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That's right. Associated, not causal. The problem is that mothers who are health-conscious, affluent, educated, etc are more likely to choose to breast-feed, as
by cromulent 16y ago
That's right. Associated, not causal. The problem is that mothers who are health-conscious, affluent, educated, etc are more likely to choose to breast-feed, as that is the recommended option by health providers. So, you can't say that the breast milk is the cause, simply that it correlates. Not a scientific proof, I'm afraid.
- billybob 16y agoSurely statistics can be used to correct for this - compare affluent, educated, health-conscious women in both categories, for example?
- run4yourlives 16y agoYou're now suggesting that the authors of all of these studies failed to control the most obvious of outside factors? I'm not sure why you are so resistant to these studies, but it's clear that no amount of scientific research is going to convince you that there are clear benefits to breastmilk.
- cromulent 16y agoNo, I'm not suggesting that. They do. Have a look at the WHO study: http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2007/9789241595230_eng.pdf http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2007/9789241595230_eng... For example: "Even within the same social group, mothers who breastfeed are likely to be more health-conscious than those who do not breastfeed. This may also lead them to promote other healthy habits among their children, including prevention of overweight, promotion of physical exercise and intellectual stimulation. This may be particularly true in high-income populations. Because these maternal attributes are difficult to measure, it is not possible to include them in the analyses as confounding factors. Nevertheless, this possibility should be taken into account when interpreting the study’s results." I'm not resisting studies - I'm reading them, rather than relying upon misinformation from other sources.