Infant Formula is Poison, Breast is Best

By Ina Woolcott

Infant formula warning: The poisoning of infants with formula products, and why breastfeeding is best

Over the years, countless studies have been conducted that have shown that when it comes to infant nutrition, breast milk is best. This is still, and always has been true. There is simply no infant formula product that can match, let alone beat, the superior nutrition of mother's milk. In fact - some infant formulas actually contain ingredients that can be harmful to your baby‘s health and development.

Although some formula recipes seem to have improved over time for mothers who must use formula to feed their new baby, many products are still loaded with unhealthy and even dangerous ingredients, obviously making breastfeeding the best way to go for mums. Really, no studies are necessary to prove this in my eyes…

In many hospitals across the USA and England, new mums are given ‘baby starter packs’ during their stay that often contain free samples of infant formula, supplied by formula companies (of course, they are just after promoting their products for the £$£$£$£$).

Massachusetts health authorities at least, have finally seen this as a clever marketing trick, since it implies that the hospital's healthcare providers, in giving new mothers this gift, endorse the use of formula. They have started to encourage breastfeeding by restricting the marketing of baby formula in the state's hospital maternity wards. They have decided that free formula may be made available to mothers who need it, it will no longer be added to gift baskets/starter packs for all new mothers. The restrictions are part of a larger state initiative to educate women about the benefits of breastfeeding, as reported in The Boston Globe. This should be done worldwide! Actually, this should not even necessary. Its not hard to see that breastfeeding is the best!

So, what are some of the benefits of breast milk? First off, to start the long, long list (and this probably isn’t even the all of it!)…

* A special infant-mother bond is forged through breastfeeding that may not be achieved when a child is fed formula

* Infants are OBVIOUSLY designed to drink their mother's milk, not cow's milk or anything other than their mother's milk in their early lives.

* ONLY breast milk holds the nutrients a healthy baby needs, including 160 fatty acids that are not found in ANY baby formula, nor can they be replicated.

* The nutrition a child receives at infancy effects the rest of their lives. Research has shown that breastfed babies have lower incidences, later in life, of chronic diseases like diabetes, asthma, and even cancer. There is also reduced risk for severe communicable diseases like pneumonia, diarrhoea and ear infections.

* A mother's health can also benefit from breastfeeding, as well. As well as having a happy and healthy baby, mum’s who breastfeed often have less bleeding after the birth, lose their pregnancy weight quicker and experience better bone strength, with fewer hip fractures later in life. They may also have reduced risk of ovarian and breast cancer.

Although there is some concern that breast milk has become contaminated in our modern world, it IS the SUPERIOR choice. An analysis of breastfeeding carried out by the Environmental Working Group shows that chemicals like PCBs and PBDEs that accumulate in a woman's body fat are frequently found in trace amounts in breast milk, since breast milk is made up of fat from a mother's body. BUT, the levels of chemicals generally found in breastmilk pose less of a threat than the risks linked with feeding a new baby formula. As mentioned before, this is because babies are not made to drink formula, juice, cow’s milk or any other liquids (including water) besides their mothers milk when they are born, and if they do, poor health consequences can result.

Have you ever looked at the ingredients listed on baby formula? Oftentimes, there are things listed that we as adults, shouldn't even be eating - hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup and cow's milk, amongst many other truly CRAP things. These are ingredients that promote chronic disease, and yet we feed them to our very youngest consumers, to our own flesh and blood, who have no say in the matter.

Of utmost concern in formula, is the ingredient manganese, a neurotoxic chemical found in much higher concentrations in baby formula, particularly soy-based formulas, than in breast milk. According to the EWG, soy-based formulas have about 80 times as much manganese as mother's milk, while animal-based formulas have about 30 times more. High manganese levels have been lined to behavioural problems, such as ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) later on in life. Babies are not able to absorb and excrete excess amounts of manganese during the first year of life, according to the EWG.

On top of the harmful ingredients we know are in baby formula, there are other, less certain risk’s involved with formula feeding, as well.

For instance, chemical and bacterial contamination can occur when bottle feeding. Mixing powdered infant formula with tap water, or even bottled drinking water, can open the door to many water contaminants, such as chlorine by-products, solvents, pesticides, lead, arsenic or nitrates from fertilizer runoff. Similar contaminants can also be found on bottles, nipples or even in the formula itself.

Some formulas can contain way too high levels of metals, such as aluminium, cadmium, lead or worse. The Natural Resources Defence Council reports the following "In the past, (baby formula) recalls have been ordered because of contamination with substances such as broken glass, fragments of metal and salmonella and other bacteria. The fungal toxin aflatoxin has also been detected in some commercial formulas. Although detected levels were very low, this toxin is known to cause cancer and is not present in breast milk."

Infant formula is so detrimental to babies health, that the Natural Resources Defines Council directly blames aggressive marketing of infant formula in underdeveloped countries for "an epidemic of infant death from malnutrition and diarrhoeal illness, a result of the contaminated water used to dilute or reconstitute formula."

The formula industry is an $8 BILLION a year business, (what does that tell you) but the price of using infant formula in place of breast milk may perhaps be much higher than that, as it mean harming young and innocent lives.

Many mothers choose not to breastfeed purely because they see formula as a more convenient option. But are you really willing to sacrifice the health of your new baby just out of, and for, convenience?

If you are medically unable to breastfeed, do some quality, in-depth research and find a formula you can trust to be the next best thing for your baby. If you can breastfeed, PLEASE do. I ask you, mother to mother. Not only will there be a special, strong, deep, bond between you and your child, but the natural choice is also the best choice for you and your baby's health.