50% Less Ear Infections and 90% Less Hospitalizations for Babies? Where Do I Sign Up?

Probably the two most stressful thing for parents of babies - and the babies themselves - are ear infections and having to have your child hospitalized.

What if there were a drug or device that would automatically cut ear infections by 50%* and hospital admission rates by 90%**?  Would you get it?  Pay a lot for it?  Of course!

What if it was breastfeeding that produced these results?  What if the longer and more exclusively you breastfed, the more protection it gave your baby?

Common sense says that given these benefits, that all women would breastfeed.  So why are the breastfeeding rates in the U.S. criminally low?

It's a simple matter of education.  Primarily, it's doctor's lack of education.  Did you know that formula companies not only sponsor many medical events and schools around the country, but actually sponsor classes on the benefits of formula?  Did you know that on average, doctors only receive 30 minutes of instruction on the benefits of breastfeeding?  Shoot, you get more education in my online audio breastfeeding module than your pediatrician or OB ever will.  Not a fair fight, in my opinion.

Add to that the aggressive marketing done by formula companies....

• "Here's a gift of formula from the hospital, sweetie."
• "Have that can of formula in your cupboard...just in case" 
• "You're going to want dad to feed the baby sometime, aren't you?" 
• "You can't possibly exclusively feed 2, 3, or 4 months" 
• "You can't possibly breastfeed and work."
• "Babies really do sleep better being fed formula or rice cereal" 
• "You were formula fed and you turned out just fine."

No wonder our rates are so low.  Add to that that we are one of the few developed countries in the world who doesn't offer incentives for breastfeeding.  For example, in Switzerland you are given at least $500 for breastfeeding your baby for 6 months, because they recognize the add value to the overall health of the community and national health care that breastfeeding provides.

Now there is yet another study confirming a slew of others...breastfeeding reduces the rate of ear infections, hospitalization, respiratory infections, eczema, and meningitis.

This study was also different than others because it examined the effect of exclusive breastfeeding compared to partial breastfeeding with additional formula. Partial breastfeeding had no substantial protective effect. Apparently, formula feeding decreases immunity. The authors suggest that their findings suggest an immunomodulatory effect of breastfeeding "hampered by the introduction of formula feeding."

Please watch this wonderful video

To learn more about breastfeeding, please visit Birthologie.com