Direct breast feeding better for babies than pumping – new study

Some of the earlier researches had shown a link between breastfeeding and lower obesity risk for babies. However, a new study has shown another association that Breast is Best for the babies and have even compared them with giving babies breast milk out of the bottle. There are many benefits of direct breastfeeding. It includes slower weight gain and lower BMI scores at 3 months. The findings were published by a Canadian study in the journal Pediatrics.

According to the past research, pumped breast milk remains superior. Meghan Azad, the study author and also a research scientist at the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba said, “Moms who pump go through a lot of effort to do that, and I wouldn’t want them to get the impression that it’s not worth it. But it does raise the question of, if pumped milk is not the same or not as good, why is that? And what should we be doing to support moms better around breastfeeding if that’s what they want to do?” About 2500 infants were studied from the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development Study and it was found that those with the lowest BMI scores at 12 months were the ones who were breast fed without a formula and also those who started eating other foods around 5 to 6 months.

The researchers also said that it could also impact the health of the child and put to risk of becoming overweight or developing obesity down the line. The new study has found that if the mothers stopped breast feeding before six months it was linked to a faster weight gain with a higher body mass index at 12 months. They were also three times the risk of being over-weight when compared to those who were exclusively breast fed.

The reason behind the benefit of direct breast feeding is not known but there are possibilities that the components of breast milk might change when it is refrigerated, frozen or thawed.

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