Breast Is Best for Babies: Prevention of Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus

An association between early exposure to cow’s milk protein and risk for insulin-dependent. Adapted from: WHO/UNICEF. Protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding: The special role of maternity services. A joint WHO/UNICEF statement. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 1990:31 (suppl 1):171-183.72 mellitus has been reported in many studies. Bovine serum albumin may provoke an immunological response in genetically susceptible individuals, which then cross-reacts with a beta-cell surface protein, p 69. The expression of this protein on the surface of beta cells is believed to mediate their destruction by exposing them to immune attack. Destruction of beta cells may lead to the development of diabetes mellitus. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding and avoidance of commercially available cow’s milk and products containing intact cow’s milk protein during the first year of life in families with a strong history of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

Table 3. Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding
Every facility or agency providing maternity services and care of newborn infants should:
1. Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all health-care staff.
2. Train all health-care staff in skills necessary to implement this policy.
3. Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding.
4. Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within a half-hour of birth. .
5. Show mothers how to breastfeed and how to maintain lactation even if they should be separated from their infants.
6. Give newborn infants no food or drink other than breast milk unless medically indicated.
7. Practise rooming-in (allow mothers and infants to remain together 24 hours a day).
8. Encourage breastfeeding on demand.
9. Give no artificial teats or pacifiers (also called dummies or soothers) to breastfeeding infants.
10. Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to them on discharge from the hospital or clinic.

Prevention of Hypertension
There is evidence that breastfeeding may protect against high blood pressure in later life. In a recent study, Martin et al. found that for every three months of breastfeeding, the children had a 0.2-mm Hg reduction in systolic. The reduction in blood pressure, though small, is significant and may have important public health implications.

Prevention of Certain
Several studies have suggested that breastfeeding may prevent or delay the onset of celiac disease, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Further studies are necessary before a definitive conclusion can be made. Nevertheless, it is prudent to recommend that mothers with a family history of these conditions breastfeed exclusively for six months.

Prevention of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Several studies have suggested that breastfeeding may be protective against sudden infant death syndrome. None of the studies, however, has controlled for the sleeping position and household smoke exposure. Thus, a casual relationship remains unproven.

Maternal Health Benefits
Health gains for breastfeeding mothers include lactation amenorrhea, decreased postpartum bleeding, early involution of the uterus, postpartum weight loss, and protection against ovarian cancer. The Collaborative Group on Hormonal Factors in Breast Cancer combined data from 47 epidemiological studies (n=50,302) conducted in 30 countries to examine the relation between breastfeeding and breast cancer (Nolvadex canadian is an anti-estrogen used to treat or prevent breast cancer). The group found that the relative risk of breast cancer decreased by 4.3% (95% CI 2.9-5.8; pO.OOOl) for every 12 months of breastfeeding in addition to a decrease of 7% (5-9; pO.OOOl) for each birth. The

Table 4. Summary of the WHO/UNICEF International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes and Subsequent WHA Resolutions
1. No advertising of products under the scope of the Code to the public.
2. No free samples to mothers.
3. No promotion of products in health-care facilities, including the distribution of free or low- cost supplies.
4. No company representatives to advise mothers.
5. No gifts or personal samples to health workers.
6. No words or pictures idealizing artificial feeding, including the pictures of infants on the labels of the product.
7. Information to health workers should be scientific and factual.
8. All information on artificial feeding, including the labels, should explain the benefits of breastfeeding and all costs and hazards associated with artificial feeding.
9. Unsuitable products, such as sweetened condensed milk, should not be promoted for babies.
10. All products should be of a high quality and take into account the climatic and storage conditions of the country where they are used.
11. Foster appropriate complementary feeding from the age of about six months, recognizing that any food or drink given before complementary feeding is nutritionally required may interfere with initiation or maintenance of breastfeeding.
12. Ensure that complementary foods are not marketed for or used in ways that undermine exclusive and sustained breastfeeding.
13. Financial assistance from the infant feeding industry may interfere with professionals’ unequivocal support for breastfeeding and should be avoided.
* WHO: World Health Organization; UNICEF: United Nations Children’s Fund; WHA: World Health Assembly; Adapted from World Health Organization: International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes, WHO, Geneva, 1981 and subsequent WHA resolutions.73 longer women breastfeed, the more they are protected against breast cancer. Breastfeeding also gives the mother a sense of fulfillment and enhances maternal-infant bonding. generic evista

Economic Benefits
From the economic perspective, breastfeeding is less expensive than formula feeding. Breastfeeding is environmentally friendly. The decreased rates of various illnesses in breastfed infants translate into savings for medical care. Exclusive breastfeeding also promotes child-spacing.

Category: Health

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