For every 1000 babies born in the US, 4 will die from formula feeding
The US Government buys $600 million worth of formula each year
To enable mothers to establish and sustain exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, WHO and UNICEF recommend:
Initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour of life
Exclusive breastfeeding – that is the infant only receives breastmilk without any additional food or drink, not even water
Breastfeeding on demand – that is as often as the child wants, day and night
No use of bottles, teats or pacifiers
Breastmilk is the natural first food for babies, it provides all the energy and nutrients that the infant needs for the first months of life, and it continues to provide up to half or more of a child’s nutritional needs during the second half of the first year, and up to one-third during the second year of life.
Perhaps this is said, but it is wrong. That anyone can say such a thing only shows how ignorant so many people in our society are about breastfeeding. Breastmilk is, after all, milk. Even after six months, it still contains protein, fat, and other nutritionally important and appropriate elements which babies and children need. Breastmilk still contains immunologic factors that help protect the baby. In fact, some immune factors in breastmilk that protect the baby against infection are present in greater amounts in the second year of life than in the first. This is, of course as it should be, since children older than a year are generally exposed to more infection. Breastmilk still contains factors that help the immune system to mature, and which help the brain, gut, and other organs to develop and mature.
It has been well shown that children in daycare who are still breastfeeding have far fewer and less severe infections than the children who are not breastfeeding. The mother thus loses less work time if she continues nursing her baby once she is back at her paid work.
It is interesting that formula company marketing pushes the use of formula (a rather imperfect copy of the real thing) for a year, yet implies that breastmilk (from which the imperfect copy is copied) is only worthwhile for 6 months or even less ("the best nutrition for newborns"). Too many health professionals have taken up the refrain.
Will I have to give up eating the foods I enjoy?
Almost certainly not! Nutritionists recommend that everyone eat a wide range of foods, including lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and grains. A nursing mother, for her own health, would be wise to follow these basic guidelines! However, from the perspective of milk production and reactions in the baby, very few women find that they need to adjust their diet. There are, unfortunately, so many myths about what you should and should not eat while breastfeeding. When a dietary change is necessary, usually it is dairy that is the culprit.
Why is breastfeeding so important? What is so wonderful about breast milk?
Breastfeeding gives your baby the best possible start in life! Breast milk is an amazing thing: it is a living, ever changing substance, full of everything a baby needs to grow and develop. Despite the efforts of scientists over the past few decades, no one has been able to exactly replicate what your body can produce so perfectly itself. Breastfeeding ensures that your child has the lowest chance possible of developing a whole range of heath problems, such as allergies, asthma, eczema, gastroenteritis, ear infections, obesity and diabetes. The antibodies present in breast milk offer some protection against viruses such as the common cold. The fatty acids ensure optimal brain development, and studies have shown a statistically significant difference in IQ between groups of babies who were breastfed and those who weren't. In addition to the benefits from the breast milk itself, the way of delivery has been found to influence jaw development, reduce the need for orthodontic work and improve speech. The closeness between mother and baby has numerous emotional benefits as well. Breastfeeding means that mother and baby experience skin to skin contact at least several times a day, which can assist in bonding. To Breastfeed or Not: Why There Should Be No Question! How does breastfeeding benefit me as a mother? Breastfeeding has numerous benefits for the mother too! After birth, it helps contract the uterus back to non-pregnant size and thus helps prevent haemorrhage. Breastfeeding can also be helpful in losing weight after pregnancy. More importantly, it reduces your chance of developing breast and ovarian cancer. Breastfeeding is easy on the family budget, both from the perspective of not needing to buy formula and from the reduced medical costs on average. Nursing babies are very portable, so mothers can get out and about easily. There are no bottles to sterilise and prepare, which also helps with nighttime feeds. Overall, it is often considered more convenient for the mother to breastfeed! To Breastfeed or Not: Why There Should Be No Question!
Does breastfeeding hurt?
NO! Well, not when it is done correctly anyway! One of the main reasons why new mothers find breastfeeding painful is because their baby is incorrectly attached to the breast. This can be easily adjusted. Some women who have very sensitive nipples might find that it takes a few days for them to get used to the sensation of breastfeeding, and there might be some temporary discomfort even despite good latch; however, in almost all cases nursing with a good latch is not at all painful. Pain is a sign that there is something wrong and to seek help.
Is breastfeeding inconvenient or confining?
On the contrary, as stated above, nursing mothers often find that they have more freedom than their bottle feeding friends. Breastfed babies are infinitely portable, so mothers can go practically anywhere without the need to worry about how much food to take for their baby, where to heat it up, whether they will be delayed, or so on. Even on the instances when mother and baby need to be separated, it is possible to express milk so that baby can still have all that wonderful breast milk in her mother's absence. Breastfeeding is probably the most convenient and liberating part of motherhood!
Would you like to join the Breastfed right?. If so please click me.
If all women who do not breastfeed or who breastfeed for less than 3 months were to do so for 4 to 12 months, breast cancer among parous premenopausal women could be reduced by 11 percent, judging from current rates. If all women with children lactated for 24 months or longer, however, then the incidence might be reduced by nearly 25 percent. This reduction would be even greater among women who first lactate at an early age."
Nursing will help you to regain your figure more quickly, since the process of lactation causes the uterus (which has increased during pregnancy to about 20 times its normal size) to shrink more quickly to its prepregnancy size.
More Breastfeeidng links to be added shortly.
These are a few things that I believe to be true..
Breastfed babies are healthier, happier, more secure, and have higher IQs. Mothers who breastfeed are more attached to their infants. For most mothers, most of the time, breastfeeding is a pleasurable and satisfying experience.
Gentle human touch is vital to a baby's health and security. So many bottlefeeding Moms practice what I think of as detachment style parenting. The baby is touched only when somebody is DOING something to it. The rest of the time, the baby is propped in a carseat or baby chair or swing.
Due to the very nature of the breastfeeding experience, breastfeeding Moms in general spend more time touching their babies. Breastfeeding is vital to attachment parenting. When a breastfed baby cries, Mom's first reaction is to draw it close against her body to nurse. Eating and touching are interwoven in a way that cannot be duplicated with an artificial nipple on a bottle.
