17.Aug.2010 SIDS and breastfeeding– the Analytical Armadillo puts breastfeeding as biological norm.

Here’s a great blog post from a kindred spirit.  I have mentioned in the past my bewilderment that we are explaining the benefits of breastfeeding as opposed to detailing the deficits of formula feeding. (An example: breastfed infants have higher IQs vs formula fed infants have lower IQs. Breastfeeding is the biological norm. Data should be presented in reference to that norm — i.e. the story is that formula fed infants have lower IQs).

Blogger “the Analytical Armadillo” looks at breastfeeding and SIDS.  The research is clear: formula fed babies die of SIDS at much greater rates. Why don’t we hear about this? Mothers who are supported can nurse. In the rare instance that nursing doesn’t work, formula is not the first option for infant feeding.  The World Health Organization is clear on this — babies should get mother’s milk at the breast. If that is not possible, babies should get their mother’s milk from a bottle. If a woman is not able to pump sufficient amounts of milk, a baby should get human milk from a bottle.  As a very, very last resort a baby should be given formula.  That the risk of SIDS jumps dramatically with formula feeding is just one example of why it is so important that babies get mother’s milk.

Formula and SIDS — a clear connection. Analytical Armadillo has been thinking about guilt and data. Check out  her blog.  The Analytical Armadillo.