Comments on: Will breastfeeding protect my baby?

By: Shan

Shan — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:05:59 +0000

My son is 9 months old and also breastfed. I read that breastmilk is composed of white blood cells and is like super-food. In third-world countries it’s the only vaccination that babies often get and keeps them alive. I think it’s amazing stuff, and honestly, you can simply LOOK at a baby and tell whether it is breastfed- that says something right there. I think you are doing a great thing for your son and the benifits will last him a lifetime!

Formula companies like to trick Americans into thinking formula is just as good, but think about it- formula is from a COW, the live cells are destroyed by processing, it’s then chemically altered, dried and then ground into a powder. When you compare that to the food that babies are engineered to thrive on it is no comparison. I often wonder if our cancer, heart disease, and obesity rate is linked to the overwhelming use of formula in our country?
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By: Canis Lupus

Canis Lupus — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:39:59 +0000

I would be interested in knowing where "We are the cutest…" is getting her information because there is a lot pf research that shows that breastfeeding is healthier for the baby than bottle feeding. Below are just a couple of links, Google "benefits of breastfeeding" and you will get dozens of hits.

As for your question, the best way to protect your baby from diseases is to insure that all of his immunizations are kept up to date.
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http://www.breastfeeding.com/allabout.html
http://www.motheringfromtheheart.com/Benefits.htm

By: Butterflies

Butterflies — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:12:59 +0000

No, it doesn’t guarantee anything.

In the end, your child’s choices in life, his/her DNA, and the environment will determine their final outcome.

Breastmilk helps a child early on in life by giving him some of the mother’s leukocytes to help fight infections, but this is mostly effective in the baby’s first months of life. But breastfeeding does not guarantee that your child will never get sick, or never have allergies, or never become obese. There are a lot of things breast milk can not do.

I wouldn’t solely rely on breastmilk to cure/prevent/treat any disease or symptom.
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By: LadyRed4u727

LadyRed4u727 — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:04:59 +0000

you would have to contract swine flu and create your own immunities before you can pass them to your baby through your milk so unfortunately, unless you have already contracted swine flu and recovered, your baby will not be protected from the pathogen the good thing is though that your child is not going to be fully defenseless because if you have ever caught any flu (which im dure you have ) then you have built up some kind of immunity and have already passed them to your baby and some defense is definately better than no defense so kudos to you
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By: Dalton's Mommy & #2 due 2/11

Dalton's Mommy & #2 due 2/11 — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:15:59 +0000

He should have a good immune system by now. To tell the truth, it really depends on the child if they are healthy or not. My SIL's kids were both fully breastfed and both are sick way more than my son. I am not knocking breastfeeding I tried and didn't produce anything but a drop of milk and my son was born tongue-tied. Oh, and my son is advanced for his age (So his Dr has always said) so the smarter thing I don't hold to be true either.
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By: Libre

Libre — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:57:59 +0000

If only it was that good... the common cold would have nearly disappeared by then.
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By: Pippin

Pippin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:47:59 +0000

Breastfeeding is not a guarantee of perfect health. But yes, breastfeeding will reduce the risk that baby will get any of a number of diseases (including influenza … and the many complications that can make influenza more serious). It also means that if baby DOES get sick, he will probably be less sick.

EDIT: To correct LadyRed … the moment YOU are exposed to a virus, you begin making antibodies. So, long before you show a single symptom (flu viruses have an incubation period of several days or weeks) baby is getting antibodies. And if your own immune symptom is strong enough that you don’t get sick at all (every person exposed to a virus does NOT get visibly ill), then you may never get sick … and baby will still be protected.
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By: Dee

Dee — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:06:59 +0000

Yes it helps keep him healthy. Your body makes immunities in your milk that help him fight off illnesses. The longer you breastfeed the more benefit for your baby.
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By: We are the cutest kids on Yahoo!

We are the cutest kids on Yahoo! — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:40:59 +0000

NO – breastfeeding is not healthy at all. when the women breastfeed their poor babies, they are putting so many germs and unhealthy things into babies body.
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By: Noodle_Lover

Noodle_Lover — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:54:59 +0000

I’m not sure about Swine Flu, but breast milk definitely helps support your babies immune system…both now while he is feeding and in the future. The benefits of being breast fed are life long.
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D.C.E