Benefits of Mother's Milk Outweigh Risks
Posted on: Tuesday, 27 May 2008, 00:00 CDT
By Dr Safurah Jaafar
I REFER to your report "Toxins in mother's milk" (New Sunday Times, May 11).
The Health Ministry is concerned over the recklessness and insensitivity of the report, especially with regard to certain statements which seem to belittle breast-feeding and favour infant formula.
This clearly goes against the ministry's breast-feeding policy whereby mothers are encouraged to breast-feed their infants exclusively with breast milk for the first six months of the infant's life and thereafter to continue breast-feeding along with appropriate complementary foods up to the age of two years.
Your report has generalised the findings of a small-scale study on a group of mothers. It is certainly inappropriate to assume that all mothers are exposed to environmental contaminants on a similar scale, when, in fact, studies have shown that factors such as age, diet, cigarette smoking, occupation and geographic location of the mother influence the body burden of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) on varying scales.
Your report also failed to mention that the benefits of breast- feeding far outweighs the risks. It has been extensively documented that the practice of feeding babies infant formula rather than breast milk imposes numerous health risks to infants.
As an example, formula-fed infants are at a high risk of exposure to life-threatening bacterial contamination.
Bacterial contamination of powdered infant formula, notably Enterobacter sakazakii, can cause fatal outcomes in newborns.
Formula-feeding is also linked to a higher incidence of respiratory illnesses, allergies as well as later an onset of chronic illness such as diabetes mellitus and cancers.
Formula manufacturers may claim a similarity between the composition of breast milk and their products; however, it is impossible for any artificial feed to duplicate breast milk. The decision to feed an infant should always be made after carefully weighing the benefits against the risks. The Health Ministry has, for decades, fought against the onslaught of infant formula and sought to protect, promote and support breast-feeding.
For that reason, the Code of Ethics for Infant Formula Products was published in 1979 to provide ethical guidelines for marketing of infant formula products in Malaysia for manufacturers and distributors of such products.
In conclusion, the ministry would like to reiterate its firm commitment to support, protect and promote breast-feeding as a norm in our society. We are of the opinion that unbiased scientific data must always form the basis of any drawn conclusion.
DR SAFURAH JAAFAR
Director, Family Health Development Division
Ministry of Health Malaysia
(c) 2008 New Straits Times. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Source: New Straits Times
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