Breast-feeding babies may not actually have the wide-ranging long term health outcomes we think it does, according to new research published in the journal Social Science & Medicine and reported on www.independent.co.uk
Dr Cynthia Colen, a sociology professor at Ohio State University in the US, looked for the first time at a sample of families where one or more siblings had been breast-fed while others had been bottle-fed. In apparent contrast to perceived wisdom and international health advice, she found that, if anything, those who were breast-fed suffered more from long-term health issues.
Explaining why previous studies have consistently found that breast-fed babies end up being healthier on average, Dr Colen said these projects suffered from “selection bias”. Factors like a mother’s employment, age and family income skewed the figures, she said, because a mothers who breastfeed statistically have greater than average education, resources and wellbeing themselves.
Dr Colen stressed that her findings do not oppose the view that breastfeeding, in the short term, has clear health benefits for young children. But with the issue of breast versus bottle proving “statistically insignificant” in the long term for children with the same family background, she said her results showed it was time to focus on other, more important factors.
“I’m not saying breast-feeding is not beneficial, especially for boosting nutrition and immunity in newborns,” Colen said. “But if we really want to improve maternal and child health in this country, let’s also focus on things that can really do that in the long term – like subsidised day care, better maternity leave policies and more employment opportunities for low-income mothers that pay a living wage, for example.”
To get more information on the study visit www.independent.co.uk
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