What harm will not breastfeeding your children do?

[maegs33]

Your partner is correct in saying that breastfeeding prevents allergies and eczema.

Does that mean that ALL breastfed babies avoid developing allergies and eczema? No. Does that mean that formula fed babies WILL develop allergies and eczema? No. It just means that statistically, breastfed babies have fewer allergies and suffer from fewer 'skin conditions' than formula fed babies.

(See: "Breastfeeding May Lower Allergy Risk
Group Issues New Guidelines to Prevent Food Allergies, Asthma, and Eczema in Babies"
http://children.webmd.com/news/20080107/...ergy-risk)

As with most things, as a parent you don't want to be told that one of your choices might affect your baby adversely, but if you choose to formula feed, you're accepting that statistically, your child might be more prone to ear infections, respiratory problems, certain types of leukemia, obesity, diabetes, and I mean the list goes on and on.

Does that mean that *every* formula fed baby will have health problems? Absolutely not! However, the government and scientific studies have proved the benefits and the risks. Two generations now have been raised on mass marketed cow-based formula, so on average people turn out to be OK (well, other than the obesity epidemic, high rates of cancer and heart disease,) but why take the chance? Why raise your baby's risk if you don't have to?

There is a lot we are just now beginning to uncover regarding the long term health implications of not breastfeeding--including higher breast and ovarian cancer rates in women who never nursed (or were never nursed themselves!) an obesity epidemic, celiac disease, Type II Diabetes, Crohn's Disease--even high rates of heart disease are now being tied to babies who were not fed breastmilk in their early months and whose bodies were unable to process cholesterol later on.

Think of it this way, say a person has a potential to reach a 10 in health and intelligence. If they are breastfed, they might reach a 9, while if formula fed they might reach 7. There might be another person who has a potential to reach a 7 and even if breastfed, they'll only reach a 7.

Obviously, giving a child formula is better than starving them, or better than feeding them evaporated milk from a can with corn syrup (what formula was like 40 years ago.) However, by choosing not to breastfeed, the health of the mother and the baby is statistically more at peril.