What harm will not breastfeeding your children do?

[Tanya]

formula is there for a reason...

it should be for families left raising a baby when mother has abandoned the baby, has died, has a severe illness (like cancer, where the medication is NOT compatible w/ breastfeeding), or some other serious situation and a family member is not willing or able to be a wet nurse. Or when mother is available, but has had double mastectomy or something like that.

What should I know about infant formula?
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/milk/i...rmula.html

There have been several countries who have stepped in, for the health of their nation's children and have begun to regulate formula, bottles and other artificial infant feeding supplies. Most are available ONLY by doctor's prescription and can only be purchased at regulated pharmacies. http://www.unicef.org/nutrition/index_24805.html

"surely people who are not breastfed grow up to be perfectly fine?" well no one is completely immune to everything, not even adults who were exclusively breastfed for the first 6-9 months, then adding table foods and weaning from the breast completely at 3 or 4 or 5 years old.

but really poke around online and see how even when genetically and environmentally predisposed to having some kind of condition, allergy, disease, etc... that when you take a group of X# of babies who were breastfed and X# of babies who were not, or only limited to the first month or so of breastmilk... that OVERALL the breastfed babies turn out healthier.

that's not to say that a breastfed baby will not be allergic to anything... but, just a made up example: if a baby is born genetically predisposed to being allergic to 5 different types of food - breastfeeding may help him be only allergic to 2 or 3 of those foods instead............ isn't that worth it?

Here's a great list, 101 Reasons to Breastfeed Your Child, it even has references if you want to research where these reasons came from... http://www.promom.org/101/index.html