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SUMMARY
In the rush to find nutrient
alternatives to breastfeeding, a theme that dominated research on
infant feeding throughout the twentienth century, only recently have
new findings that reconfirm the importance of breastfeeding for
maternal and child health begun to infuence medical texts and health
policy . Appoximately 30 years of increasingly rigorous and positive
research findings have led to the rediscovery of breastfeeding as a
valid and evidence-based health intervention for infants.
Unfortunately, because much of the research was designed to assess
human milk as a nutrient replacement for infant formula, the
literature on the effects of breastfeeding on maternal health remain
limited. Nonetheless, a clear pattern of positive physiologic
changes that lead to improved short-term and long-term health
sequelae are emerging. All patients and their families should be
informed fully as to the positive preventive health effects of
breastfeeding not only infants but also for mothers. Women have many
difficult choices to make; it behooves physicians to ensure that
they receive all of the facts on which to base these decisions.
(The Pediatric Clinic of North America)
BREASTFEEDING 2001, PART I:
THE EVIDENCE FOR BREASTFEEDING
Volume 48.Number1.February 2001
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