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I have been told I should stop breastfeeding because my osteoporosis and I need help finding a good organic formula. I have seen a lot of posts on this site of other mom's who were forced to do the same and I am hoping someone can help...I am lost. Thanks for any info.
Cancer Fractures Cervical cancer Breast cancer Ovarian cancer Estrogens Osteoporosis Stress
Suza i believe this doctor is 100% correct in recommending mcgee to stop breastfeeding. I wish i had listened to my doctor and stopped sooner, im sure i would have not have suffered the 6 fractures i did. I now believe after my experience that putting your baby on formula is far better than risking your own health. I was in a wheelchair and could barely give my baby a cuddle let alone give it the love and attention it so desperately needed from its mother.
Please dont tell these women that they will be fine to go against their doctors wishes.
And mcgee i cant help you with a formula i didnt go organic. I had to try many different ones to find one that agreed with my baby. So you may have to do the same as every child is different. Good luck!
Hello YoungMum88,
I appreciate and respect your perspective, but each situation is unique. There is a wealth of information available on nutrition and osteoporosis that not all doctors are aware of. My philosophy is that it is always important to educate yourself and do your own research. Breastfeeding has been shown to actually protect against osteoporosis.
Here are some interesting things to consider:
A lactating woman does not produce estrogen in high levels. Because of the estrogen suppressing effects of breastfeeding, she cannot readily absorb calcium. Calcium is, however, always leaving her body in the milk she makes for her child.
During lactation a mother may experience decreases of bone mineral. A nursing mom's bone mineral density may be reduced in the whole body by one to two percent while she is still nursing. This is gained back, and bone mineral density may actually increase, when the baby is weaned from the breast. This is not dependant on additional calcium supplementation in the mother's diet. Breastfeeding has been shown to actually protect against osteoporosis
Though it has been commonly believed that breastfeeding mothers need approximately 400 to 800 mg. more calcium in their daily diet, this theory had not been backed up by science. A study published in the August 1997 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) has found that breastfeeding mothers do not need extra calcium to help guard against bone loss (N Engl J Med 1997;337:523-8).
In an editorial in the same issue of the NEJM, Dr. Anne Prentice of the Medical Research Council states, "A picture is beginning to emerge showing that human lactation is associated with alterations in calcium metabolism, including the temporary mobilization and subsequent restitution of bone mineral, that are independent of dietary calcium intake and unresponsive to increases in calcium intake."
The Institute of Medicine's recommendations (August, 1997) also concur with the results of this study. They recommend that nursing mothers over the age of 18 consume 1,000 mg. of calcium daily -- the same as other adults.
These findings can help to assure the nursing mother that breastfeeding does not negatively impact bone mineral density, and seems in fact to decrease her chance of developing osteoporosis.
Source: http://parenting.ivillage.com/baby/bbreastfeed/0,,3x74,00.html#ixzz0UH5XTDK 3
Note: There is quite a bit of new information available in this area. Here is another interesting article:
Breastfeeding Reduces the Chance of Osteoporosis
"Yes, breastfeeding your baby today might keep you from a hip fracture when you're 70! Think of it as your child helping you out in your old age. Following is a review of an Australian study on osteoporosis and breastfeeding. Following that are references to medical studies on the topic.
Osteoporosis and the protective effects of past breastfeeding experience as reported in 'The Compleat Mother', Spring 1996"
"This condition of reduced bone mass predisposes to fractures, particularly of the upper thigh and spine, even under little stress. Dietary factors that can affect the risk of osteoporosis are calcium, vitamin D, salt, alcohol, animal protein and caffeine. It is postulated that adequate calcium intake during growth and until the mid-twenties, when peak bone mass is achieved, reduces risk of osteoporosis, and an an adequate intake in later life allows for the increased rate of bone loss and less effective assimilation from the diet; the role of dietary calcium in the treatment of osteoporosis is still uncertain."
"Bone density decreases in life in both sexes, but post-menopausal women are at the greatest risk of developing osteoporosis, because estrogens protect against bone loss. A 1990-91 study of Sydney women aged 65 years and over suggested that breastfeeding protected against hip fracture in old age, with a dose-response relationship between average duration of breastfeeding per child and risk of hip fracture. It is estimated that 20-25 per cent of women, by the age of 70 years, will have undergone hospitalization for bone fractures resulting from osteoporosis, and that 16 per cent of those with hip fractures will die within six months."
(Source to follow)
References
Royal Australian College of Physicians Working Party on osteoporosis.
"Osteoporosis: its causes, prevention and treatment."
Mod Med Aust 1991; Aug:3 7-41 .
Sources for above article:
"Breastfeeding Reduces the Chance of Osteoporosis"
Cumming RG, Klineberg RI.
"Breastfeeding and other reproductive factors and the risk of hip fractures in elderly women."
Inr J Epidemiol 1993;22 684-691.
Blaauw, R. et al.
"Risk factors for development of osteoporosis in a South African population."
SAMJ 1994; 84:328-32.
More things to consider:
Women who breastfeed reduce their chances of pre-menopausal breast cancer, cervical cancer and osteoporosis.
What's good for baby is also good for mother.
Reduces the risk of breast cancer.
Women who breastfeed reduce their risk of developing breast cancer by as much as 25 percent. The reduction in cancer risk comes in proportion to the cumulative lifetime duration of breastfeeding. That is, the more months or years a mother breastfeeds, the lower her risk of breast cancer.
Reduces the risk of uterine and ovarian cancer.
One of the reasons for the cancer-fighting effects of breastfeeding is that estrogen levels are lower during lactation. It is thought that the less estrogen available to stimulate the lining of the uterus and perhaps breast tissue also, the less the risk of these tissues becoming cancerous.
Lessens osteoporosis.
Non-breastfeeding women have a four times greater chance of developing osteoporosis than breastfeeding women and are more likely to suffer from hip fractures in the post-menopausal years.
Sources:
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/2/T020700.asp
http://www.breastfeeding.org/articles/reasons.html
McGee,
I would suggest you finding a "Whole Foods" store in your area.
Everything in the store is Organic and Healthy.
My Daughter buys her Organic baby food there, when she doesn't have time to make it.
You might have seen in , William Sonoma, the baby Steamer, food prossesor , that is all in one.
My Daughter and her friends love this.
You put the orgainic food (veggies)or what ever in this. Its steams the food, then when that is done, while your baby foods is still in there, you press a botton, and it becomes a food prosesser..
The food is pureed, or chopped up for the age of your baby.
Then you can put in ice cube trays, or a storage package.Put it in the freezer for when you need it, or feed the baby at the time.
I have got this in my email from William Sonoma, so you might want to go on line and check it out.
Or you already own one!.
Take Care,
April
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