Welsh singer CHARLOTTE CHURCH is urging new mothers to breast feed their babies
http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/church%20promotes%20breastfeeding%20initiative_1068407
She says, “It was reassuring knowing that Ruby had extra protection from chest, ear and stomach infections, as well as from diabetes and allergies. On top of that, breastfeeding is free and really convenient.”
Breastfeeding halves rheumatoid arthritis risk
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=561555
“Women who breastfeed their babies longer are less likely to get rheumatoid arthritis, Swedish researchers say.”
“Mothers who breastfed for 13 months or more were half as likely to get the painful joint condition as women who never breastfed.”
“Breastfeeding is known to provide multiple benefits for the baby and studies have shown the practice may also protect mothers from breast and ovarian cancers.”
This news article on the same study I mentioned earlier is quite amusing. See the line in bold.
Breast milk goes straight to the head
http://www.smh.com.au/news/health/breast-milk-goes-straight-to-the-head/2008/05/06/1210131045828.html
“At the age of 6½, children who had been exclusively breastfed scored 7.5 points higher in verbal intelligence tests and 5.9 points higher in overall IQ tests. Teachers also rated the breastfed children better at reading, writing and mathematics.”
“Doctors could not rule out the possibility that breastfeeding women were simply brighter, or were likely to interact more with their children.”
“Our study provides the strongest evidence to date that prolonged and exclusive breastfeeding makes kids smarter.”
Breastfeeding reduces risk of cot death by third: study
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iE57zlWu3pVtk1bNliRqmkhXT17A
“Breastfeeding a baby can reduce the risk of cot death by a third… This conclusion shows that the more breastfeeding you do, the healthier the baby.”
Breastfeeding appears to boost kids’ IQ and school performance: study
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gmevM3DMQG78F-YAQcLYU4FdwOrg
“‘Prolonged, exclusive breastfeeding appears to give children a cognitive advantage over formula-fed kids, increasing IQ by three to four points on average and boosting later academic performance.’”
“‘Our study provides the strongest evidence to date that prolonged and exclusive breastfeeding makes kids smarter,’”
“By the time children reached an average age of 6 1/2, those in the breastfeeding group scored higher on tests measuring verbal intelligence, non-verbal intelligence and overall intelligence. Breastfed children also performed significantly higher academically than formula-fed children.”
“‘But if you consider for the whole population shifting the mean (IQ score) up three or four points, that means fewer difficulties for kids at the lower end and more Einsteins and Mozarts at the high end.’”
“‘I think this (prolonged, exclusive breastfeeding) is a goal that’s achievable by the vast majority of mothers,’ he said. ‘Those who cannot - and there are some who cannot - and there are some who could but don’t want to, have other ways of stimulating their children and improving their IQ, like reading and playing with their children.’”
“‘And it might even be that the effect that we’re seeing is not something in the (breast) milk but has something to do with the nature of the contact, the physical contact or with what transpires between the mother and the baby verbally or emotionally at the time of the feeding, and that maybe is transposable to other feeding modes.’”
“The Canadian Paediatric Society recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, although a mother can continue to breastfeed along with giving solid foods until the child is two years or more.”
Does breastfeeding protect a woman against breast cancer?
http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2008/04/21/does_breastfeeding_protect_a_woman_against_breast_cancer/
“There is a 2 percent drop in breast cancer risk for each five months of breastfeeding.”
” It has long been known that the fewer menstrual cycles a woman has over the course of her life, the lower the risk of breast cancer.”
“Breast-fed infants are less likely to become obese.”
Breast-feeding seen to curb type 2 diabetes later
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSCOL37053320080313?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews
