Breast is Best For You, Too

“Often, mothers see breastfeeding as martyrdom to be endured for their baby's health. If they stop early, they may feel guilty about depriving the baby of some health benefits, but their guilt is often soothed by well-meaning people who reassure them that ‘The baby will do just as well on formula.’ Perhaps if they knew that continuing to breastfeed is also good for their own health, some mothers might be less likely to quit when they run into problems.” La Leche League International

When I gave up on breastfeeding my son at just four days old, I felt like I had failed him. I felt guilty, I felt inadequate, I felt like I wasn’t doing what was best for him. What I didn't realize at the time is that in giving up breastfeeding, I failed myself, as well. I didn’t do what was best for me.

I’ve learned so much about parenting since my son, but one of the most important areas of education for me has been breastfeeding. We all hear about how many amazing benefits breastfeeding has for babies; but we don’t often (or at least, not often enough, in my opinion) highlight the very many benefits it has for mothers, as well.

Oxytocin. After birth, putting baby to breast releases this remarkable hormone which not only signals the breasts to release milk (let down), but also produces contractions which help the uterus shrink back to its pre-pregnancy state. Oxytocin is also known as a “feel good” hormone, and the more your body releases, the more relaxed and content you feel. It’s released each time your baby latches on.

Reduces the risk of breast, uterine, and ovarian cancer. The female body produces less estrogen when it’s lactating, and studies suggest that less estrogen decreases the chances of cancer occurring. Chances of breast cancer in particular can be decreased by as much as 25 percent. The longer a mother breastfeeds, the lower the risk of cancer.

Lower rates of postpartum depression. Studies have shown that women who breastfeed have lower rates of anxiety and stress.

I’d like to add that these are merely studies—I know that every woman who breastfeeds does not avoid PPD, and in fact have known mothers who experienced PPD because of their negative experiences with early breastfeeding. But I firmly believe that breastfeeding is not to blame—rather, lack of real support, education, and the presence of booby traps are the culprits. This was my experience with my first born, and I’ve seen it happen to other women as well.

Interruption of menses. Alright, this isn’t necessarily a huge deal for everyone, but it has been for me! I didn’t get my period until my first daughter was a year old; my baby is almost five months old, and I’m still happily period-free. It’s said that this is nature’s birth control, but I wouldn’t bank on that, since you can easily get pregnant even when you’re not menstruating.

Burn, baby, burn. Breastfeeding on demand can burn as many as 500 calories a day! It’s been shown that breastfeeding mothers tend to return to their pre-pregnancy weight more easily.

I mention the above cautiously, because this is not the case for everyone. In fact, the body tends to hold on to a few extra pounds (to keep up milk production) while breastfeeding, and based on how much weight you gained during pregnancy, your body type, etc., you may not reach your pre-pregnancy weight for some time (if at all). And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Rigid dieting during breastfeeding not only runs the risk of interfering with your milk supply, it’s unhealthy for you, as your body will take what it needs to nourish your baby and leave you with little else.

That said, though I don’t believe that weight loss should be motivation to breastfeed, it’s an awesome side effect if it works out for you (and if it doesn’t, just look at the list above! There are still so many amazing benefits!).

Other benefits include lowered risk of osteoporosis, lowered risk of type 2 diabetes, lowered risk of cardiovascular disease, and lowered risk of rheumatoid arthritis.

Lastly, breastfeeding is free. I’ve done it both ways, and even with the purchase of breast pads, a breast pump, some pump accessories, and a few bottles, I have spent close to nothing breastfeeding my daughters, compared to the hundreds of dollars I spent formula feeding my son—and we switched to cow’s milk when he turned one. Continuing on with “toddler” formula doubles, even triples the cost, depending on how long the formula is used.

I believe that if this information were made more readily available to pregnant mothers, they would be twice as likely to breastfeed—or at least stick with it when it gets a bit hard. After nine months of pregnancy and a difficult birth, I felt like I had given so much to my son, and I couldn’t give any more. I was so tired, and I was so stressed. Even though I knew I could do better than formula for him, had I been aware of how good breastfeeding was for me, it would have given me the motivation to keep going.

When you’re in over your head with a new baby, losing sleep, grappling with new emotions, a new body, and a completely different life, it can indeed feel like martyrdom to continue breastfeeding your baby. If every woman had this information at her fingertips, maybe she would feel empowered and supported to keep on going.

I am the proof. Though much of my confidence has come from the wisdom of having more than one child, most of my peace and contentment has come from the way I parent; from the things I’ve done differently, and better. Breastfeeding is at the top of the list.

Breast is best. For babes, and for moms.

