Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding may decrease Breast Cancer Risk

Breast cancer is the most widely spread cancer all over the world. More than 30,000 women in the United States are expected to die from breast cancer this year. Researchers now believe small family size and reduced breastfeeding may be an important factor fueling this ever-growing epidemic.// Researchers from England evaluated 40 prior studies from 25 countries that included informati...

Breastfeeding not found to have an impact on weight of the child.

Previous studies have suggested breastfeeding may help ward off obesity as children get older.// The theory, though, has been inconclusive, with limited long-term data available on breastfeeding and weight of children into adolescence. Researchers conducted long-term studies aimed at clarifying the situation. In both, investigators followed more than 2,000 children for 18 years to see ho...

Breastfeeding Lowers Maternal Stress

Researchers from Douglas Hospital Research Center in Montreal showed that mothers //who breastfeed their child are more equipped to deal with stressful situations than those who bottle-feed their babies. Although the benefits of breast-feeding are well established, this is for the first time findings had suggested that breastfeeding is distressing for the mothers as well. Researchers f...

Breastfeeding Decline In Middle East Worries UN

Unicef has noted with concern the declining numbers of infants in the Middle East and North Africa who are exclusively breastfed during the first six months of their lives.// "Several high-income countries in the Middle East such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, the UAE and Saudi Arabia maintain patterns similar to industrialised European countries where exclusive breastfeeding is...

Breastfeeding Revisited thanks to WHO and UNICEF

‘Good Health begins with mother.There is no substitute to her milk’// . Breast feeding has been revisited this week due to the efforts of WHO, UNICEF and breast feeding steering committees as a socially acceptable and respectable practice. As the ‘World Breastfeeding Week (Aug 1-7)’ comes to an end of weeklong campaign, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has made...

Breastfeeding: A Boon For Cealiac Disease

Breast fed infants are better nourished and healthier than those that are not. A new study says that breastfeeding may protect children against gluten intolerance, known as celiac disease”// CD, also known as celiac sprue, gluten-sensitive enteropathy, non-tropical sprue, among others, is believed to result from the activation of both a cell-mediated (T-cell) and humoural (B-cell) immu...

Breastfeeding To Reduce Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes

A study conducted has revealed that longer duration of breast-feeding is associated with reduction in risk of development of Type 2 diabetes in the mother.// Previous studies have already provided evidence for improved insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance in lactating mothers when compared to their counterparts. The study is the first of its kind to explore and establish a relations...

Breastfeeding Provides Added Protection To Babies

Babies receive protection from respiratory illness as a result of breast-feeding, according to a Caroline Chantry led research study. As many as 2,277 children belonging to the age group of 6 years to 24 months were studied during the course of the research. // They identified five groups, formula-fed only, full breastfeeding for less than one month, full breastfeeding from one to four months, f...

Another advantage of breastfeeding kids: lower chances of respiratory illnesses

A new study has found out that babies breastfed for six months have reduced respiratory illness that those breastfed for 4 months. This research was conducted by investigators at UC Davis Children's Hospital, //the University of Rochester and the American Academy of Pediatrics, Center for Child Health Research. In the words of Caroline Chantry, a pediatrician with UC Davis Children's...

Breastfeeding Mothers Arrested For Public Indecency

In many states of u.s., mothers who breastfed their babies in public are put under jail for public indecency. // As no act was made to prove that breastfeeding was an adverse thing, clinicians proved it is safe for both mother and child. The U.S. Healthy People 2010 target is to increase the proportion of mothers who choose to breastfeed their babies for at least six months to 50%;...

Rates Of Breastfeeding Increase In Hong Kong

Hong Kong's Department of Health has announced that the efforts made by it to encourage mothers to breastfeed their babies have been successful //and more and more mothers wanted to give their babies' breast milk. The department's Senior Medical and Health Officer Lo Yim-chong said that the rate of breastfeeding in Hong Kong increased to 12 percent in 2004 from 6 percent in 1997. This...

Breastfeeding: To Be Or Not To Be?

A report in The New York Times says that breastfeeding in the US depends on what class mothers belong to. Apparently mothers from professional backgrounds// are allowed to breastfeed their babies, while poor mothers are frowned upon. "I feel like I had to choose between feeding my baby the best food and earning a living," said Jennifer Munoz, a former cashier at Resorts Atlantic City C...

