Why Breast-Feedingis Still Best for Baby

This fact sheet provideswomen, their families, andtheir health care providerswith a summary of currentscientific evidence that showsthat even in a polluted world,breast is best.

Each of us wants to help our babies be ashealthy as possible. One way to do that is

to breast-feed your baby. Doctors agree thatbreast milk is the best food for your child.

You may have heard that pollution can makeits way into the breast milk of nursing mothers.Does that mean that it is better to feed formulato your baby than to breast-feed?

The answer is NO! Breast milk is still by farthe best food for your baby.

Summary• Breast-feeding is still the best way

a mother can feed her baby.• Breast-feeding is healthier than

formula bottle-feeding for bothbabies and mothers.

• Both baby formula and breast milkmay contain chemicals that may beharmful. However, the good thingsabout breast-feeding outweigh anyrisks from pollution that may havemade its way into breast milk.

• Mothers and mothers-to-be canmake their breast milk safer byeating less animal fat. Animal fat isfound in foods like cheese, meat andfish. It is even better if the womanstarts eating less animal fat a longtime before she gets pregnant.

• Not making or using harmfulchemicals in our environment is thebest way to protect mothers andbabies from the bad effects ofharmful chemicals.

Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility Update Fall 2002

Out of Harm’s Way:

Preventing ToxicThreats to ChildDevelopment

Fact Sheet Series for Patients

Why Breast-Feeding is Still Best for Baby

With all the concern aboutchemicals in breast milk, shouldwomen breast-feed their babies?Yes. While we do not like to havechemicals in breast milk, studies do notfind any increase in health risks for yourbaby from typical levels of chemicals inbreast milk. However, studies do showthat babies fed bottle formula may getsick more often than babies who are

manganese may affect behavior andattention in children. Manganese levelsare highest in supplemented and soy-based formulas.

Women can make their breastmilk even safer.A low-fat diet is best from childhoodthrough adulthood. Because many chem-icals collect in animal fat, it is a good ideafor women to eat less animal fat beginningafter two years of age. This decreases thebuild-up of harmful chemicals in the body.That in turn reduces the amount of chemi-cals in breast milk. Even more important,eating less animal fat decreases the unbornbaby’s exposure to chemicals in mother’sbody that may be harmful.

To reduce animal fat, eat fewer animalproducts in general, and choose nonfator low-fat animal foods such as skimmedmilk and lean poultry, beef, and fish. It isespecially helpful to avoid processed foodsmade from ground meat and animal partssuch as sausage, bologna, hot dogs, andcanned, ground lunchmeats. Eating morefruits, vegetables, beans, grains, and low-fat or nonfat animal products gives yougood nutrition and reduces the level oftoxic chemicals in the body.

Reduce or End the Production ofHarmful ChemicalsMany toxic chemicals that make theirway into food last for years in theenvironment and build up in the body.Other harmful chemicals in products andthe environment do not last as long, butare also dangerous because they canpass easily from a mother’s body to herunborn baby or nursing infant.

As long as our society produces and useschemicals like these, we cause pollutionin the environment, our food, and ourbodies. The best way to keep breast-feed-ing safe, protect the health of babies inthe womb, and offer children the healthystart they deserve is to reduce or stop thecreation and use of harmful chemicals.

Breast-feeding is good formothers, too.Breast-feeding is also good for the healthof mothers. These good things include lessbleeding after the birth, a faster return topre-pregnancy weight, better bone strength,fewer hip fractures in later life, and lesschance of getting ovarian and breastcancers when she is young (still gettingher period).

How do the chemicals in breastmilk affect a baby’s health?Chemical exposures to a baby still grow-ing in the mother’s womb are known tobe bad, but common exposures throughbreast-feeding have not been shown tocause harm to the baby. This may be be-cause the baby is stronger after s/he is bornvs. still in the womb, or because breastmilk helps protect the baby in other ways.

While chemicals in breast milk do notseem to cause harm, breast milk with highamounts of chemicals can reduce some ofthe good things about breast-feeding.Large amounts of chemicals called PCBs,for example, seem to reduce the resis-tance to infection that comes with breast-feeding. As a result, babies who takebreast milk with very high PCB levels mayget sick as much as formula-fed babies.

Baby formula can containchemicals, too.In addition to increasing risks for somehealth problems, formulas also maycontain harmful chemicals like pesticides(which are used to kill insects). Formula isalso high in a metal called “manganese”(10-50 times more than breast milk).This may be bad because too much

Out of Harm’s Way: Preventing Toxic Threats to Child Development

Why Breast-Feeding isStill Best for Baby

The American Academy ofPediatrics says that breast milk isthe best food of all for your baby.

Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility Update Fall 2002

breast-fed. Breast-feeding providesspecial benefits for both babies andmothers. The American Academy ofPediatrics says that breast milk is thebest food of all for your baby.

What are some of the goodthings about breast-feeding?Breast-feeding reduces the chance thatyour baby will get many different dis-eases. Breast-fed babies are less likely toget pneumonia, diarrhea, ear infections,and some other infections caused bygerms. And, if your baby does get sick,the sickness will probably not be as badif your baby is breast-fed.

Breast-feeding also helps the baby’sbrain grow properly, and reduces thechance that s/he will develop asthma,cancer, diabetes, or become overweight.Breast-feeding for longer periods of time(pediatricians suggest at least one year)seems to be even better. Breast-feedingalso helps mother and baby feel closerand more loving.

References to this companion fact sheet can befound in the report In Harm’s Way: Toxic Threatsto Child Development, issued by Greater BostonPhysicians for Social Responsibility (GBPSR) inMay, 2000. It was revised in the Fall of 2002by GBPSR, San Francisco PSR, the Institute forAgriculture and Trade Policy, and Clean WaterFund, California. The 140-page report canbe viewed, downloaded, or ordered athttp://www.igc.org/psr/. It is part of a seriesfor the project In Harm’s Way TrainingMaterials for Health Professionals.

For more information on this and other fact sheetsin the series, contact: Greater Boston Physicians forSocial Responsibility, 11 Garden St., Cambridge,MA 02138. 617-497-7440. psrmabo@igc.org. InCalifornia, you can contact San Francisco Bay AreaPhysicians for Social Responsibility, 2288 FultonStreet, Suite 307, Berkeley, CA 94704. 510-845-8395.info@sfbaypsr.org. Or, Clean Water Fund, 814Mission Street, Suite 602, San Francisco, CA 94103(415) 369-9160. cwasf@cleanwater.org.

This project has been supported by the Jessie B.Cox Charitable Trust, The Richard and RhodaGoldman Fund, the Jewish Healthcare Foundation,the W. Alton Jones Foundation, the Mitchell KaporFoundation, The John Merck Fund, the Alida R.Messinger Charitable Lead Trust, The San FranciscoFoundation, and the Environmental ProtectionAgency, Office of Children’s Health Protection.

✃Printed on process chlorine free paper,30% post-consumer waste, with soy-based inks.Graphics: Stephen Burdick Design; Photo: Julie L. Silas