Today I had a great and in depth conversation with a young pregnant women about breastfeeding, she was weighing the pros and cons of exclusively breastfeeding or doing a combo of breast and formula. As we talked I begin to see how confusing and difficult feeding an infant can be, but it doesn't need to be. Simply put "breast is best". Her concerns about breastfeeding were valid and centered around her return to work, pain of breastfeeding and fears that her child would not get enough to eat, but the benefits to not only the child but to the mother as well out weigh any cons that may come with breastfeeding. First is the health benefits- Children who are breast fed have overall better health than children are are formula fed, this first stems from colostrum- the first milk produced is rich in antibodies and gives the infants immune system a boost. This overall better health carries on for a lifetime in terms of weight and overall health. Secondly- Breastfeeding support strong attachments and bonding, this is not to say that children who are formula fed do not have strong attachments, but the intimacy of breastfeeding provides for a natural attachment to form between mother and child. There is several new studies emerging in regards to the importance of positive strong early attachments and future academic, social- emotional and cognitive success. Lastly is simply the convenience of breastfeeding- Breast milk is always prepared, it comes out at body temperature and usually where they baby is. In response to this mom's concern about returning to work and finding time to pump, this is the biggest concern and hindrance of continued breastfeeding when mothers need to return to work. While it is often a challenge several steps have been taken to ensure that nursing parents are supported at work with time to pump and effective in 2012 breast pumps are covered by insurance companies.
In most developed countries women breastfeed their infants almost exclusively for the first six months, this differs in undeveloped nations where many moms cannot produce enough milk due to malnourishment or were encouraged not to breastfeed because of HIV/AIDS, new research suggests that even these children should be breast fed to avoid malnutrition or starvation.
In the end whether or not a new mom breast feed is her choice, but I think that everyone needs to be educated as to the benefits to breastfeeding.
Tamera,
ReplyDeleteI've been struggling with this decision as well. I am not due until Jan so it's not a pressing issue and I have mostly decided to breastfeed. My worry is that my full-time teaching job will interfere with this choice. I will have to figure out how much to pump and find the time and privacy to do so at work. It's a lot to consider, but I really do want to breastfeed and I hope that my fears turn out to be nothing:)
Lauren