Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding

                The practice of nursing or breastfeeding has been around since the beginning of time. In some places around the world, and even in the United States, breastfeeding is seen as taboo and inappropriate, especially when done in public places. Some women today are becoming more and more uncomfortable with breastfeeding their infants because of fear of others reactions if they choose to nurse in public, inconvenience, or because the process of breastfeeding can sometimes be painful for the mother. Breastfeeding is a great way for mother and baby to bond with each other during the early months of the infants life. This practice, although sometimes difficult, is very beneficial for both mother and baby. This paper will cover the benefits and challenges of breastfeeding, tips for the mom returning to work, as well as laws and the government’s stance on the subject.

                Nursing your infant the natural way has a number of benefits. In our current economy, one benefit that always resonates with most people is money. Breastfeeding the infant can save the parents thousands of dollars on formula, which can range from $25-$50 per can. Parents also save money on many bottles, nipples and cups for the baby. They also save time because they no longer have to continue to wash and sterilize the baby’s bottles. Breast milk is known to some as “liquid gold” (womenshealth.gov) because breast milk contains just the correct amount of nutrients, vitamins and antibodies for the baby’s body. These antibodies help improve the infants immune system making him/her sick less often and these antibodies also give the baby passive immunity from these nutrients found in mothers breast milk. Store bought formula also has nutrients, but no antibodies. Breastfeeding also is a great way for mother and baby to bond. Skin-to-skin contact is ideal for babies because it makes them feel safe and it also gives the mother time to relax. This skin-to-skin contact is great for the baby, but even better for the mother because it can boost levels of the hormone oxytocin. Oxytocin can increase the mother’s milk flow and also help her to relax. Mothers who breastfed their children are also shown to be a lower risks for diabetes, breast and ovarian cancer, as well as postpartum depression. In the event of an emergency, breast feeding your baby could also protect your baby from a contaminated water supply. Breast milk is also always available and at the right temperature for the infant (U.S Dept of Health and Human Service Office of Womens Health, 2010).

                Challenges to breastfeeding include sore nipples because the baby is not latching on correctly. In the event that this happens, the mother should remove her nipple and allow the baby to try again. Another common challenge to breastfeeding is and under or over supply of milk. Most mothers can make an adequate amount of milk for their babies, but for some women, they produce an excess amount which can lead to uncomfortable feeding for both mother and baby and can lead to another complication for breastfeeding which is engorgement of the breasts. This can be relieved by massaging or a cold compress. Having a plugged duct is another challenge to breast feeding. Sometimes a duct will clog and pressure will build behind it causing the breast tissue to become inflamed. To help with this the mother should try to nurse the baby on the affected side to help loosen the plug (U.S Dept of Health and Human Service Office of Womens Health, 2010).

                If the mother is a working woman then she only has a limited amount of time to be on maternity leave and eventually she will have to return to work. When she does return to work there are things that she can do to make the process of breastfeeding run as smoothly as possible. When going back to work, the mother should return to work gradually so as to make the transition easier for her, the baby and the employer. The mother should continue to pump breast milk and freeze it 2-4 ounce bags. If your infant is in daycare then the bottle should be labeled. She should make sure that whoever is taking care of the child knows how to properly handle breast milk and how to preserve it. The mother should also try to find a quiet place in her office to continue breastfeeding throughout the day. A quiet place could be somewhere like a private office with a door to keep intruders out, an empty conference room or a large closet. Bathrooms are assumed to be the best place to pump, however, they are actually the worst because they are full of bacteria, easily accessed by many other people, they often don’t have many outlets (for the mother using the electric breast pump) and they also make it hard to breast pump in general because the mother would be in a bathroom stall (U.S Dept of Health and Human Service Office of Womens Health, 2010).

                Forty-five of the fifty states, as well as the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands allow mothers to breastfeed in public. Twenty-eight states exempt the practice of breastfeeding from public indecency laws. Members of the Federal Interagency Working Group on Women's Health and the Environment worked together to create the HHS Blueprint for Action on Breastfeeding. This work was releases in 2000 by the Surgeon General and served as the first comprehensive work for breastfeeding for the country. This blueprint “focuses attention on the importance of breastfeeding and recommends action steps for the health care system, families, the community, researchers and the workplace to promote breastfeeding.” It also focuses on disparities of breastfeeding and how there is an extremely low rate of breastfeeding among African-American mothers and children (U.S Dept of Health and Human Service Office of Womens Health, 2010).

                Breastfeeding is a frugal, and beautiful way for mothers to bond with their infants. It is also a way to keep both mom and baby healthy. The working mother can still live her life and not worry about being inconvenienced when her child needs to be fed and now that we know that the government is back up the movement, there is no reason why more mothers should not try to breast feed all of their children for the first 6 months of life. In Missouri, we are one of the states with one of the lower breastfeeding rates(Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013) and hopefully with ongoing movements like the National Breastfeeding Campaign we can work to change this statistic for Missouri and every other state.

Sources:

U.S Dept of Health and Human Service Office of Womens Health. (2010, August 04). Breastfeeding.    Retrieved from http://www.womenshealth.gov/breastfeeding/why-breastfeeding-is-important/index.html

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013, January 22). 2012 breastfeeding report card- united states. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/data/reportcard.htm