27th July 1997

Your Health

The natural way is best

by Dr. Sanjiva Wijesinha

When it comes to feeding babies, it is a well known adage that Breast is definitely the Best.

In our country, fortunately the vast majority of mothers feed their babies the natural way - but why exactly is breast milk better for babies?

One of the best reasons is that growth and development of the baby’s brain requires a rich supply of the long-chain fatty acids that are readily available in breast milk. Providing "brain-food" in this easily digestible form helps baby’s brain to grow optimally. Several tests, in fact, have shown that breast-fed babies score higher on IQ tests than their bottle-fed colleagues. Moreover, the composition of breast milk changes not only from feed to feed, but also as baby grows, in order to meet his changing requirements.

Human breast milk is not simply an inert drink; it is actually a living fluid which contains live cells and antibodies that confer protection against infecting bacteria and viruses. These antibodies belong to the IgA group; these enter the intestine and coat the inner lining of the gut, forming a first line of defence against germs that the baby may swallow. Breast milk also contains protein factors that can stimulate cells in the gut wall to turn into Immunocytes that are themselves capable of producing IgA antibodies.

It has been shown that breast-fed babies suffer fewer episodes of diarrhoea, chest infections, colds and allergies than babies fed on artificial milk formulae.

Says Gabrielle Palmer, author of the book "The Politics of Breast feeding":

"If a multinational company developed a product that was nutritionally balanced and tasted delicious, that both prevented and treated disease, that cost almost nothing to produce and could be delivered in quantities that were controlled by the consumer’s needs, the very announcement of their find would send their shares rocketing to the top of the stock market!"

Unfortunately for the multinationals, and fortunately for all of us, such a product was being manufactured by human females long before profits and commercialism came to dominate the world’s thinking.

But the benefits of breast feeding are not confined to the consumers alone - the manufacturers also benefit. When the baby sucks on the breast, the mother’s brain secretes a hormone called Oxytocin, which causes the womb to contract, causing "after-birth" bleeding to cease and beginning the process of getting the mother’s body back into shape. These Oxytocin-stimulated contractions are what are sometimes felt as cramping pains within the pelvis when the baby begins to feed.

The other hormone associated with milk production, Prolactin (which is sometimes referred to as the mothering hormone) exerts a relaxing effect on a breast feeding mother. The act of suckling the infant helps emotional bonding between mother and baby to take place.

An added advantage is that women who breastfeed have been shown to have a lower risk of getting breast and ovarian cancer.

And there is a final bonus.

Breast milk comes in attractive containers - and you don’t have to return the empties!

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