Breastfeeding story
Right after birth the baby is placed on Mommy's bare breast. It knows instinctively to latch on and starts sucking. Mommy's breast feels so good and soft!
During the following weeks, baby feeds very often, even several times during the same hour.
Baby sleeps with Mom
so it feels secure and Mom is able to watch baby closely and feed the
baby easily. Mother and baby get used to breastfeeding and learn
the right positions with the help of friends and other supportive
people. Other women help the mother with breastfeeding problems
if they arise.
Baby and mother grow to love each other a lot
and enjoy the closeness of breastfeeding. Breast gives baby
comfort as well as food - and thereby baby grows well and is very
happy. Baby does not need security blankets or pacifiers - it
uses Mommy's soft and cuddly two breasts instead!
Somewhere
along the way solid foods are introduced, but baby continues to nurse,
too. Even during the toddler years the little child nurses here
and there, especially when going to sleep or during times of stress.
Nursings get less and less, being only a few times a week. Finally the
child weans itself willingly, without getting any emotional trauma from
leaving its 'security blanket' behind.
Sounds ideal... and it is, but in reality breastfeeding is not always this easy!
Fortunately breastfeeding rates have slowly been increasing since the 1990s, but
only 36 percent of US infants are still being breastfed at 6 months,
as found by the immunization survey in 2003. [1] And even though
experts recommend exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, the same survey
found that only 41% of mothers at 3 months and a mere 14% at 6 months
were doing so. [1]
However, a careful study of statistics shows that 9,000
lives could be saved
yearly in the USA by exclusive/extended breastfeeding! That is
because breastfeeding infants have only 1/5th the rate of SIDS, and
half the rate of the overall infant deaths. [8]
Reasons why women fail to breastfeed or wean too early
(These are not in any particular order of importance.)
Bottle-feeding is perceived as the norm. People in the USA and many
western cultures simply live in a bottle-feeding culture. It is very
unusual to see a breastfeeding mother, and even more unusual to see a mother
nursing a toddler or an older child - yet even World Health Organization
recommends breastfeeding for at least two years. Television, books, and
media usually show a baby with a bottle, not a baby at its mother's breast.
Little girls grow up perceiving formula-feeding as the norm.
Breastfeeding is natural but not
instinctive. It needs to be learned. However, it is hard to learn about
breastfeeding in a bottle-feeding culture. (Bottle-feeding culture at Childfun.com)
Mother thinks breastfeeding is yucky or indecent.
Breasts are to feed babies - if that was not so, why do breasts start making
after mother gives birth (or tiny amounts even before)? There is nothing
indecent about feeding your baby. Think about a cat mother feeding her
kitties, or a dog feeding her puppies. Everybody just thinks that is cute
and natural - the same is true for humans feeding their babies.
Health Benefits of breastfeeding
With scientific references.
101 Reasons to breastfeed your child
from ProMom.com
Breastfeeding and the sexual abuse survivor
by Kathleen Tendall-Tacket, Ph.D, IBCLC. This paper describes the
possible effects of child sexual abuse on mother's breastfeeding
experience and gives some suggestions and strategies for lactation
consultants as to how to deal with the situations.
Multiplicity, Abuse & Healing network
Impact of past child sexual abuse on breastfeeding
Mother's past sexual abuse. One out of every five American
women has been sexually abused during childhood, and it is estimated
about 20% of those show significant symptoms as adults. There are
wide reactions to past sexual abuse: some women who have been sexually
abused cannot tolerate the thought of breastfeeding while others find
breastfeeding as a healing experience. Especially difficult
situations include: the early postpartum period with its high demands;
night-time feedings since the night remind the mother of earlier abuse;
and feeding an older infant who plays with the breast and smiles at
it. These mothers may benefit from extra support of those around
her or from mental health professionals, from partial
pumping/bottlefeeding, and from extra reassurance to know what is
normal behavior by the baby and how to redirect baby's behavior.
[10] On the other hand, breastfeeding can actually reduce child
abuse and abandonment by mothers.[11]
Husband or partner's negative opinions. Unfortunately
many men think woman's breasts are sexual organs, so they can become
jealous over the nursing mom's breasts, or start thinking that the baby
is doing something indecent and pervert when it feeds.
Breastfeeding is NOT a sexual act
but simply a feeding act. It can be pleasurable to the mother
(though also painful!), but it is not sensual pleasure, just a good
feeling of being close to your baby.
