JEDDAH — Health professionals warned new moms against the common mistake of adding sugar, salt, honey, or any other additives to infant formula. The experts said parents of newborns often blindly follow unhealthy traditional practices, and may be unaware of the dangers of adding certain ingredients to infant formulas. They recommended avoiding giving children under the age of 12 months honey, cow's milk and egg whites. According to Saudi consultant neonatologist and lactation consultant, Dr. Ruqayah Al-Attas, over 1.4 million children under the age of 5 from around the world die each year as a result of lack of natural breastfeeding. Exclusive breastfeeding is the ideal form of feeding and meets all the nutritional requirements of the infant in the first six months of the baby's life. “Breastfeeding provides far more than an optimal source of nutrition for the infant. The antibodies found only in a mother's milk boost the infant's immune system and protect the baby against respiratory and ear infections and diarrhea. Breastfed babies also have decreased risks of developing chronic illnesses later in life, including allergies, asthma, diabetes, and obesity,” said Al-Attas. None of the antibodies found in breast milk are found in manufactured formulas. A recent study reported in Pediatrics revealed that the risk of dying from sudden infant death syndrome among exclusively breastfed infants who were not given any infant formula was 73% lower than bottle fed infants. “Breast milk promotes sensory and cognitive development for the infant's rapidly growing mind. The close contact and bonding that occurs during breastfeeding contributes to the emotional well-being of both mother and baby,” added Al-Attas. Several studies have demonstrated that breastfeeding enhances neurological development of infants and their intellectual and scholastic ability in childhood. Some studies even suggest that children who were exclusively breastfed have slightly higher IQs than children who were formula fed. The increase in IQ is directly related to the duration of breastfeeding. “Unlike manufactured formula, the components in breast milk are easily digested and absorbed and are gentle on the newborn's immature digestive system. On average, breastfed babies have fewer incidence of diarrhea, constipation, and colic than formula fed infants,” said Al-Attas. Health rewards of breastfeeding extend to the mom as well. Breastfeeding burns calories and helps shrink the uterus, so nursing moms may be able to return to their pre-pregnancy shape and weight quicker. Studies indicate that breastfeeding helps lower the risk of breast cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases and also may help decrease the risk of uterine and ovarian cancer. During prenatal care, more extensive efforts are needed on the part of the woman's obstetrician, nurse, dietician and other hospital staff to educate pregnant women on the importance of breastfeeding and its advantages over formula feeding. Hospitals in the Kingdom should endorse policies that encourage women to breastfeed. Some steps hospitals can take to ensure successful breastfeeding include: Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding. Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within 1 hour of birth, and placing baby on mother's chest almost immediately after birth. A lactation consultant should visit each mother in her room after delivery to show her how to get a successful start to lactation. Give newborn infants no food or drink other than breast milk, unless medically indicated. Practice “rooming in”— allow mothers and infants to remain together 24 hours a day. Encourage breastfeeding on demand. Give no pacifiers or artificial nipples to breastfeeding infants. Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to them on discharge from the hospital. A neonatologist at Al-Hammadi Hospital in Riyadh complained that many young women base their decision to not breastfeed on inaccurate information and false misconceptions. “Many mothers refuse to breastfeed because they believe that it will distort the shape of their bodies. Others are concerned that the baby may go hungry and since they cannot see how much milk he sucked as in a bottle, they cannot tell whether the baby is receiving adequate nutrition or not. These fears are groundless because breastfeeding does not ruin the shape of the mother's body and if the baby was not getting enough milk, he/she would definitely cry loud enough to let the mother know and maybe even the neighbors too. For many women, they pick bottle feeding as an easier way out. The husband, mother, sister, or domestic worker can help out with bottle feeding, but with breastfeeding, it is only the mom who misses out on rest and sleep at night to feed the baby,” said the doctor. Young moms need all the support they can get to maintain breastfeeding. Friends and family can help out in other ways, such as cooking meals, cleaning up, doing the laundry and looking after the baby when he is not hungry so the tired mom can take a much needed nap.
