Pros of breastfeeding

Over the past 100 years or so, the debate has continued as to whether newborn babies should be breastfed, and if so, for how long.

Economics and education involving a mother in a poor Third World country or one who must go to work outside the home soon after delivery could dictate the choice of breastfeeding versus formula feeding. That debate is now being actively pursued in Israel (“Doctors: Breastfeeding a casualty of marketing war over baby formulas,” September 12).

Among deprived, unenlightened populations, the relative values of the two methods of feeding are often not appreciated. As a result, some babies do not thrive sufficiently to meet their essential needs for proper growth and development.

Allow me to point out that breastfeeding has significant advantages over formula:

• It provides much-needed recurrent physical contact between mother and baby, beneficial for the development of positive social responses.

• It supplies maternal antibodies to the newborn to prevent infections.

• It reduces the incidence of allergic reactions that are often due to protein components in formula.

• It putatively decrease of the chances of the child’s later development of autism.

While rich in some biochemicals, formulas do not contain all of the more than 100 nutrients found in breast milk. As reported by The New York Times in 1981, the vice president of a major US producer once said: “Breast milk from a well-nourished mother is a superior product to ours.” It is hoped that the Health Ministry will consider this issue knowledgeably. GARY STEINMAN Jerusalem The writer is an obstetrician and gynecologist.