(Part I ) Several reasons why "Breast is Best" for your child...or someone's child that you may know. Men, you can lactate too (discussed in a later blog)

  Why do we always try to fix things that don't need to be fixed?

• Margarine and Crisco 
• what was wrong with butter? We wanted longer shelf life and a cheaper price. We ended up with the creation of trans fat and more heart disease. That worked well.
• (Just FYI avoid all food products that contain "partially hydrogenated" oils. These are trans fats. Even if the container says "0 trans fats" they are permitted to say that as long as it is under a certain amount. Translation = if you eat more than 1 serving, you are getting a sizable portion of trans fats. These fats took unsaturated fats, saturated them (add max amount of hydrogen ions) BUT the reaction tends to go backwards. So hydrogen comes off and forms a "trans" bond. So although trans fats are unsaturated. They are not healthy like the natural mono- and poly-unsaturated fats that we consider good (olive oil, avocados etc.) because these have "cis" bonds. Result - it Raises our LDL cholesterol (bad) and lowers our HDL (good cholesterol)

• In summary - avoid "partially hydrogenated" oils and this has nothing to do with breast feeding - I digress.
• GMO (genetically modified ) Foods
• We wanted to improve soybeans - we ended up with a company called Monsanto who now OWNS the patent for the genes of these GMO soybeans and is monopolizing the market. That also worked well

• Marriage                                                                                                                                 

• We want to fix marriage. The quick fix to prevent infidelity, divorce, and other marital problems. We ended up with Mort Fertel
•  
• I did not know that E from Entourage was a marriage councilor. These people were not staged at all....yea. Regardless - with piles of self help or other people helping you to help yourself books / seminars/ sessions of quick marriage fixes. We still end up with a high divorce rate. Success?Not really.
• How about what we feed our babies?
• Breast milk was not free enough, accessible enough, called for too much/too close of contact with our babies. Our fix; formula. I will let you decide how this one ended up...
• p.s. amidst this we created bottles also.
  "Dirty bottles contributed, and still do, to the deaths that result from exposure to germs everywhere in the environment and from a failure of formula to provide the many things in breast milk that kill all kinds of germs," said Dr. Sally Lederman. 

Dr. Lederman, a wonderful faculty member of ours here at Columbia's Institute of Human Nutrition in New York and a dedicated lactation expert has a few words with which to enlighten us:

 You Have a Baby. It Needs Food.

 It does not take an M.D. or D.O. after your name to figure this one out. We think babies are so helpless and fragile. Having been in the OR for several cesarean sections and vaginal births - let me tell you - the human body (devoid of serious health disparities), even as a child, is resilient, stronger than we give it credit for and DESIGNED TO SURVIVE.

According to Dr. Eugene Dinkevich, Pediatrician at Suny Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY, Babies are most alert right after birth. According to Dr. Sally Lederman, special lecturer and lactation expert at Columbia University, NY, if a baby is placed on the mother's abdomen - skin to skin - shortly after birth, then newborn will wiggle their way up to the mother's breast and try to feed/suckle.

Instead what do hospitals do? They take the baby away to administer a Vitamin K shot, Hepatitis B Vaccine, eye care to prevent eye infection, metabolic screening (to check for phenylketonuria - inability to break down phenylalanine which is a milk component - and diseases of the blood), hearing test and the ever famous APGAR test which looks at the babies : heart rate, muscle tone and reflex, skin color, breathing, and overall reflex. **Note** your baby did not just take the MCAT, LSAT, or an IQ test... I can't tell you how many times I have heard parents boast about their babie's APGAR test. Parents - it has nothing to do with their intelligence or aptitude to be a professional athlete, but breastfeeding does...but I am not going to tell you about that yet. Keep reading. (info from www.womenshealth.gov )

The BIGGEST INSULT - - often even when mother's say they want to breastfeed - the babies are still taken away to be tested, the moms are given a breast pump and the babies are given formula and warmed in a heated bed and wrapped like a burrito (which does take a particular skill set I might add).

Two things:

1. According to WomensHealth.gov all of the testing can wait except for the APGAR (due to possible presence of previously undiagnosed health issues of the baby.)
2. Everyone likes a warm burrito but babies are for nurturing and not for eating.
• Mom's warm chest offers warmth and mom's breast offers nutritious food tailored to the baby's age and length of feed. 

Name a formula that can do that. 

This blog post is going to be two posts so look for the sequel soon! .... See a preview of the next post below...

Also - note - this blog is meant to provide useful and educational material to expose all readers to what I am learning and finding to be very valuable information. This information is based on my background in cellular and developmental biology, print journalism, and the education I am currently receiving here at Columbia University Institute of Human Nutrition, and living life each day to the fullest. I hope you enjoy because I am certainly enjoying writing for YOU!

WHAT is to come?!!

Formula Costs Money$ ; Breast Milk is Free.

Talk about eliminating the middle men...er industries.

The Female Breasts Need at Least Two Purposes. 

We multi-task in everything else that we do - why shouldn't our breasts have an equal opportunity to do the same?

Conclusion: Breast is Best.

It is cheesy but true. I don't care what fallacy I am committing claiming an absolute - this is my blog and I think breastfeeding (and breasts) are the best way to go.

I welcome all criticism with confidence.  

Comment below or write to BrittanyKunza@gmail.com