To Breast Feed or Not, That is the Question!

Back in the olden days when I was having babies breast feeding was frowned upon as something only poor people did. I don’t really know why, since my mother breast fed all five of us siblings and we turned out healthy enough. Of course, when I was having babies pediatricians also advised Moms to start feeding their infants solid food (cereals, fruit) at the ripe old age of 6 weeks, too.

In the years since then medical science has actually investigated how nature designed babies to be fed, and discovered that human breast milk in most circumstances is the very best thing a baby human could be getting in the way of nutrition. Almost as if they finally figured out that cow’s milk is for baby cows! What’ll they think of next?

In addition to being the most easily digested animal protein infants can get, breast milk also comes with antibodies that protect babies against diseases and allergies, and breast feeding generally doesn’t cause the baby to swallow air which leads to vomiting, upset stomach, and unhappy babies.

There’s an additional plus to breast feeding your baby - you won’t have to spend a lot of time boiling bottles and nipples and rings and caps, mixing formula and heating it while the baby’s screaming to be fed. Breast feeding promotes healthy mother-infant bonding, stimulates infant sensory development and helps to prevent mastitis (infection of the mammary glands in the mother, which may help protect her from breast cancer later in life.

Moreover, people are starting to get over their strange belief that seeing a mother breast feeding an infant is something akin to pornography. Where that came from heaven only knows, but I do have some sneaking (and decidedly feminist) suspicions about that.

Now, there are of course issues that argue against breast feeding your baby and these should be considered. If you have HIV or active tuberculosis you shouldn’t breast feed. Duh! There are also certain medicines, drugs and alcohol that will pass through the milk and harm the baby.

All of these things are fairly self-evident for contraindications most people could have figured out for themselves. But then there are modern poisons in our environment and daily food supply that can harm the baby too, and these are not so well known. A concerned mother should think about having herself tested for accumulations of certain pesticides, mercury and other heavy metals if she thinks she may be at risk.

Another consideration for Moms that can outweigh the home and traveling convenience of breast feeding is her career. If she works outside the home breast feeding can be difficult. Sure, there are some workplaces that will allow Mom to bring her infant and breast feed on demand, but a lot more that won’t. And while Mom could extract milk with a pump for the caregiver to feed from a bottle, that doesn’t do much for her engorgement while at work during normal feeding time. Some mothers pump in the bathroom and throw the milk away (or save it in the work fridge to take home), but that’s inconvenient as well.

This one’s got to be up to Mom. She can stay home for the first two months and breast feed, then stop breast feeding when she goes back to work. Or do the pump thing. Or find a job that allows her to work from home or bring the baby.

At any rate, there’s a wealth of great information out there from the National Institutes of Health and breast feeding support organizations. Click on some of the links below and follow their article links to find answers to any questions you’ve got. The decision to breast feed is one a young mother should make as early in her pregnancy as possible. If for no other reason than to allow her the time to toughen up those nipples before the baby comes along. They’ll get some abuse, and you don’t really want to be feeding that baby blood, do you?

Links:

La Leche League International

Medline: Breast Feeding

Breastfeeding Support and Attitude

US HHS: Breastfeeding - Best for Baby. Best for Mom.

American Academy of Pediatrics: Breastfeeding

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Filed under Breastfeeding, Nutrition, Family Life, Child-Parent Relationships, Family Planning, Pregnancy |