Risks of Artificial Milk

Breast milk is our biological normal. UNICEF list of key health differences between breast and non-breastfed babies is kept updated on their website. The studies have all been adjusted for social and economic variables and conducted in an industrialised setting so are relevant to the UK. UNICEF have identified some of the risks to your baby from artificial milk:

Increased risk of respiratory infections

Increased risk of gastroenteritis

Increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

Increased risk of obesity

Increased risk of Types 1 and 2 diabetes

Increased risk of allergies like asthma and lactose intolerance, eczema.

Increased risk of ear infections

Increased risk of urinary tract infections

Increased risk of childhood leukaemia

Feeding at the breast promotes normal oral-facial development

Your body expects to breastfeed a baby, and not breastfeeding increases your risk of:

Increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer

Increased risk of osteoporosis and hip fractures

Increased risk for postmenopausal cardiovascular disease

The World Cancer Research Fund includes breastfeeding as one of the top ten recommendations to reduce the risk of the disease.

A UNICEF report Preventing Disease and Saving Resources 2012 published findings that for just five illnesses, moderate increases in breastfeeding would translate into cost savings for the NHS of £40 million and tens of thousands of fewer hospital admissions and GP consultations.

Human babies are born at relatively immature stage of development due to the fact that we walk on two legs rather than four and the fact that we have a large brain. Babies as a result are born very dependent on their mother's body to help them continue their development outside the womb. Breast milk is part of this development, and it changes as your baby grows.