Breastfeeding has been a very wonderful bonding experience for me and my daughter, Ryleigh. When we have had a busy day it’s nice to relax with Ryleigh while she breastfeeds. I love how she smiles and tries to talk while she eats. It’s like she is saying, “Thank you mommy for the good milk. ” Other times she slaps my chest, pokes my eyes, and picks my nose while she eats. Then it’s like she’s saying, “How dare you wait 30 minutes in between my feedings. ” Breastfeeding can be a very sweet and funny experience.
During my pregnancy I didn’t really think about what I was going to feed my baby. My mother breastfed my siblings and I, so breastfeeding my children was the most natural and comfortable option for me. My breastfeeding journey has been going on for about 18 months in total now. The longer I breastfeed, the more knowledge I gather. Breastfeeding my daughter for a year was very important to me because of the health benefits to her, but recently I learned that there are very good health benefits for myself if I continue to breastfeed until my daughter is two or older.
Breastfeeding has many positives to the health of mother and baby. A well-known benefit for the mother is that breastfeeding can help her get back to her pre-pregnancy weight faster than exercise alone. In a 24 hour period breastfeeding burns up to 500 calories. “Breastfeeding your baby, on average, burns 200-500 calories per day (above what you needed to maintain your prepregnancy weight) — so keep in mind that even without a weight loss program you are burning extra calories. ” (kellymom. com) In addition, breastfeeding has been shown to lower the risk of childhood obesity.
First, because breastfed infants control the amount of milk they consume, their self-regulation of energy intake, which involves their responding to internal hunger and cues that they are full, may be better than that of bottle fed infants, who may be encouraged by external cues to finish a feeding. A second possibility pertains to insulin concentrations in the blood, which vary by feeding mode. ” (cdc. gov) It is said that higher amounts of insulin, which is in infant formula, causes more output of fat tissue, which increases weight gain, obesity, and may also cause type 2 diabetes.
Furthermore, there are also some serious health benefits to breastfeeding like lowering the risk of breast cancer, postpartum depression, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. “Breastfeeding can lower breast cancer risk, especially if a woman breastfeeds for longer than 1 year. ” (breastfeeding. org) Making milk all day everyday limits the cells in the breast to misbehave, most woman have fewer menstrual cycles when they’re breastfeeding causing them to have lower levels of the estrogen hormone, and that breastfeeding women tend to eat healthier are the reasons breastcancer. rg give for how breastfeeding can prevent breast cancer.
“While Kwan found an overall 30 percent reduced risk of breast cancer recurrence among those who breast-fed, when they took the length of breast-feeding into account, any duration decreased risk, but the link was not as strong for those who did so for less than six months. ” (cbsnews. com) For people with a history of breast cancer in their families, knowing that breastfeeding could possibly prevent cancer from occurring and how long they should breastfeed could mean a lot to them.
That is why it is important that more people know about the benefits of breastfeeding in regards of preventing breast cancer. Ten to fifteen percent of women suffer from postpartum depression, according to postpartumprogress. org. Being able to successfully breastfeed could have a very positive affect on a mother’s mental health. “The study, by researchers in the UK and Spain, and published today in the journal Maternal and Child Health, shows that mothers who planned to breastfeed and who actually went on to breastfeed were around 50% less likely to become depressed than mothers who had not planned to, and who did not, breastfeed. (University of Cambridge)
Postpartum depression is a very serious health condition and can affect your parenting, relationship with your significant other and family, and who you are as a person. It is very important that you try to breastfeed in order to try to keep the depression at bay. If you cannot breastfeed and are suffering from postpartum depression, you should contact your doctor. “Each year in the United States, there are about 3,500 Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths (SUID). These deaths occur among infants less than 1 year old and have no immediately obvious cause. ” (cdc. ov)
“This study shows that breastfeeding reduced the risk of sudden infant death syndrome by approximately 50% at all ages throughout infancy. We recommend including the advice to breastfeed through 6 months of age in sudden infant death syndrome risk-reduction messages. ” (ncbi. nlm. nih. gov) It is very important that soon-to-be mothers and fathers know about the importance of breastfeeding regarding Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. By a year old only 27 percent of babies are breastfed. (cdc. gov) If mothers continued to breastfeed or give their babies donated milk, think of how much that would cut down on sudden infant deaths.
In conclusion, I would like to tell you what you can do to be more successful at breastfeeding. The first thing you can do is contact your local La Leche League chapter. You can find their information at http://www. llli. org/ or contact your local WIC office to get their number. La Leche League International is a group of mothers and lactation consultants dedicated to helping mothers be successful at breastfeeding. Secondly, join breastfeeding support groups on social media. My favorite groups are The Badass Breastfeeder and La Leche League USA. Those two groups are very informative and can point you in the right direction to get help.
Third, have a good family support system. With my own personal experience, having family that understood how important breastfeeding was helped me so much! They can support you on rough days, make you snacks and get you water. Lastly, if you’re having a very hard time breastfeeding please contact your obstetrician or midwife for help. They can prescribe medicine to bring in your breastmilk or see if you have inverted nipples or if your baby has a tongue or lip ties. Following these four steps could help make a happy, healthy, and successful breastfeeding mother and baby.
