- It's easily digested . Babies have less tummy troubles and constipation than formula fed babies.
- Mothers pass along their immunity to viruses and aid in reducing the newborn's risk of infection.
- Breastfed babies are less likely to develop allergies
- Babies are less likely to be asthmatic.
- Mom's uterus contracts in the early days of breastfeeding, helping her to return to her pre-pregnancy shape sooner by reducing her uterus back to a normal size.
- Mom burns more calories to meet the demands of producing milk. This helping her shed excess weight gained during pregnancy.
- On average, babies who were breastfed have higher IQ scores.
- Because breasfed babies are more aware of their fullness, they learn to stop feeding when they are satisfied vs. stopping when the bottle is empty. Thus, they are less likely to be obese as children.
- Breastfeeding is free and readily available. No heating up a bottle at 3 a.m. Mother's milk is always at the right temperature.
- Mothers and their baby enjoy the intimacy and bonding involved in breastfeeding.
- And many, many more!
So if breastfeeding has so many benefits for moms and babies, why aren't more women breastfeeding their babies? Studies monitoring breastfeeding rates, including those by the CDC, report similar findings.
- Over 75% of mothers giving birth in the hospital setting will attempt breastfeeding.
- After one week, the rate of exclusive breastfeeding begins to drop off to around 60%
- At 6 months, less than a quarter of mothers continue to offer some breastmilk, less than 10% are breastfeeding exclusively.
- At 1 year, around 12 % are offering some breastmilk.
The American Academy of Pediatrics' gold standard for infant feeding is breastmilk. It is recommended for the first year, exclusively for the first 6 months. Other public health organizations such as WHO recommend continuing to offer breastmilk for the first two years.
As a mother of three who was unsuccessful at breastfeeding, but was able to help other women work through their breastfeeding issues, I recognize how challenging it is for some women to breastfeed. I FEEL YOUR PAIN! Babies may be born to be breastfed, but in a culture so distrustful of woman's ability to birth normally, the culture also downplays the importance of breastfeeding, saying formula is just as good. Just as the medical establishment downplays the importance of satisfaction with our birth experience, the medical community is quick to gloss over the impact to our self esteem when we as women feel unable to nurse our babies appropriately.
God bless the women whose baby latches on from the first moment with a strong suck. She feels her breasts being emptied by her newborn, and she finds great satisfaction in her ability to feed and nurture her newborn. The more she feeds and empties her breasts, the more milk she produces. In time, her only problem is freezer and storage space.
But many of us, have a baby with an ineffective latch. So it HURTS when they are on the nipple. The result, a tense mom, tense baby, and not a lot of milk being made. You think she wants to go through this torture? And everyone around her- her mate, her mother, her pediatrician says "just give that baby a bottle!"
Also, there are those of us who despite all our best efforts and the efforts of long suffering lactation consultants, have inadequate milk supply resulting in the eventuality of the baby being exclusively formula fed.
So how can we help all mothers be successful as possible? SUPPORT coupled with EDUCATION is the key.
WIC employs lactation consultants, and their services are paid for by medicaid. I highly encourage anyone enrolled in this program to seek out these professionals and attending breastfeeding classes. It is the non-WIC moms that lack the support and find themselves giving up on breastfeeding.
When possible take a breastfeeding class through your hospital or La Leche League before your baby is born.
- Locate friends or family members who successfully breastfed to talk to breastfeeding about and can provide hands on assists if you should run into challenges along the way.
- Often, nurses you encounter following the birth of your baby have never been properly trained to assist in early breastfeeding and may shy away from assisting you. Always ask for help when learning to breastfeed. Even if short staffed, many hospitals employ a lactation consultant or have nurses on staff who successfully breastfed their own children.
- In metropolitan communities, outside agencies maybe available to provide one on one assistance, many communities have a La Leche League.
- On the web, Dr. Jack Newman is great resource to view videos of proper positioning and latching baby on. Like this one.
The important thing is if possible to become knowledgeable before the baby is born about breastfeeding and locate the support you need to be successful if additional assistance is needed.
