Breast vs. Bottle Related Articles & Blog Posts

Interestingly, babies tend to suck more vigorously when a new flavor is introduced into their mothers’ diet (even if the mothers don’t notice the change in nursing, researchers can measure it). The babies’ bodies seem eager to learn new flavors. When that flavor has been repeated a few times, nursing returns to normal, suggesting that [...]

I remember, not long ago, seeing many children with ear infections every day I was in the office – children that were often up screaming the night before. Today it’s not surprising to go an entire day in clinic without seeing a single one. Visits to doctors’ offices for ear infections more than doubled between [...]

A new Harvard analysis has calculated what we could accomplish if 90 percent of babies drank only breast milk for the first six months of life. The starting point for this analysis was a group of ten conditions identified by the lead Federal agency charged with improving the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of our [...]

Join me in support of California Bill SB 797. My three minute speech at the State Capitol starts 4 minutes into the rally video.  Actress and environmentalist, Amy Smart speaks next.

Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, M.D., once said, “If you don’t have oral health, you’re simply not healthy.” As with many health topics, the basis for a lifetime of good oral health begins when we’re very small.

Like other pediatricians across the United States, today I received an E-Breaking News Alert from the American Academy of Pediatrics concerning news about bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used in many hard plastic products (including baby bottles and sippy cups) and in the lining of many metal cans (including cans of infant or toddler formula).

There is an intense ongoing debate about the safety of bisphenol –A, or BPA, an ingredient found in many plastic products including many baby bottles and reusable water bottles. BPA acts like a hormone in the human body. More than 90 percent of us do have small amounts of BPA in our bodies.

Getting plenty of DHA, one of the important omega-3 fats found in breast milk, could help to prevent allergies, asthma, and eczema in young children. Dr. Eileen Birch, who has previously studied links between DHA and improved mental and visual development, followed 89 formula-fed children who received formula with or without DHA included.

One of the reasons I wrote Raising Baby Green was to help parents easily sort through and prioritize which baby products area healthiest and safest for their children. In the book I suggest alternatives for plastics containing Bishphenol A (BPA) – a hormone mimicker found in most baby bottles.

I received a letter expressing concern that some babies do not tolerate formula with added DHA/ARA and that parents are not aware of this possibility. DHA and ARA are important fatty acids, present naturally in breast milk and added to many formulas. About 4 million babies are born in the U.S. each year. Over the last [...]