Studies of both infant and maternal health show that breast-feeding continues to provide important and unique benefits in spite of environmental chemicals. For this reason, the American Academy of Pediatrics characterizes human milk as uniquely superior for infant feeding over all substitutes. In short, considering all currently available scientific evidence, breast is still best. There is strong evidence that breastfed infants have decreased incidence and severity of pneumonia, diarrhea, ear infections, bacterial meningitis, bacteremia, urinary infections and serious bacterial infections of the intestines. 20 Mothers benefit too.
Many studies also indicate breast-feeding benefits the health of mothers.
Many environmental contaminants in food persist in the environment and in our bodies, where they are stored in body tissues. These chemicals are transported from the mother s body into the fetus and into breast milk, resulting in early life exposures. Although exposures to many of these chemicals before birth have been shown to have adverse effects, exposures through breast-feeding have not been shown to cause harm . This may be due to greater fetal vulnerability to most toxicants. It may also result from unique immune and neurodevelopmental benefits of breast- feeding that protect infants from a variety of adverse effects.