I love this blog! 101 Reasons to Breastfeed!

You know those people who say "formula is almost exactly the same as breastmilk!" You know how you always cringe when people say that but you never have the comeback you want? Here is that come back-

101 Reasons to Breastfeed

I actually had a friend of my sister-in-law call me an idiot on facebook because I mentioned that premies can be saved with pumped human breastmilk. She insisted that Similac is preferred in NICU wards to save the lives of premies. I casually mentioned that many NICUs are now creating milk-banks to store and serve human breastmilk for the purpose of saving lives. Anyway, why argue with idiots who have a tremendous amount of mama-guilt!?

I digress, this post has 101 real, supported with citations, reasons to breastfeed. Some of my favorites are:

#49: "Formula costs the government (and taxpayers) millions of dollars
The U.S. government spends more than $2,665,715 a year to provide formula for the children of non-breastfeeding mothers participating in the WIC supplemental food program. Of course, this doesn't take into consideration the additional costs of caring for those infants who are statistically much more likely to get sick. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, higher breastfeeding rates could reduce US health care costs by $3.6 billion per year."

Riordan, J "The cost of not breastfeeding: a commentary" J Hum Lact 1997; 13(2) 93-97

A.A.P. Breastfeeding Policy Statement: Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk Pediatrics Vol. 115 No. 2 February 2005

(http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;115/2/496)

#56 "Breastfed babies are less likely to die before their third birthday

Not only are breastfed babies less likely to contract life-threatening diseases, they are better able to combat any illnesses that may develop."Van Den Bogaard, C. "Relationship Between Breast Feeding in Early Childhood and Morbidity in a general Population."Fan Med, 1991; 23:510-515

#98 "No worry about latest ingredient discovered to be missing from formula

There is no formula that can duplicate human milk because, as the FDA recognized in a recent statement "...the exact chemical makeup of breast milk is still unknown." "Formula-fed infants depend on products which can be quite different from each other, but which are continually being found deficient in essential nutrients... These nutrients are then added, usually after damage has occurred in infants or overwhelming market pressure forces the issue." "

M. Walker, R.N., International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, The Journal Of Human Lactation, Sept 1993