Support for breastfeeding is an environmental imperative

Joffe, Naomi E.; Webster, Flic; Shenker, Natalie

doi:10.1136/bmj.l5646

Cited by 46 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Greenhouse Gas equivalencies calculator, it was estimated that this was equivalent to annual GHG emissions from 6.9 billion miles driven in a car. They concluded that formula is “emerging as an important source” of emissions and “relevant to on-going global efforts to address climate change and reduce carbon emissions.” 35 A recent U.K. report, which used the Karlsson et al 52 data for the U.K. estimated that “breastfeeding for 6 months saves an estimated 95–153 kg CO 2 equivalent per baby….equating to taking 50,000 to 77,500 cars off the road each year.” 37 For North America, powdered baby formula Co 2 eq. GHG equates to taking 212,812 cars off the road each year.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Powdered Baby Formula Sold in North America: Assessing the Environmental Impact

Cadwell¹,

Blair²,

Turner‐Maffei³

et al. 2020

Breastfeeding Medicine

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Background: According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Greenhouse Gas emissions must decline by around 45% by 2030 and reach net zero in 2050. Biofuels, solar, and wind energy are obvious choices for reduction of the 75% of emissions from the energy sector (including transportation), but making reductions in the remaining 25%, the food sector, is more of a challenge. One way is to change our diets to increase low-carbon food alternatives. Objective: We chose to examine the impact of powdered baby formula products. The aim of this study is to compute a minimal estimate of green house gas (GHG) emissions for powdered baby formula products sold in North America comprising Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Results: We found that in 2016, the North America Greenhouse Gas emissions (in tons of CO 2 eq.) attributable to sales of powdered formula for Canada was 70,256, for Mexico, 435,820, and for the United States, 655,956. The North American per capita emissions based on infants and toddlers from birth to 36 months of age in 2016 was, at a minimum, 59.06 kg of CO 2 eq. Conclusion: The environmental and Greenhouse Gas impact of powdered baby formula, and related hazards arising from climate change, can be a relevant factor for health care providers in their advice to families on infant feeding. This study makes an innovative and potentially useful addition to the emerging evidence on this issue and should be considered when developing and funding infant and young child feeding policies and supportive programs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Powdered Baby Formula Sold in North America: Assessing the Environmental Impact

Cadwell¹,

Blair²,

Turner‐Maffei³

et al. 2020

Breastfeeding Medicine

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“…This makes breastfeeding widely available and environmentally safe. Therefore, breastfeeding’s contribution to sustainability and food security should be considered in environmental goals and policies [230,231].…”

Section: Findings and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Protective Effect of Breastfeeding on the Adverse Health Effects Induced by Air Pollution: Current Evidence and Possible Mechanisms

Zielińska

Hamułka

2019

IJERPH

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Air pollution is a major social, economic, and health problem around the world. Children are particularly susceptible to the negative effects of air pollution due to their immaturity and excessive growth and development. The aims of this narrative review were to: (1) summarize evidence about the protective effects of breastfeeding on the adverse health effects of air pollution exposure, (2) define and describe the potential mechanisms underlying the protective effects of breastfeeding, and (3) examine the potential effects of air pollution on breastmilk composition and lactation. A literature search was conducted using electronic databases. Existing evidence suggests that breastfeeding has a protective effect on adverse outcomes of indoor and outdoor air pollution exposure in respiratory (infections, lung function, asthma symptoms) and immune (allergic, nervous and cardiovascular) systems, as well as under-five mortality in both developing and developed countries. However, some studies reported no protective effect of breastfeeding or even negative effects of breastfeeding for under-five mortality. Several possible mechanisms of the breastfeeding protective effect were proposed, including the beneficial influence of breastfeeding on immune, respiratory, and nervous systems, which are related to the immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and neuroprotective properties of breastmilk. Breastmilk components responsible for its protective effect against air pollutants exposure may be long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC PUFA), antioxidant vitamins, carotenoids, flavonoids, immunoglobins, and cytokines, some of which have concentrations that are diet-dependent. However, maternal exposure to air pollution is related to increased breastmilk concentrations of pollutants (e.g., Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) or heavy metals in particulate matter (PM)). Nonetheless, environmental studies have confirmed that breastmilk’s protective effects outweigh its potential health risk to the infant. Mothers should be encouraged and supported to breastfeed their infants due to its unique health benefits, as well as its limited ecological footprint, which is associated with decreased waste production and the emission of pollutants.

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“…While the relationship between breastfeeding and bonding remains an open research question [4], evidence suggests that breastfeeding can help solidify an emotional bond between mothers and infants [5,6]. Beyond the benefits to the mother-child dyad, there are economic and environmental advantages [7,8] to breastfeeding due to the cost of formula, inaccessibility of clean water [9][10][11], and the contribution to plastic waste by formula containers [12]. However, due to a host of personal, cultural, biomedical, socioeconomic and policy factors [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20], breastfeeding is far from being a behavior which comes easy to mothers [21][22][23][24] or innate to the child [25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The complex geographies of telelactation and access to community breastfeeding support in the state of Ohio

Grubesic

Durbin

2020

PLoS ONE

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The availability of breastfeeding support resources, including those provided by Baby-Friendly Hospitals, International Board Certified Lactation Consultants, breastfeeding counselors and educators, and volunteer-based mother-to-mother support organizations, such as La Leche League, are critically important for influencing breastfeeding initiation and continuation for the mother-child dyad. In addition, the emergence of community support options via information and communication technologies such as Skype and Facetime, social media (e.g., Facebook), and telelactation providers are providing mothers with a new range of support options that can help bridge geographic barriers to traditional community support. However, telelactation services that use information and communication technologies to connect breastfeeding mothers to remotely located breastfeeding experts require reliable, affordable, high-quality broadband connections to facilitate interaction between mothers and their support resources. The purpose of this paper is to explore the complex spatial landscape of virtual and face-to-face breastfeeding support options for mothers in the state of Ohio (U.S.), identifying barriers to support. Using a range of spatial and network analytics, the results suggest that a divide is emerging. While urban areas in Ohio benefit from both a density of face-to-face breastfeeding support resources and robust broadband options for engaging in telelactation, many rural areas of the state are lacking access to both. Policy implications and several potential strategies for mitigating these inequities are discussed.

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Support for breastfeeding is an environmental imperative

Abstract: Formula milk contributes to environmental degradation and climate change

Cited by 46 publications

References 10 publications

Powdered Baby Formula Sold in North America: Assessing the Environmental Impact

Powdered Baby Formula Sold in North America: Assessing the Environmental Impact

Protective Effect of Breastfeeding on the Adverse Health Effects Induced by Air Pollution: Current Evidence and Possible Mechanisms

The complex geographies of telelactation and access to community breastfeeding support in the state of Ohio

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