My Take on breastfeeding

When I was growing up, everyone breastfed their babies, it was something natural until women were introduced to formula. Formula was expensive, it required a bottle, your baby didn’t have to be stuck to you the whole day, you could go do whatever you wanted, and you didn’t have to bring your baby with you. Women didn’t have to worry about cracked, sore, bleeding nipples or milk blisters. Also, women found it cool, to have their baby fed formula because remember only the wealthy could afford it. Women were also told that if they didn’t breastfeed, their breast would stay perky, what woman doesn’t want perky breast.

We are now in 2018 and mothers in the US are being told to consider breastfeeding their children, while women in Africa are stopping to breastfeed. I understand some women can’t breastfeed because of health issues, because they can’t produce milk, and those women have no choice but to feed their children formula. Here in the US, there are breast milk banks, where women with extra breastmilk donate it. When my daughter was born, I breastfed her exclusively for six months. I didn’t even give her water. When she was six months, I introduced food to her, but I continued breastfeeding until she was two years old. I developed sores, blisters, and cracked nipples. I would cry at times, but I never gave up, because I was determined. My right nipple never healed properly. I was judged when I fed her in public, I was judged because I didn’t stop breastfeeding after six months or after she turned one. I took some time off, but I bought a breast pump for when I needed to pump. Pumps aren’t only useful for pumping milk for baby when you have to leave her behind, they are also helpful for when your breast are full of milk, and you don’t want to develop sores.

Here are some reasons why a baby should be breastfed:

• When you give birth, the first milk that you produce is called colostrum, it’s rich in nutrients, it’s an antibacterial and immune system booster. theses things aren’t found in formula.
• Breast milk has natural antibodies that will help your baby with ear infections and such. My daughter has had three ear infections since she was born, she’s three now.
• Breast milk can help decrease the risk of sudden infant death syndrome in the babies first year of being born.
• Breast milk is digested easily, which reduces constipation and gas. I don’t remember my daughter ever being constipated when she was breastfed.
• Some studies show that breastfeeding could make your child more intelligent. My daughter started counting to ten when she was nine months, by eighteen months she was counting to ten in both English and French, she knew all her colors and shapes. At two she started reading three-letter words.
• Breastfed children have a lower risk of being overweight, having diabetes, developing asthma, etc…
• Breastfeeding is also beneficial for women, it helps with weight loss. I can attest to this because I lost all the weight I gained during pregnancy and more. It may also help reduce the risk of having diabetes, heart disease, etc…

 

Breast pump

 

This blog post was not written to judge those that decide to not breastfeed.

Let’s learn from each other!

 

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