Outcomes of Breastfeeding Versus Formula Feeding
Hope this helps someone.
:
You rock!! Awesome.
