You may have heard that breastfeeding saves lives but wondered: How can this be? We all know mothers who don't breastfeed, and would we say that their children are at risk of death. Of course not, their babies thrive on formula. So, are babies? lives at risk when they are bottle fed rather than breastfed? You better believe it!
Some children who are bottle fed suffer a reaction to the formula they are given. This is mainly due to an allergic reaction to cows? milk, which is what nearly all formula sold is based on. If a child is allergic then the solution is usually to transfer them to soy based formula or another specialist formula. The allergy is hardly ever life threatening and the switch to another type of formula usually fixes the problem. It is also worth noting that some babies are allergic to their own mother's breast milk.
So exactly who is at risk from feeding babies formula milk rather than breast milk. The answer, as always, is the poor and vulnerable. And exactly how are they putting their children's lives at risk? The answer doesn't lie in the formula itself, but rather the water used in the preparation of powdered formula. We, in the industrialized West, take clean water for granted; for the desperately poor who live in the developing world, this is not so.
The World Health Organization estimates that 1.5 million infants die around the world every year because they are not breastfed. This figure has been stated in this and other forms by WHO and UNICEF many times over the years. The main reason being the lack of clean safe drinking water.
There are also other factors that contribute to child mortality and ill-health. Some studies are now linking the feeding of milk formula to conditions such as obesity in later life, premature sexual development and tooth decay.
Why is that these mothers put their child's life at risk? The answer is simple: commercial pressure. They, like us, are subjected to intense marketing campaigns from the world's leading multi-nationals. They are lead to believe that formula, rather than breast, is best. They believe that as it is so popular in the West, it must provide their child with the best start in life. The advertising campaigns show happy, pink-cheeked babies smiling that are healthy when being fed with formula.
Don't misunderstand: there is nothing wrong with formula milk when prepared and fed correctly. However, it is a food-stuff invented in the industrialized West for use in the West. Formula milk came to prominence after the Second-World-War just at the same time that our drinking water was made safe to drink. But this Western product is not suitable to those parts of the world where safe drinking is not available. Can you imagine the outcry if milk formula had been wide spread in the days before our drinking water was safe and millions of babies died each year from being fed formula?
So, as a mother, what can you do to prevent this?
Firstly, by breastfeeding your own child and by encouraging other pregnant women to follow suit. Abstaining from milk formula will send a message to the manufacturers. However, you can go one step further: write or email the manufacturers and let them know that you think it is wrong to ?dump? milk formula on the poorer people of our planet. The women of the developing world don't have the tools to hand to change things, you do!
It is time for the mothers of this world to stand together and preach the message that breast is best.
A microchip is a small radio transponder which is implanted under the skin near the shoulder blades of the pet via a sterile needle. The chip , about the size of a rice gain, activates a receiver in the scanner which transmits its microchip number to an electronic scanner for veterinary or animal welfare/control personnel to read. They then can determine the type of chip and contact the approriate pet recovery database to discover the owners information.
The National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy completed a survey of 1000 animal shelters across the United States in 1997 where it found that about one million dogs and 584,000 cats were found as strays and taken to shelters. Of these only 16% of the dogs and 2% of the cats could be returned to their owners. Some of these could be adopted but the majority of these pets were humanely euthanized because their owners could not be found. This carnage could have been avoided.
When natural disasters such as Hurricane Rita or Katrina happen we see the importance of microchipping as the reunification of lost pets is enhanced. Accidents and natural disasters happen ,as do open doors and unlocked fences which allow the pet to escape without being noticed. Leashes and collars as well as collar tags can fall off or be lost and animals go missing. While some purebred pets are tattooed upon birth by breeders and kennels this is still mainly done for show dogs. The responsible answer is microchipping.
Microchipping is often done by animal welfare and control authorities before the animal is adopted and can readily be done in the veterinarian's office inexpensively at the same time vaccinations and or checkups are completed. Owners should ensure that the documentation linking the chip to the owner is sent and registered with a pet recovery database. It is also important to keep the database current by advising of moves and contact changes.
Microchipping of pets is a wise and most effective way to enhance pet recovery when a dog or cat goes missing. It is a uniform way that assists animal control and shelters in returning the pet to their owner . A minimal cost and activity at the beginning of pet ownership can eliminate and avoid the pain and suffering of losing the family pet.
Animal clinics and animal welfare organizations have electronic scanners that identify and display the microchip registration of the majority of chipsm in the marketplace regardless of manufacturer as long as they are either Non-ISO or ISO standard manufacture. Names such as Avid,Home Again,24Petwatch,Allflex are commonly used microchips in North America. The current non-ISO chips in the US can be read today and in Canada the scanners read both ISO and non-ISO chips in scanners provided specifically for that market.
Microchips have a distinct and discrete code or number which they transmit when excited by a scanner. Depending on the code the registry can easily be contacted by toll free telephone. The registries are not all exclusive to the chip manufacturers and some include all chips that are in the market. The registries have names like Home Again, 24Petwatch and Avid ID. the 24Petwatch registry allows the registration of all microchips regardless of maker. Its database can be searched in real-time by the largest online shelter and rescue software in North America. This assists in recoveries and online searching across geographic boundaries. Having your pet chipped and registered does save lives of countless lost pets.
Both Robin Obrien & Rob Metras are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Robin Obrien has sinced written about articles on various topics from Modelling, Prom Dress and Kids and Teens. Robin O'Brien is founder of the website breast-feeding-information.com which is devoted to the . Robin Obrien's top article generates over 165000 views. to your Favourites.
Rob Metras has sinced written about articles on various topics from Writing, SEO Articles and Blogging. In addition to writing on microchipping Rob Metras is interested on how to give the best care to your dogs and cats. Click on the the following link for a free ebook on. Rob Metras's top article generates over 8100 views. to your Favourites.