Breastfeeding

Come on Time magazine…. This cover is just freaking disgusting!! I am in agreement with a lot of mothers on this topic. I think that breastfeeding is a wonderful experience for mother and baby. This image is way too extreme and sheds a provocative light on breastfeeding to say the least. Individuals want to ban mothers from breastfeeding their infants in public places, what did you think they were going to say about this cover? I think it is wonderful that these mothers want to be close to their children, but there are lots of ways to achieve closeness besides having a four year old hanging off of your breast! There are advocates that promote breastfeeding, who are encouraging young ladies that this method of nurturing is the healthiest choice you could make for your infant. This depiction of breastfeeding would perhaps turn them off because of the negative light it sheds on what is supposed to be a beautiful experience. The illustrations that you commonly see of breastfeeding mothers and their babies displays a soft comforting closeness, a strong connection between breastfeeding and the desire to give babies the very best of the best. As a breastfeeding mother I was appalled to see this, I watched a television show this with Dr. SO and SO, she says that mothers feel maybe they could have done better or they feel guilty that they are not able to participate in this study of extended attachment. PAH!!! I beg to differ with you honey… My youngest child is two and I still have milk but I WOULD NEVER breastfeed her until she was four years old, because it’s just gross she eats at the table just fine, thanks!

I breastfed both of my children and I will undoubtedly breastfeed anymore children that I have. When I see a picture like the one exemplifying this extended attachment method I am perturbed. At what point are you breastfeeding for the health and nourishment benefits and what point does it become more for perversion or comfort? The fact that you are continuing to breastfeed your child at the age of 3 and 4 is no different than giving them a pacifier. The nutritional benefit has greatly dropped at that point because they are getting most of the nutrients they need from table foods. I am in child care and I deal with attachment issues in young children and this proposes a greater challenge for anyone who is planning to help these children make the transition from being at home with mom to being in a structure non pacified classroom environment. There are so many reasons that this is just not acceptable. 

Now what I will argue is in spite of this random and seldom seen extended attachment, not enough American babies are being breastfed at all. It is either one extreme or another (too much or not at all) there are many benefits to breastfeeding your child from birth to one year of age. Mothers who are not able to breastfeed should not feel bad, but those that simply choose not to need to be informed of these benefits. Not only does it provide your infant with much needed natural antibodies that reduce ear infections, pneumonia, diarrhea, and even sudden infant death syndrome. It is also beneficial to the mother as it helps reduce the possibility of getting pregnant too soon (not a guaranteed method but it helps), reduction in breast and ovarian cancer, as well as promoting the loss of the weight gained during pregnancy.  Breastfeeding also creates the skin to skin contact needed for baby to feel closeness to mother as well as putting the infant in the position where they can see the mothers face. We know in the first weeks of life babies have limited color and clearness in their sight and placing a baby in the cradle position for breastfeeding puts them at a closeness they can see and feel. This assists with an infant’s growth in the domain of emotional and social development.

I encourage mothers to at least attempt breastfeeding their infant, it is a win-win approach to nurturing your child. My son was five weeks premature and he had to be delivered via cesarean and once he was born they realized that he was having trouble breathing and immediately placed him in an oxygenated incubator. I was so determined to breastfeed that I sent a message to the nursing staff not to give him a bottle or a pacifier. I sat in my room and I pumped and pumped and pumped, the nurses laughed and teasingly called me the “Colostrum Queen”. I sent it down to the NICU and the staff syringe fed him until they could bring him to me. Once he was able to come down we had such a difficult time getting him to latch, I mean I had the nurses, the doctors, even the hospital lactation consultants trying to assist me in getting my baby to latch on. At times he would latch and it HURT, I knew that was not right! So we went on and off like this for five days, luckily I was still able to pump enough to feed him (and probably some more babies.) It wasn’t until I got home on day five and realized I was feeling pretty bad, I had a fever! I was painfully engorged, so I pumped and amazingly my body had stopped making colostrum, this was pure milk! I pumped 23 ounces of milk and the fever went away I had fully bounced back, and then I wanted to give my baby one more shot at latching. At that very moment he did it, we did it! I was so happy my baby was successfully nursing and I knew I was giving him all the nourishment he needed to protect him from diseases and promote brain development. I tell this story to encourage any woman who is debating or having a hard time with breastfeeding, it may sometimes be a struggle but it is worth it. As a matter-of-fact I have never had anything that was really worth it to come without at least a small fight or struggle, I guess the old saying reigns true, “If it’s worth having, it’s worth fighting for!” 

Reports say that infants greatly benefit from exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of life and mothers that are comfortable can go to the twelve month mark. I admonish you to stick it out as long as you can even if you don’t continue to exclusively feed from the breast. Pump and freeze your milk, get some breast milk pads to make sure that you don’t give your boss a glass…. It may seem like a lot to commit to but it can be done, we commit to the things that we really want to, but that’s a blog of a different color! Why not give your baby the very best in the beginning of life?