For a mother of three, when it came to breastfeeding, she did not have to think about whether she would breastfeed her children. She said she always wanted to breastfeed because she just knew that, that is what mothers did.
“That’s a part of the process of motherhood,” she said. “And I never thought to do otherwise, because it has always been deemed the best choice for the baby,” said the mother of a 10-year-old, a seven-year-old, and a one-year-old.
“And it is a bonding experience. Breastfeeding is very much a connection with my kids – something only I could do – and daddy couldn’t do the same. It was a special bond.”
But she has a cut-off point for breastfeeding her children. She does not go past 12 months.
“Even though I stopped breastfeeding my children at their first birthday, it wasn’t that I didn’t like breastfeeding, it was just time.”
For the mom, the biggest challenge she has is when she sees family and friends that aren’t able to experience breastfeeding because of whatever challenge they may face. She had a family member with salty milk who could not breastfeed as a result and knows women who only breastfed for three months, or friends who have only been able to breastfeed for three months and had to stop for whatever reason.
“Breastfeeding connected me with my kids. We bonded in such an amazing way,” she said. “And many of us women take for granted what we can do.”
The mothers, who, for whatever reason find that they can’t breastfeed, she said, should not be stigmatized.
With August recognized as Breastfeeding Awareness Month, Bahamas National Breastfeeding Association (BNBA) officials have in the past said the decision to breastfeed is a personal one, but that they hoped to attract women to breastfeeding rather than formula feeding their babies.
BNBA officials have described breastfeeding as an investment in a baby’s future, as a mother produces food that is perfect for the baby, and that the cells, hormones, and antibodies in breastmilk protect babies from illnesses.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for about six months, and then continuing breastfeeding while introducing complementary foods until a child is 12 months or older. The organization said this provides a child with ideal nutrition, and supports growth and development.
According to the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention, breastfeeding is good for both mother and child. It says breast milk is the best source of nutrition for most babies, and as a baby grows, a mother’s breast milk changes to meet the baby’s nutritional needs.
Breastfed babies are said to have a lower risk of asthma, obesity, type 1 diabetes, severe lower respiratory disease, acute otitis media (ear infections), sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), gastrointestinal infections (diarrhea/vomiting), and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) for preterm infants.
Benefits to mothers who breastfeed include a lower risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure.
According to the mother of three, who has no idea whether or not she was breastfed, because she never had that conversation with her mom, the only reason she would not have opted out of breastfeeding her children would have been if she had had a problem breastfeeding.
World Breastfeeding Awareness Month aims to highlight the benefits that breastfeeding can bring to both the health and welfare of babies, as well as a wider push for maternal health, focusing on good nutrition, poverty reduction and food security.
Breastfeeding week aims to raise awareness of the health and well-being outcomes of breastfeeding and the importance of supporting mothers to breastfeed for as long as they wish.
In a previous Nassau Guardian article, Trineka Hall, lactation coordinator and BNBA president, said the baby’s benefits are vast as a result of breastfeeding. And that because of those benefits, the BNBA’s mission was to sensitize people to the benefits of breastfeeding.
Hall, herself, a mother of three, in an earlier interview with The Nassau Guardian, said she spoke from experience, having breastfed her oldest child for approximately three to four weeks before she chose to feed him formula via a bottle. She said then that she did so, due to a lack of information at the time that she could express her milk, pump it, store it, and take it to the nursery, so she just went ahead and gave her baby formula.
By the time she had her second child, she had met Nurse Carlotta Klass, the lactation coordinator at the time who educated her on breastfeeding. Armed with the correct information, Hall said she proceeded to exclusively breastfeed her second child for two-and-a-half years, and her third child until the child no longer wanted the breast.
It was through breastfeeding her second and third children that Hall said she learned firsthand the benefits of breastfeeding, which she said included the closeness and bonding with the baby, the specific nutrition only she could provide as a mother, the cost savings and the health benefits for not only the baby, but for herself as well.
The lactation consultant also said she noticed the financial difference between having her first child and her other two children after giving one formula, and breastfeeding the other two. She said she saved money on formula, bottles and the like.
She encourages pregnant mothers to consider trying to breastfeed for the first six months and to notice the money they save. She said the added benefit would be healthier, smarter children.
According to the nurse, when learning to breastfeed, the most important thing a mother-to-be can do to prepare is to have confidence in herself, and plan ahead. She said that committing to breastfeeding starts with a mother’s belief that she can do it.
Women are also encouraged to get good prenatal care when pregnant, talk to their doctor about their plans to breastfeed, and ensure that the facility at which they plan to give birth has staff and the means to support successful breastfeeding. Mothers-to-be can also take a breastfeeding class, ask a doctor to recommend a lactation consultant for support after the baby is born, talk to friends who have breastfed, or consider joining a breastfeeding support group like BNBA. Equally important, officials say, is the mother-to-be talking to their spouse, partner, and other family members about how they can help them successfully breastfeed.
The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) states that empowerment is a process that requires evidence-based unbiased information and support to create the enabling environment where mothers can breastfeed optimally, and that as breastfeeding is in the mother’s domain, when fathers, partners, families, workplaces and communities support her, breastfeeding improves. The process, they say, can be supported as breastfeeding is a team effort and everyone needs to protect, promote and support it.
Family members can assist by being kind and encouraging, good listeners, and helping to ensure new mothers get enough to drink and enough rest by helping around the house, and taking care of any other children who are in the home.
Mothers are encouraged to breastfeed as soon as possible after giving birth, then at least eight to 12 times every 24 hours to promote milk production. New mothers are advised that in the first few days after birth, that a baby will likely need to breastfeed about every one to two hours during the day and a few times at night, as healthy babies develop their own feeding patterns. Mothers are encouraged to follow their baby’s cues for when he/she is ready to eat.
And while there are many benefits to baby and mother breastfeeding, there are common breastfeeding challenges that mothers should be aware of – sore nipples; low milk supply; oversupply of milk; strong let-down reflex; engorgement; plugged ducts; breast infection (mastitis); fungal infections; inverted, flat or very large nipples; and nursing strike. But lactation specialists say for every challenge, there is a solution.
The post Breast is best appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/breast-is-best/
No comments:
Post a Comment