Am I reading this correctly? page

[Saoirse]

I have a bit of a headache and general fuzziness of the brain, so maybe I'm reading this incorrectly.
http://pediatrics.aappublications.or...ull/116/3/e432
Are they seriously testing the hypothesis that nursing beyond 1 year might increase the baby's risk of developing heart disease later in life because breast milk is high in saturated fat and cholesterol???

[MariaNYC]

I was going to say "yes," but their actual objective was to compare the qualitative nature of breastmilk among 2 groups: short vs. long lactation.

"The long-term effects of such high fat intake have not been studied."
"Also, because of the changes in diets from childhood to adult years, it may not be possible to determine the influence of prolonged breastfeeding on cardiovascular disease."
"We must point out that, at the present time, the official policy of the American Academy of Pediatrics is not to put any limit on the duration of lactation.1 Moreover, a recent review of biological versus cultural aspects of weaning suggested that, from an anthropologic standpoint based on primates studies, "breastfeeding a child for 2.5 to 7 years is normal for our species." " (emphasis added)

[NutMeg]

Whether continued high saturated fat and cholesterol intake through breastfeeding beyond the first year of life is beneficial is unknown. As quoted earlier, prolonged breastfeeding has been "accused" of possibly inducing long-term endothelial damage and of decreasing arterial distensibility,2, 3, 26–28 but many objections have been raised against this accusation.29–31 The type of fats present in the milk of mothers lactating for >1 year needs to be measured before suggestions of the role in adult heart disease can be mentioned. Also, because of the changes in diets from childhood to adult years, it may not be possible to determine the influence of prolonged breastfeeding on cardiovascular disease.

It looks like they are saying they have no clue. It seems the researchers do not think it is a problem, but that others do.

[Saoirse]

So it was my fuzziness. Though I am confounded that anyone would try to pin adult cardiovascular disease on "extended" breastfeeding.

[NutMeg]

Yeah, the article mentions that too where it says the adult diet changes, etc.

My personal thoughts? Breastmilk changes according tot he need sof the child, between 1-2 years are a huge period of brain development, even CW says to give those children FULL fat milk. So why would a breastfed baby not need the same? It makes total sense to me that the mother would prodcue the fat needed for brain development.

[nonajoy]

I have a bit of a headache and general fuzziness of the brain, so maybe I'm reading this incorrectly.
http://pediatrics.aappublications.or...ull/116/3/e432
Are they seriously testing the hypothesis that nursing beyond 1 year might increase the baby's risk of developing heart disease later in life because breast milk is high in saturated fat and cholesterol???

Long ago, in another lifetime when my babies were little, I was one of the first group of La Leche League leaders, and I can definitely tell you that longer nursing is absolutely beneficial, if mother and baby are comfortable with the idea.

Do some research on your own on all the benefits to nursing an older baby/toddler! If we mothers had listened to the pediatricians back in the 60s and 70s, none of us would have ever been able to breastfeed successfully. Almost all of them sabotaged nursing mothers any chance they had.

This nonsense about mother's milk being high in cholesterol and saturated fat? Maybe it is because mother nature knows that babies and toddlers need these healthy fats for optimum brain development.... do your own research, and never accept just one study at face value.

Find out which corporation sponsored the study! It surely wouldn't have been one of the formula companies, would it?

[avocado]

No, they were not studying the effect of breastfeeding duration on cardiovascular disease, they just referred to a couple other studies which did.

This study was only about determining how the composition of breast milk changes depending on how long a woman has been breast-feeding. In fact, I don't think they studied the infants at all. Just the mothers and their milk.

[Saoirse]

Avocado- that's why I was looking at the study. Admittedly I really didn't read it, but rather skimmed through to look for info (I was trying to find an estimate of how much saturated fat is in breast milk, though I know that breast milk varies considerably in composition based on so many factors). Fuzzy brain=vast reduction in ability to process information. :/

Nonajoy- awesome. I'm sure you've helped hundreds of women breast feed successfully because of your involvement! Luckily, I had an awesome midwife for my first child who slowly and respectfully opened my eyes to quite a bit. As a result, I nursed my son until he was almost 4, my daughter until around 3, and am currently nursing another little bean (so I've been nursing almost nonstop since Dec '03).

I noticed another study which found a significant amount of trans-saturated fat in breast milk. Of course, this could easily be CLA, but my first impression was simply "if it's in there, it's there for a reason." Maybe the answer isn't weaning to formula, but changing the mom's diet!!