Fearless formula feeder. We Check Out the Numbers Behind the News. June 20, 2006 Dr.
Rebecca Goldin Director of Research, Statistical Assessment Service,Assistant Professor, Mathematical Sciences, George Mason University Dr. Emer Smyth Assistant Professor of Pharmacology at Univ. of Pennsylvania) Dr. Andrea Foulkes Assistant Professor of Biostatistics at Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst The Science Times section of the New York Times announced today that it had received more than 100 letters “pro and con” over its article “Breast-Feed or Else.” 595.full. Are the benefits of breastfeeding oversold? As a mother, I am a passionate advocate of breastfeeding and I breastfed my four children.
As a clinician, though, I need to be mindful not to counsel patients based on my personal preferences, but rather based on the scientific evidence. While breastfeeding has indisputable advantages, the medical advantages are quite small. Many current efforts to promote breastfeeding, while well meaning, overstate the benefits of breastfeeding and distorts the risks of not breastfeeding, particularly in regard to longterm benefits.