Overweight women tend to give up breastfeeding early

A study in Australia reveals that overweight and obese women tend to give up breastfeeding earlier than normal-weight women.// 1,803 kids and their mothers participated in a large pregnancy study conducted by Dr. Wendy Hazel Oddy of the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in Perth and colleagues. Prior to pregnancy, 18% of the women were overweight of obese. The stud...

Identifying Bottlenecks to Breastfeeding

The finale of the National Breast Feeding week included an All-Ireland Conference that opened up a host of attitudinal challenges// that pose a major hurdle to ensuring more number of breast fed babies. Among western countries, Ireland has one of the lowest breast feeding rates. Internationally acclaimed breastfeeding specialist, Dr Jack Newman of the University of Toronto, said, “In t...

Epidurals Associated With Breastfeeding Problems

A study done by researchers from University of Sydney suggested that having an epidural to relieve labour pains is associated with problems in breastfeeding//. The study results were published in the December 11 issue of International Breastfeeding Journal. Researchers, who studied 1,300 women who gave birth between March & October 1997, found that those who have the anaesthetic are mor...

Breastfeeding Mothers Need Calcium to Guard Against Periodontal Diseases

Breastfeeding mothers should have enough Calcium in their diet, or may risk bone loss around their teeth and gums, reports a recent study. // The study was conducted in rat models of experimental periodontitis by researchers from Tohoku University in Japan to find out whether lactation affects alveolar bone loss, the bone surrounding the roots of teeth. They found lactating mothers cou...

Breastfeeding Benefits may Outweigh HIV Risk

The benefits of breastfeeding outweigh the risks of virus transmission from HIV-positive mothers to their children, according to studies conducted in four African nations.// A study in Zambia showed that exclusive breastfeeding ˉ where a child is fed only breast milk ˉ beyond a set time period of four months did not increase the risk of HIV transmission. The study was a collaboratio...

Milk Firms in Philippines Violate Breastfeeding Code: WHO

Infant milk formula firms in the Philippines are violating a law that bars them from promoting their product as a substitute for breastfeeding, World Health Organization officials said Wednesday. The government and the milk companies are currently battling it out in the Supreme Court over the legality of a law that restricts the marketing of infant formula in a business worth hund...

Breastfeeding Could Cut HIV Risk to Babies

Exclusively breastfeeding a baby till it is six months old could cut the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission, scientists say//. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a life-threatening condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail. Hoosen Coovadia and other researchers from the Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies at the University of Kwa...

Breastfeeding Keeps Breast Cancer At Bay- For Older Mothers

Researchers say that breast-feeding can negate the risks of breast cancer which are heightened in the case of// full-term pregnancies, after the age of 25. The findings of the study were presented at a news conference on Monday, April 16 at the 2007 annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research held in Los Angeles. "Breastfeeding may have a protective effect...

Breastfeeding and Omega-3 Fatty Acids Help New Moms Fight Depression

Breastfeeding and the good fats in Omega-3 fatty acids help new moms fight depression, according to a new article published in the issue// of the International Breastfeeding Journal. "Depression in new mothers is common in many cultures, affecting anywhere from 10 percent to 20 percent of postpartum women. In some high-risk populations, the percentage can even be as high as 40 percen...

Breastfeeding and Omega-3 Fatty Acids Help New Moms Fight Depression

Breastfeeding and the good fats in Omega-3 fatty acids help new moms fight depression, according to a new article published in the issue of the International Breastfeeding Journal. "Depression in new mothers is common in many cultures, affecting anywhere from 10 percent to 20 percent of postpartum women. In some high-risk populations, the percentage can even be as high as 40 perce...

Mum's Death and Breastfeeding Behind Jolie's Appalling Weight Loss

Angelina Jolie has finally revealed the disheartening reasons behind her recent weight loss. The actress, who has been constantly looking frail and emaciated in all her recent public appearances, admitted that she has become too thin. The 'Tomb Raider' star revealed that her worrying weight loss is a result of stress following her mother's demise. "I've...

Decline in Breastfeeding Linked to Child Deaths in Asia: UNICEF

About 160,000 infants die each year in the Asia-Pacific region due to a decline in breastfeeding, a UNICEF expert told a regional conference on Wednesday . There are "roughly 160,000 children dying annually in Eastern and Southeastern Asia whose deaths are attributed to something as preventable and as imminently correctable as sub-optimal breastfeeding," said UN children's agency (...