The Risks of Not Breastfeeding for Mothers and Infants
Alison Stuebe, MD, MSc
Rev Obstet Gynecol. 2009 Fall; 2(4): 222–231.
Abstract
Health outcomes in developed countries differ substantially for mothers and infants who formula feed compared with those who breastfeed. For infants, not being breastfed is associated with an increased incidence of infectious morbidity, as well as elevated risks of childhood obesity, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, leukemia, and sudden infant death syndrome.