MANAGING BEST PRACTICES: Uncertainty over an emerging risk
The December 2002 issue of Pediatrics reports that breastfeeding among full-time employed U.S. women is now 25 percent, nearly double its rate from 1996, and the highest rate ever recorded. Breastfeeding is no longer considered a lifestyle choice, but an important health choice for both mother and infant.
That’s because breast-milk is superior to baby formula because it includes the mother’s disease-fighting antibodies along with great nutrition. And there’s benefit for the mother, too. Women who breastfeed have a 50 percent less chance of developing breast cancer, according to new research – though more studies are needed to determine why.