Unsupportive friends or family members. Since bottle feeding was the
norm in the near past, often a new mom's own mother and other relatives know
very little about breastfeeding or even have negative experiences, and cannot
support her. In fact, she might hear all kinds of undermining
comments from ignorant people who don't understand the breastfeeding
process. If that happens, you can try to explain to them in a nice way
what the facts are.
Lack of knowledge of medical care personnel. Some
doctors know very little about breastfeeding or know nothing about the
dangers of infant formula, so won't really encourage the woman to
breastfeed, or simply won't influence the mother in any direction.
While there are many pediatricians and obstetricians who do
strongly support and speak for breastfeeding, you cannot count your
doctor being that way unless you choose who is going to be your doctor.
- A majority of pediatricians believe that breastfeeding and formula-feeding are equally acceptable methods for feeding infants. [2]
- Physicians and nurses in the U.S. routinely receive gifts, office supplies, meals,
a year's supply of free infant formula for themselves or a relative and even pricey vacations from the infant-formula marketing representatives
who haunt their offices.[3]
"Women
also need to know about the very real 'risks' of bottle-feeding,
including higher morbidity and mortality during childhood, higher rates
of cancer and diabetes in adulthood, and poorer cognitive development."
Katherine Dettwyler in The Cultural Context of Breastfeeding in the United
States
Problems in breastfeeding. These
include sore nipples, milk supply problems, thrush, infections,
etc. By far most of the breastfeeding problems are solvable with
adequate information and support.
One of the usual initial problems is sore nipples, or simply pain
while nursing. That is very common, and usually subsides after
about one month. Just hang in there, make sure the positioning is
right and baby has a good latch, and find support from someone or from
internet message boards. It will get easier later and you'll be
glad for your decision.
Mismanagement of breastfeeding. Breastfeeding works best when
baby is put to the breast very soon after birth, and is allowed to feed
as frequently as she wants - which is called 'cue feeding' or 'demand
feeding'. Mother's milk supply is built up by the frequent
feeding (which may mean every 30 minutes to every two hours), and this
is important especially in the beginning. But wrong ideas about
'nursing schedules' still persist, based on bottle-fed babies'
needs. Not feeding frequently can lead to low milk supply.
Another pitfall is that many women don't understand the danger of supplemental
formula in regards to the "demand=supply" principle of milk production.
The more formula you give to your baby in addition to breast milk, the
less milk your breasts produce. Formula companies know this, and
that is why they are so eager to give you free samples from every
direction.
Difficulties with public breastfeeding. Even though
breastfeeding in public is perfectly legal
in the US in any place where the mother and baby would otherwise be
allowed, women have had to leave swimming pools, supermarkets,
restaurants, malls etc., or they have been told to nurse in the
bathroom. Since breasts are perceived as 'sexual', it is often
hard for women to be brave enough to breastfeed in public because they
fear other people's attitudes about exposing their breasts.[5]
Because of the general attitudes American society has about
breastfeeding and of breasts, many women won't feel totally free and at
ease when nursing in public, but in reality most mothers, when they get
over the initial fears, find that the general public doesn't pay that much attention to the act,
for the most part. People can almost seem to avoid watching the
nursing mother in order to not make her feel uncomfortable. In
fact, if someone appears to be watching, it may very well be that the
person is just plain curious to see this precious moment of mother
nurturing her child.
Misconceptions about weaning. Many people in US think that
breastfeeding is only for the first couple of months of an infant's
life, or mostly up to year. Experts don't agree with this.
World Health Organization (WHO) recommends breastfeeding to 2 years of age,
and American Academy of Pediatrics clearly states in their policy statement
Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk, "Exclusive
breastfeeding is ideal nutrition and sufficient to support optimal
growth and development for approximately the first 6 months after birth."
"It is recommended that breastfeeding continue for at least 12 months, and thereafter for as long as mutually desired." [9]
In many other cultures worldwide and in most of the history children
weaned even much later. Comparing humans to our closest animal
relatives, Katherine Dettwyler has estimated that the natural age
of weaning in humans would be between 2.3 and 7 years.[6] Many
women in the world and even in today's America do let children
self-wean, and those allowed to do so, usually wean between 2 and 5
years of age. The benefits of breastfeeding don't stop at any
age. Many people think little children need to drink cow's milk -
how much better it is when toddlers can get human milk with just the
right nutrients for humans!
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