"But while the role of breast-feeding in preventing infection is real, it is also widely misunderstood.

When you ask a bunch of doctors about how breast-feeding prevents infection, they get it wrong—I know they do, because I've asked the question. Doctors tell you that colostrum (produced in the first three days or so after a baby is born) and breast milk are full of maternal antibodies. Next, doctors say that these maternal antibodies are absorbed into the infant's blood circulation and thus serve to protect infants from disease.

That's the correct description of the immunology of breast-feeding for most mammals. It's also true that human colostrum and milk are rich in maternal antibodies—colostrum is pretty much antibody soup. And babies take in these antibodies as they nurse. But human babies are never able to absorb maternal antibodies from milk or colostrum into the bloodstream, except perhaps in the minutest amounts. Maternal antibodies in milk and colostrum protect against infection—but only locally, working inside the baby's gastrointestinal tract.

This information will surprise farmers, veterinarians, and strongly invested proponents of breast-feeding. After all, if a newborn piglet is deprived of its mother's colostrum for the first eight hours of life, it is almost guaranteed to become sick and die. Similarly, newborn horses, cats, dogs, and most other mammals are not likely to survive long if they are deprived of colostrum. The reason is simple: Most mammals are born without any antibodies, or only the tiniest amounts, circulating in their blood. That leaves them defenseless at birth against viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens. Fortunately, for a brief period after birth, the antibody molecules in colostrum can easily pass through the bowel walls of babies of each of these species.

But human newborns, it turns out, differ from most other mammals in the way they acquire maternal antibodies. (Before the creationists get too excited, I should point out that everything I am about to say applies to monkeys as well as to people.) Newborn infants get their maternal protection before birth, via an active transport system in the human placenta that carries maternal antibodies from the mother to the fetus. Unlike all those other animals, human babies are born with all the maternal antibodies they will ever have. That's why we don't need to absorb maternal antibodies from colostrum. And it's why formula-fed babies are not at a disadvantage, compared with breast-fed babies, in their supply of circulating maternal antibodies.

None of this is my discovery. It was well-known, even commonplace, in the immunological literature of 40 years ago. But as the field turned to other matters, these findings just sort of fell out of fashion (though I've certainly come upon plenty of modern papers whose authors understand the idea). Because of the modern aversion to looking at older research, a surprisingly large number of doctors, especially nonimmunologists, have either forgotten this aspect of human immunity or never knew about it. And perhaps nobody wanted to bring the older findings to light for fear that doing so might discourage breast-feeding. (I can assure you that I feel some trepidation as I write this.)

Before breast-feeding's able defenders come after me with pitchforks, I'd like to reiterate that I'm only talking here about the incorrect idea that maternal antibodies in milk or colostrum protect against diseases by being absorbed in the baby's blood. The breast milk antibodies are present in the babies' intestines, and while they're not absorbed, they still protect against diarrheal disease, and perhaps other infections as well. This is a huge boon in parts of the world where sanitation is poor and refrigeration nonexistent.

Breast-feeding protects against diarrheal ailments in three ways. Infants who nurse are not drinking formula, which is a perfect medium for bacteria if it's not refrigerated and if it is reconstituted with contaminated water, as is typically the case in nonindustrialized countries. And if infants are exclusively breast-fed during the vulnerable first six months of life, they're also not taking in contaminated food. Finally, the maternal antibodies in a baby's gut deactivate swallowed bacteria and viruses that might otherwise infect the cells that line the intestine or penetrate the lining. Most often this prevents bacterial or viral gastroenteritis, which presently kills 1.6 million children worldwide a year.

Now, what part of that is not clear? The "formula-is-evil" folks are a hoot. They rely on sometimes good and sometimes suspect correlations to argue exclusively for yummy breastmilk but ignore the fact that there are literally millions, tens of millions? healthy people who were formula fed.

Too funny. Apparently, there are even more people who don't understand stats or logical arguments and there are even some who try and use "science" as justification of their choice. Anyway, you miss the point. Nobody here has said that the exsistence of healthy formula fed folks means that formula is better than breastmilk. It's just that it's a fact that a lot of people have used it and have/had healthy kids. Sorry if that bothers you. Also, it's patently absurd and bad arguing to compare formula to smoking and whatnot.

Nor problem. Here'e the link. It was posted by another LW before I read it.

http://www.slate.com/id/2138629/

Hope you can get it. It's a good article.

your latter "patronizing and smug" summation is fine. Also, the "corporate" employer part seems strange. The main problem is not pumping rooms in offices, to say nothing of mothers who don't work in offices, it's adequate paid maternity leave. Most corporations are going to rightly resist the room idea not just because of the relative cost involved but also it would mean people bringing their babies to work which would create a whole host of other issues. Although the slick ones might add a room because it's a cheap way to be "family friendly" and they will probably gamble correctly that most mothers won't bring their infants to the office/workplace.

Now that deserves a red star!