After several entries talking about the various food groups, dairy products and their derivatives are pending. To the best known (milk, yogurts, cheese, ...), one should be added that is not usually taken into account as derived from cow's milk, but it is, because it is modified cow's milk: artificial milk.
I am aware that talking about artificial milk is entering slippery ground, basically because there are many women who feel misunderstood and almost persecuted for having given (or had to give) formula milk to their children, however I consider it enriching and necessary explain What are the disadvantages of feeding a baby with this type of milk? Because, just as one talks about what it means to feed a baby with breast milk, one should also talk about what it means to feed a baby with artificial milk.
Making the decision to give artificial milk is not easy. Mothers who breastfeed their children for years feel nostalgic when their child breastfeeds. Women who for some reason stopped breastfeeding when their son was months explain that, if it had been for them, they would have given him more time. If they, who have been able to breastfeed for a while, have the feeling of loss, imagine the feeling of that mother who has tried to breastfeed her child and, for whatever reason, has failed in the first few days.
I still remember my wife, at the birth of Aran, our second child, with 34 weeks gestation, unable to hold the bottle because the first few days had to be supplemented with artificial and breast milk: "Do it Armando, I can not."
By this I mean that if I write an entry talking about the inconveniences of artificial milk it is not for mothers who give artificial milk to feel attacked. The goal is to give breast milk the real value it has (which is a lot), that health professionals realize this and do everything possible to help women who want to breastfeed (focusing their efforts exclusively on them and not to convince those who decide not to breastfeed) , that society in general realizes that "give a bottle that this child is hungry" should not be the solution to the cries of a child and that pregnant women try to inform themselves before giving birth, make a decision to respect and find where to go, in case of problems, even before they appear.
Artificial milk in the world
In developed countries, artificial milk has less impact in terms of health than in developing countries. It is for this reason that Artificial milk is a good option when there are problems of difficult solution with breastfeeding or when a baby of a few days is losing weight day after day and you need to feed until the problem that prevents you from feeding correctly and breastfeeding is restored.
In developing countries, however, there are several problems that may arise from feeding a child with artificial milk:
- Formula milk is free in hospitals, however it is not when the mother and baby return home. The family then has to buy artificial milk for the baby, whose cost can amount to 50% or more of family income. This means that, for it to last longer, the preparation becomes more diluted and the baby is at risk of malnutrition.
As the economic and hygienic conditions of Spain are better, the health risk is much lower. Next we will explain what are the risks and disadvantages of feeding a baby with artificial milk in developed countries like ours.
Disadvantages for the digestive system
Artificial milk has a worse taste and this does not vary. Breast milk has a changing flavor depending on the mother's diet, which can make breastfed babies accept food better when they start trying them.
There is a belief that strong foods give an unpleasant taste to breast milk that causes babies to reject it. It is possible that this happens with some foods, however it has been proven that babies whose mothers have eaten garlic, in an experiment, are taken to the breast with more intensity (come on, they like it).
Artificial milk is digested worse than breast milk. Babies' stomach takes, on average, about three hours to empty. It is for this reason that these babies usually eat every three hours (not because they have to eat every three hours, but because it is when they are hungry again). The maternal instead is digested in half the time.
Babies fed with artificial milk may suffer a delay in the removal of meconium and a higher frequency of gastroesophageal reflux.
In case of aspiration of regurgitated milk (for the baby to breathe it), the risks are greater than if you suck breast milk, since this is specific to the human baby and this makes it less harmful.
The way of feeding is different, since when taking a bottle they do not need to open and close the mouth just. This makes the development of the jaw muscles lower, increasing the frequency of malocclusion and dental fall.
Increased risk of infections
The immune system of babies at birth is very immature, so much so that nature is planning a daily natural oral vaccine, breastfeeding.
Artificial feeding does not contribute anything at the immune level. Comparing it to breast milk, it lacks cells such as phagocytes, which include bacteria, and T lymphocytes, specific IgA and antimicrobial agents such as lactoferrin, which prevents bacteria from using iron as fuel. It lacks lysozyme, fibronectin and mucin that acts as an anti-rotavirus agent, etc. It definitely lacks a large number of cells whose function is to help the baby fight infections.
In summary it could be said that the infant fed with formula milk has a higher risk of infections because the correct development of the immune system depends on breast milk. It has been proven, for example, that the immunological response when a child is vaccinated is superior in breastfed babies (vaccines generate more defenses), than in those who drink artificial milk and who also have less fever after vaccination.
Babies who drink formula milk have more diarrhea and these are more severe, suffer more lower respiratory infections (pneumonia, bronchiolitis, ...), more acute otitis media and more urine infections.
This leads to more medical visits, more hospital admissions, a greater consumption of drugs by these children and a greater number of tests. With more infections and, therefore, more illnesses, parents are absent more from work and obviously suffer more for their children (I don't know if you have ever had a baby admitted to a hospital, but it is one of the more traumatic situations that parents may experience).
To be continue…
In a couple of days we will continue talking about artificial feeding in infants and children, as it is a bit extensive topic.
Photos | Flickr - Steve & Jemma Copley, Dawn Ashley, Daquella Way
In Babies and more | Children fed with formula milk suffer more infections than those who breastfeed, Artificial milk is not sterile, Breast milk saves lives, Breastfeeding or artificial milk: The confusion of new mothers
