Orthomolecular therapy

BREAST FEEDING, THE SAFEST NUTRITION FOR THE BABY

Breastfeeding and safety for the baby
This title means that breastfeeding is the safest way to give the baby enough nutrition, to support their resistance, to stimulate their growth physically and mentally to provide them of the most important minerals and vitamins and to lay the foundation for their health later on. There is no artificial nutrition which can do the same. The taste of breastfeeding changes and adjusts itself at the needs of the child. Also the mother produces antibodies against infections in their surroundings and passes it on to the child. It is important that the mother stays healthy and get feed well.

Breastfeeding is not only the best food for babies, but it is also important for women, families, the community and the world.
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The advantages of breastfeeding for the baby
As described above, breastfeeding gives the child what it needs and also protects it against Sudden Infant Death. With bottle-feeding diarrhea occur 3 to 14 times more than with breastfeeding. Also after vaccination there are higher levels of antibodies to be found with children with breastfeeding. Other advantages of breastfeeding are:

• It prevents eczema (if the mother does not drink too much cow milk), food allergies, and allergic lung diseases, catching colds, inflammation of the middle ear and throat infections 
• Less risk on urinary tract infections
• Prematures who are fed with milk from the breast, have a higher IQ at the age of 8 years, than children who are bottle fed 
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The advantage of breastfeeding for the woman
Mostly breastfeeding ought to be a pleasure for mother and child. It is ideal packed and usually on the right temperature. Giving breastfeeding right after the delivery slows down the flow and releases the placenta from the womb. More advantages for the woman are:

• Having less chance of developing:
  - Breast cancer
  - Ovarian cancer
  - Anemia
  - Osteoporosis 
• Breastfeeding is excellent for the communication between mother and child. 
• Saves time to prepare the bottle and have to take care of a sick child 
• It mostly prevents a next pregnancy, which gives the mother more time to recover and enjoy her child.
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The advantages for the family
Breastfeeding cost much less. Artificial nutrition can cost 20-90% of the housekeeping money. Not to mention the costs of sick children. The price of artificial nutrition can be so high in poor families that other children do not get enough nutrition. To eat healthy food and give the baby breastfeeding is the best and cheapest solution.

The advantages for the community
Breastfeeding is the best way to take care of a food shortage, especially in acute situations. It is strange that artificial nutrition is often given by the poor people in the north of America. On the other hand, women who live in countries where they starve, the children are more often breast fed than in the countries where the women are better fed. The milk seems have a better quality. If artificial nutrition is given in the area’s, the amount of breastfeeding decreases. That is a pity because breastfeeding is better for the health, the chance of survival and the IQ. This will only benefit the community. 
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The advantages for the world
The world is much polluted. Breastfeeding has no waste products and prevents for waste products which has to be processed. For artificial nutrition they need to process plastics, paper (for commercial, etc.), metal, glass and wood (to heat the water, sterilization etc.). Every year 140 million babies are born all over the world. Fortunately most of them are breast fed. They have calculated that if all babies are in the U.S. A get breast fed, this would have the next advantages:

• It saves 86.000 ton metal for the cans and 1.230 ton paper for the labels. In Pakistan 4, 5 million feeding bottles were sold in 1987. This causes many waste products like plastics, glass, rubber and silicones. 
• To sterilize and boil water, fire is needed, if it would be done with wood, it would take 73 kg wood a year. 
• In the pans and kettles where the water is boiled in, material often runs free which is dangerous to the child.
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Toxic materials in breastfeeding 
Because of the pollution of the earth and many deficits of minerals in nutrition, toxic materials are able to enter the breastfeeding. Toxic materials like PCB’s, dioxins, pesticides and heave metals have been found in little amounts with a few women. This should not be a reason to stop breastfeeding. Many investigations have shown the advantages of breastfeeding, despite the risk of the toxic materials. Toxic materials are found in all aliments. As well as in cow milk as in soymilk. 50% of the PCB’s and dioxins get into the human body through cow milk. Dioxins are found in many packages and milk cans. Artificial nutrition gives more chances to poisoning than breastfeeding, but for economic reasons we do not hear much about it.
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Health, nutrition and pregnancy
It is important to be healthy, especially when you want to become pregnant. Good nutrition and a healthy lifestyle are needed. Babies with a low birth weight have more chance of infections and other diseases with chance to an early death. Also later on they have more chance to diabetics, coronary’s and brain hemorrhages.
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The colostrums
The colostrums are the first milk from the mother and this contains many anti-viral qualities for bacteria’s and increases the immune system of the child. It also contains a high level of vitamin A. Next to Sink, vitamin A is an important substance for our immunity system. They used to give children vitamin A and D. Vitamin A was, wrongfully, given a bad name because it damages the unborn child. However if vitamin A is not taken in enough, it also causes deviations with the fetus, according to a Japanese investigation.
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Iron shortage
This occurs to a lot of woman, especially during pregnancy, and to children. Anemia causes premature birth, a low birth weight and less reserves of iron which can make mother and child often sick. Mother milk has a low level of iron but babies who are breastfed, hardly ever suffer from anemia. The iron from mother milk is absorbed very well. Even if the mother has an anemia, the child gets enough. Artificial nutrition cannot compete with this.
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Vitamin A
Breastfeeding contains a high level of vitamin A with healthy women, which is important for the child. Many children have a deficiency for this vitamin. The consequences are: very sensitive for infections which can cause death, it causes slowdown in the growth, night blindness, and anemia. Children, who are breastfed, seldom have a vitamin A deficiency, even if the mother has one.

So breastfeeding is the best and safest way for the child, most economic, naturally, best for the environment and for the future of mankind and the earth. Important is that the mother has the chance to be healthy. The child deserves this right.
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Literature

• Jensen et al, Handbook of Milk Composition 1995:836.
• Orton et. al. 1996:165 Investments in breastfeeding promotion are among the most cost-effective health intervention available.
• Prentice and Prentice, 1988:78
• Women: the key to food security. International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC
• Breastfeeding: A national Resource for Food Security. Wellstart International, Washington,DC
• World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, gelieerd sedert 1991 met Unicef: 07/06/2002.

J.Beunk
Homeopatisch en Orthomoleculair arts
Orionweg 23
2024 TA Haarlem
Tel. 023 5271612, fax. 023 5261203