Breast Milk Is The Best Milk!

This is a guest post by Bre Holt of the Breastfeeding Coalition of Washington.

Cloth diapers? Check. Organic produce for mom? Check. Cosleeping on a wool and organic cotton mattress? Check. I was all set as a new mom to provide my baby with the very healthiest start in life. Most importantly, I planned to breastfeed. I knew that breast milk was the best possible food for my baby, and I also knew about the many health benefits that she and I would get from breastfeeding such as a reduced risk of ear infections, respiratory infections and diabetes for her, and a reduced risk of breast and ovarian cancer for me.  

During my first pregnancy I learned that due to the prevalence of toxics in our environment and the way they accumulate up the food chain that my baby would be consuming more than just my breastmilk when I fed her- she would also be consuming toxic substances that had built up in my body over the years. 

I also learned that my breast milk was still the healthiest food for my baby and that not breastfeeding would be more detrimental to my daughter’s health. Formula is not free of toxic substances either, and more importantly, all of the studies showing the many ways that babies who are fed breast milk are healthier than their formula fed counterparts, were done with breast milk containing toxics. 

In other words, because of the prevalence of contaminants in our environment, there is no such thing as a toxic-free breast milk control group.  Physician–epidemiologist Miriam Labbok, Director of the Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute, sums it up: “To date, no environmental contaminant, except in situations of acute poisoning, has been found to cause more harm to infants than does lack of breastfeeding. I have seen no data that would argue against breastfeeding, even in the presence of today’s levels of environmental toxicants.”

So I took what steps I reasonably could (shoes off in the house, yes. Mop three times a week, no) to reduce our exposure to toxics, and moved ahead with breastfeeding, knowing that I was doing the best I could for my health, and the health of my children. 

To learn more about breastfeeding and toxins, visit the Breastfeeding Coalition of WA’s webpage: http://www.breastfeedingwa.org/toxins 

Bre Holt is a mother to two daughters, breastfed for 5.5 years in a row, and works for the Breastfeeding Coalition of Washington. The Breastfeeding Coalition is a member of the Toxic-Free Legacy Coalition (www.toxicfreelegacy.org).

Image courtesy of flickr user ODHD