Benefits of Breastfeeding - And How Hospital Maternity Wards are Not Helping You

I keep a close eye on the daily science headlines from a variety of sources, and one topic that I never stop seeing new news on is breastfeeding - and its benefits to both child and mother.  Just a few in the last year, I believe, will illustrate enough.

Benefits to Child:

NY Times article covering a large-scale study (over 15,000 participants) that found that at 6.5 years of age, the breastfed children scored significantly higher on vocabulary, word matching and verbal I.Q. tests compared to formula-fed children.  Additionally, teacher ratings were consistently higher for the breastfed children.

Breastfeeding transfers immunity to babies through antibodies made from the mother, and researchers are beginning to figure out the mechanism.  This transference of antibodies is why breastfed babies have much lower incidences of GI infections compared to formula-fed babies.

Benefits for Mother:

NY Times article covering a study that found breastfeeding reduces the risk of rheumatoid arthritis in the mother.  Women who breastfed up to a year decreased their risk by 25% and women who breastfed for over a year reduced their risk by 50%!

Breastfeeding for 6 months or more has also been associated with a lower risk of certain types of breast cancer - luminal cancer as well as triple-negative cancer, which is very aggressive and particularly difficult to treat.  Another research group is suggesting that lactation-based therapies could provide a component to a natural, non-toxic, anti-cancer therapy.

WHY then, may I ask did a recent study find that 94% of the nearly 1300 hospitals surveyed in east coast states from Maine to Mississippi are distributing formula samples to new mothers, even though multiple studies have shown that hospital-based distribution of formula samples is associated with reduction in exclusive breastfeeding rates, and opposition to this has been voiced by The American Academy of Pediatrics, World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists??