Archive for 2014

2. Summary of Breastfeeding Research 2013

Sunday, March 9th, 2014

A large European study came up with 7 rules to cut the risk of dying.  One of the recommendations was “It is best for mothers to breast feed exclusively for up to six months.”  Women who breastfed for at least 6 months had a reduced risk of death from cancer by 10% and circulatory disease by 17%. (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, March 27, 2013)

Exclusively breastfed babies whose mothers are HIV positive have a lower percentage of contracting HIV from their mothers compared to babies not breastfed for the first 6 months.  The risk of transmission for babies breastfed is 4% while those not breastfed is 10 times more.  Mixed feedings and cow’s milk irritate the gut, but breastmilk digests easily and does not irritate the gut and so the lining of the gut remains intact and the virus does not get into the blood stream. (Dr. Phillipa Musoke, Dept. of Paediatrics and Child Health at Makerere University, August 2013)

Study showed evidence that non-smoking women who breastfed for at least 6 months can delay the onset of breast cancer by 10 years. This is not true for smoking women who breastfeed.  (Journal of Clinical Nursing, August 14, 2013)

Breastfeeding for one year can increase a child’s IQ by about 4 points.  Longer breastfeeding duration in infancy was associated with a higher vocabulary test score at age 3 and higher intelligence testing at age 7. (JAMA Pediatrics, July 29, 2013)

A study involved 74,785 Australian women who were 45 years or older.  The conclusion was that the longer a woman breastfeeds, the lower are her odds of developing high blood pressure before the age of 64. It was found that among those who breastfed longer, their odds of developing high blood pressure decreased drastically. Extended breastfeeding was strongly encouraged due to the protective effects of breastfeeding which increases with the length of time breastfeeding.  (American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, June 2013)

Sheila Kippley

 

1. Summary of Breastfeeding Research, 2013

Sunday, March 2nd, 2014

Mothers who breastfed have a significantly lower risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease compared to mothers who do not breastfeed.  About 5.2 million Americans get this disease according to the Alzheimer’s Association, and this disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the U. S.  This is an example of a benefit that lasts long after the breastfeeding has ceased. (Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, July 23, 2013)

Researchers in Japan studied 43,000 children’s diet when infants.  Obesity was cut in half at 8 years of age among children who were breastfed.  About 20% of the children were exclusively breastfed for 6 months.  They found exclusive breastfeeding at 6 to 7 months of age was associated with decreased risk of overweight and obesity as school children compared with formula feeding. (JAMA Pediatrics, August 2013)

Breastfeeding benefits babies’ brains.  The study observed the microstructure of the brain’s white matter which contains long nerve fibers and aids communication between different parts of the brain.  The exclusively breastfed group had the fastest growth in myelinated white matter by age two—-20 to 30% better—-than those infants with mixed feedings (both breastmilk and formula) and infants fed only formula.  As researcher Sean Deoni from Brown University said:  “We’re finding the difference [in white matter growth] is on the order of 20 to 30 percent, comparing the breastfed and the non-breastfed kids. I think it’s astounding that you could have that much difference so early.”  (NeuroImage, May 28, 2013)  This information provides another good reason to breastfeed for two years.

Breastfeeding could prevent many diseases for women.  If American mothers nursed each child for at least one year, we could avoid about 5,000 breast cancer cases, 54,000 hypertension cases and nearly 14,000 heart attacks each year and as a result save $860 million per year.  For less-than-optimal breastfeeding rates, the extra cost was $734 million for hospital stays, doctor visits and medication and $126 million for time away from work. (Obstetrics & Gynecology, June 6, 2013)

Sheila Kippley

Natural Family Planning Manual

Sunday, February 23rd, 2014

What others have said about the NFPI manual.

Just today, Feb. 25, 2014:  Great book. Super helpful. Thank you so much for offering a downloadable version, was what I needed right at that moment! …although, next time I think I’ll get the hardbound, easier to read and share. 🙂

My fiancee would like to use NFP once we are married, and your downloadable manual has already been a huge help to us. We found the manual thorough yet easy to understand, and appreciate the inclusion of the subjects of morality and theology.

The NFP manual I downloaded off your website is so easy to follow.  My husband and I have been using an IUD for the last six years after the birth of our second child.  We had tried NFP at the beginning of our marriage, but were disappointed with the little support we received when trying to learn NFP.  We were introduced to the Billings Ovulation Method through our Diocese and were not even aware that the Sympto-Thermal Method existed.  We got pregnant 4 months into our marriage and didn’t even finish the 3rd class. While our little bundle of joy came to us sooner than we had planned we accepted her with great joy!!! However, because of a lack of understanding of the basic tenants of our Catholic faith, we had fallen away. My husband and I, by the grace of God, have recently come back into the Catholic faith and are excited to fully participate!

I appreciate this manual so much! I have obviously been living in my body my whole life and somehow this manual has made my body seem like a whole new world of wonderful functions that God planned as only God can. The biology and theology included is immensely helpful! I see how God really did think of everything and that His plan is perfect. It makes me feel like I really am part of a bigger plan and that’s a really good feeling!

Excellent manual! Thank you so much for providing this manual online and at such a reasonable cost.

I used the NFP method once before and it worked well.  I am looking forward to using it again as a form of natural birth control.  Thank you so much for offering the manual free to everyone who needs it!!!

When I read your manual and the covenant theology, it was like it just logically laid out exactly how I felt about the issue of birth control and what I had felt God speaking to me, but couldn’t explain. My husband read about one page of your manual, and that was it. We are never using birth control again. He understands that it is unbiblical and ethically wrong, and, just like that, my 3-year prayer is answered. I can’t thank you enough for what you do, and I will continue to help you get the word out about NFP and God’s plan for sexuality in marriages.

Natural Family Planning: The Complete Approach ought to be mandatory training for every couple who wants to get married in the Catholic Church. There is a wealth of information here that Catholics simply do not know about. I try to get information about Natural Family Planning International out to as many people as possible. This site is invaluable. Over and over I see people talking about NFP without eco-breastfeeding or proper sexual morality. Everyone (Catholic or not) needs to hear about this. Thank you once again for all of your wonderful work.

Thank you for putting the manual out there.   I’m tired of trying to remember to dig for the book when the charting is not perfectly “normal”. Now with it on my Nook there will be no excuses! My husband and I wrestled with the issue of NFP for 20 years of marriage.  I am happy to say that now that we have both decided on an unswerving coarse of obedience to the Church’s teachings, the blessings have become so apparent within our marriage.

Sheila Kippley
Natural Family Planning: The Complete Approach is available in ebook.  About half the commercial sales of this manual are by ebook (Nook, Ingram, iBookstore).  To learn NFP well, take the NFPI home study course which costs less and provides more information than most other online NFP courses.