Children's Shows and Bottles

Lately, my daughter has been more of a mom to her baby dolls, and I think it's adorable.  The only problem is that she has decided to stop nursing them and gives them bottles.

I asked why, and her response, "Dora gives the baby bottles, so does Super Why."

I almost cried.

We talked about how babies drink milk from their mom's breasts, and she knows that and used to do that all the time, but she just kept going back to how the people on her shows didn't, so that must be how it's done.

I understand that breasts are seen as mostly sexual objects now, with only that function.  That doesn't mean it's right or I agree with it, but I understand.

I just have a huge issue with shows made for children that show artificial feeding as the norm.  In the US, yes more women use bottles and formula than breastfeed, but that doesn't make it right.

I try very hard to teach my daughter that breastfeeding is normal and natural, and love when she is able to see it since I probably won't be able to show her myself.  I want her to be completely comfortable with her body and everything it does.  At almost five years old, she is enthralled with things "important" people do, and that is seen as the coolest thing in the world to her.

Watching Dora (shudder) and Super Why with her and then watching them with bottles just makes me want to write nasty letters about how they are, from the very beginning of children's lives, showing that bottle feeding is the normal thing to do when one has a baby.

I am in no way saying that bottle feeding is wrong, just that by showing bottles automatically on children's shows, you are making another generation that feels breastfeeding is weird if only from the early experiences they have.

After each time she sees this, we talk about why people sometimes need to use bottles, but babies drink milk from their mother's breast.  I hope this is enough, because I am being ambushed by everything around me.

How do you deal with the ads, pictures, images, and everything else children see that make bottle feeding seem superior and more normal than breastfeeding?  Is there really any other way to combat this than to talk all the time about how the body works and to show women feeding their babies the natural way?

Put your money where your mouth is

Photo credit: Danielle Moler (Flickr)

My family and I do not buy Nestle products.  This means we no longer lay a finger on Butterfinger and our kids are opting out of membership in the Gerber generation.  It's not always easy with such a huge product list to boycott, but we feel that it is a decision we must make.  Our boycott of Nestle stems primarily from being part of the lactivist community, but this is a cause that should be promoted by breastfeeding and formula feeding families, and well, everyone else with a conscience. 

It Is Lactivist To Support All Women

Last Wednesday Abbot Laboratories announced that it was recalling some of its Similac brand powdered infant formula. After one of their production plants found that a beetle infestation had contaminated the production line.

Shortly there after, social networks lit up with chatter about the recall. Much of this chatter was from a few in the breastfeeding community who used it to attack the formula company. Unfortunately, as often happens in these instances, the attack turned personal.

I understand the sentiments. I understand that the idea of a child, or anybody, unknowingly ingesting insect parts is shocking and nauseating to many of us. I understand that the marketing campaigns of these companies that continually misrepresent their products as ‘just as safe’ and ‘just as healthy’ as breast milk are frustrating and understand the instinct to point our fingers and say ‘There! You see!’

But I also understand that the way many chose to express these sentiments was hurtful to mothers who choose to feed their babies formula.

Yes, this recall does present a valuable opportunity for lactivists. Not the opportunity to say ‘I told you so’ or to use words like ‘poison’ or ‘evil’, it is not an opportunity to guilt women for their choices with comments like ‘Isn’t it great that MY baby has NEVER had formula’. These comments do nothing to promote breastfeeding, they do nothing to support women, and they do everything to perpetuate the stereotype of the smug and judgmental ‘breastfeeding Nazi’.

The opportunity that this recall presents is much more positive. This recall has presented the opportunity to educate women who cannot or choose not to breastfeed of feeding options other that artificial milk. It is the opportunity to call attention and support to programs like milk share and human milk banking.

This recall is the opportunity to fight for higher health and safety standards for the producers of artificial human milk, to ensure women who don’t have a human milk option can still have access to a safe alternative. It is the opportunity to further stress the importance of the WHO code. By limiting the marketing of artificial human milk, and preventing formula companies from handing out millions of dollars worth of free samples, they could bring down the cost of formula and make prepared formula (a more sterile but also more expensive formula option to powdered formulas) more accessible to lower income families who may need it.

I think we can all agree that taking this opportunity, and others, to speak and act in a more positive and understanding way would be a much more productive course of action. Breastfeeding activism, as Connected Mom Jenn stated on Twitter not long ago, is not about shaming women, it’s about giving women the resources to succeed. If a woman chooses not to breastfeed, then she still deserves the resources to provide her child with clean, safe, and healthy food choices. We CAN fight for both. We CAN put an end to the hurt and misunderstandings. We CAN come together to ensure that every woman has the opportunity to feed her child however she chooses without booby-traps, without judgment, and without guilt.