Babies were born to breastfeed

After a great appointment with my midwives this afternoon, I have babies and birth and breastfeeding on the brain (although none of these topics are ever really far from my mind, considering my line of work and the fact that I'm a pregnant mom who loves babies). It won't be long before our newest addition joins the family, and I will once again be a nursing mother. Claire weaned at 23 months, so one might think I feel pretty confident that things will be extremely easy since I've already been there, done that. I'm not sure if my post-birth complications had anything to do with it, or if things would have been difficult anyway, but it was kind of a rocky start when Claire was born. And even though I've done this before, our new baby hasn't - it will be a completely new partnership, one that may take some time to master. Here is what kept me motivated to work through each and every challenge the first time around:

Breastfeeding is linked to a lower risk of these problems in infants:

• Ear infections

• Stomach viruses

• Diarrhea

• Respiratory infections

• Atopic dermatitis

• Asthma

• Obesity

• Type 1 and 2 diabetes

• Childhood leukemia

• SIDS

• Necrotizing entercolitis

And for the moms...

• Type 2 diabetes

• Breast cancer

• Ovarian cancer

• Postpartum depression

Studies are still looking at the effects of breastfeeding on osteoporosis and weight loss after birth.


These bullet points alone are worth trudging through a difficult beginning, but this is just a scratch in the surface of benefits (and I should add that breastfeeding is not always challenging - many moms and babies pick it up right away with no problem!) One of the coolest things about breast milk, in my opinion, is that it is constantly changing. Immediately after the birth a mother will have colostrum, appropriately referred to as "liquid gold." Just a few nutrient-dense drops fill the baby's marble-sized stomach with the exact nutrition and antibodies he needs; about 4 days later the mother's milk comes in, and again it's made up of the exact nutritional requirements for this stage of life. As the baby grows, the milk evolves; the milk of a mother breastfeeding an infant is different than that of a mother breastfeeding a toddler. The baby is also benefiting from the varied tastes he is being exposed to through the milk - the flavor will change depending on what the mother eats. So not only is it tailor made to suit the needs of the growing child, but it sets the baby up for expecting - and enjoying - a wide variety of foods in the future. Formula, on the other hand, stays the same from feeding to feeding, and doesn't change weekly or monthly to account for the baby's changing needs. It only changes when you switch from an infant formula to a toddler formula. Another cool benefit? The milk also changes with the environment - if the mother is exposed to a certain virus, she will develop antibodies for it and pass them on to the baby. Could it get any better than that?

The economical benefits can't be denied, either. Formula is expensive, even with the millions of samples and coupons you'll be swimming in as a pregnant woman. I supplemented with formula for a few weeks after my 2 week postpartum hemorrhage and the surgery that followed - in a way, it's really cool that the body knows when there is a piece of foreign matter in the uterus (a retained portion of the placenta, in this case) so it tries to flush it out by bleeding profusely. It wasn't so cool that this also resulted in my milk taking longer to come in (and that it almost killed me.) I continued breastfeeding to maintain my supply - it's all about supply and demand with breast milk - and even though we were only supplementing about 50% of the feedings, it was still a very expensive 3 weeks. According to these calculations from 2005 formula costs anywhere between $714 and $3163 in the first year of life. And these calculations are 5 years old! Think of what you could do with that much money...

I bought a top of the line breast pump for about $300 while I was pregnant because I had planned on returning to work, and although a little on the unnecessary side, it was nice to have sometimes; I also bought a few boxes of breast pads at the beginning for about $10 a box. We spent well under $50 on bottles and milk storage containers. I still have and could reuse all of these items (except for most of the breast pads, which were disposable) for our future kids, so the savings grow as the family does. And truly, you can get by without any of this. Breastfeeding can be free. There are also inexpensive pumps and reusable breast pads that fit somewhere in between the two extremes.

Convenience is another factor. Breast milk is ready to go whenever and wherever the mom and baby are. I've breastfed Claire in the car (parked, sitting in the backseat), on airplanes, out in the woods, in museums, at parks, and a variety of other places. There's no need to measure, mix with water, heat, or wash bottles. Baby + breast = the ability to feed your baby all day long without toting any junk around. Washing bottles was a huge pain - heck, finding bottles was a nightmare! We went through 5 different brands before we found one that worked. Some nipple designs gave Claire gas, some she just refused to drink from. We were lucky that we didn't have the same issues with formula...many people go through the agonizing process of having to try half a dozen different types and brands. Talk about expensive and frustrating!

Breastfeeding also benefits society. Breastfeeding saves on health care costs. Total medical care costs for the nation are lower for fully breastfed infants than never-breastfed infants since breastfed infants typically need fewer sick care visits, prescriptions, and hospitalizations. Breastfeeding contributes to a more productive workforce. Breastfeeding mothers miss less work, as their infants are sick less often. Employer medical costs also are lower and employee productivity is higher. Breastfeeding is better for our environment because there is less trash and plastic waste compared to that produced by formula cans and bottle supplies. The U.S. Surgeon General recommends that babies be fed with breast milk only for the first six months of life. This means not giving your baby any other food or drink — not even water — during this time. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding for at least 1 year, if not longer; the World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for at least 2 years, if not longer.

Some lesser known benefits include the fact that breastfeeding requires a mother to take some quiet relaxed time for herself and her baby, helping them bond. Physical contact is important to newborns and can help them feel more secure, warm, and comforted. Breastfeeding mothers may have increased self-confidence and feelings of closeness and bonding with their infants.

I was fortunate enough to have read about all of these benefits during my pregnancy, so when Claire was born there was no question in my mind how I would feed her. These benefits kept me motivated during those difficult feedings when it was easy to think that switching to formula might make life easier. Life with a newborn is never easy, but I have found that breastfeeding made things less complicated than they would have been formula feeding full time. My hope is that these facts will soon become common knowledge, so that when women become pregnant they won't even consider the question, "how should I feed my baby?" Babies were born to breastfeed, and this should be the first choice.