What are the Advantages of Breastfeeding?
July 1st, 2011Breastfeeding and the extent of its benefits has been a long debate ever since 1869. Prepackaged baby food was invented and commercialized by Justus Von Leibig in that very year. His invention was a condensed formula which needed the addition of cow’s milk. It began selling in the USA for roughly one dollar a bottle. In 1870, Henri Nestle developed a liquid baby formula for malnourished infants which didn’t require cow’s milk, and was the first complete baby formula on the commercial market. This led to an ambush revolution adding convenience to wealthy mothers all across the United States. Come the 1950s, nearly all regular households contained a lower priced evaporated milk (debuted in the 1920s) and fed their children with it. By the 1970s, only about 25% of American mothers were breastfeeding and popular thought suggested that the pre-made formulas contained a higher nutritional value for baby, than a mother’s own milk. This is no longer the popular trend, still, others disagree.
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Those opposed to breastfeeding use many different arguments. They say that breastfeeding is time consuming. Because breast milk is much less dense than formula, babies tend to wake up more frequently for feedings. Even when using a bottle for breast milk, the mother still must pump every 2 to 3 hours. Pumping as opposed to the child feeding directly off the mother causes the mother to dry up more quickly and the mother never truly adjusts to the child’s increased appetite. Mothers may feel increased fatigue because all of the energy they have is not just towards her child’s care, but to producing an adequate milk supply. Mothers may become engorged if the baby is not feeding well, which is painful and inconvenient. A mother’s breast may leak making breast pads a necessity to buy. Frustrations will occur in the beginning when both the infant and the mother are beginning to learn. Many women experience pain and bleeding of the nipples particularly in the beginning. Sometimes, a mother will opt out of breastfeeding because she has to go back to work and cannot schedule a proper feeding regimen, or set aside enough time out of her day to pump while at work and avoid becoming engorged during her 8-hour day.
Despite all that, recently it has become more and more common for mothers to start to breastfeed. Statistics encourage mothers to engage in breastfeeding saying that it is all around beneficial for both parties, particularly in the first few months of the infant’s life. Pro-breast feeding enthusiasts claim that it enhances mother child bonding, that it increases significantly a child’s antibodies and exclusive nutrients which will help to fight off sicknesses such as the flu or common cold, and that a mother’s body naturally increases it’s milk supply as the baby needs it. It is also said that breastfeeding promotes body development (facial, nervous system, bone), mental growth (IQ) and that breastfeeding leads to straighter teeth and decreases the chances of tooth decay, and even leads to better vision. This list can go on and on. From personal experience, I can attest to some of these benefits. After being attached for almost a year from embryo to infant, it seems only natural that mother and child be bonded together through other vital means. The experience of breastfeeding can be a difficult one to begin with. A mother must be patient with their infant as she persistently adjusts her child’s mouth to teach the proper way to grasp her nipples. Breastfeeding can also be painful, particularly when a child doesn’t latch on properly, however, when learned and done correctly, breastfeeding can be rewarding. It allows you to achieve a closeness that enhances the codependence of the mother child experience as a whole. Only a biological mother has the liberty to create milk specifically for her child. No mother’s breast milk is the same and no formula is like breast milk.
Everyone has heard that breastfeeding is the healthiest way to go, but not many are aware of the actual statistics. Roughly 85% of all women in the United States of America bare children. In 2005 (the most recent completed study available) about two thirds of that population chose to breastfeed, and by six months after giving birth, almost half of those women had stopped giving their children any breast milk at all (42% to be exact). That drop brought the total number of mothers in participation to about 12% of the initial 85%. Wow. Experts suggest that if mothers chose to feed their children exclusively on breast milk for the entire first six months of their child’s life, not only would the numbers favor their individual child, but the overall health of the children in the United States. Melissa Bartick, graduate of Harvard Medicine and of the Department of Medicine at Cambridge Health Alliance, agrees and leads the argument by presenting these numbers, that the country could save 13 billion dollars a year if 90% participated completely in full breastfeeding for at least 6 months. Bartick published this in March 2010 in the journal titled Pediatrics, touching upon the money mothers would save as well.
Breastfeeding as mentioned above has a long list of advantages. Children under the age of 1 year had less diarrhea during breastfeeding as compared to those children who were formula. Antibody levels of infants who have their required vaccination and influenza shots were found to be greater in breastfed infants as opposed to those who were formula fed, as well. Research has begun on whether or not a mother’s milk can help protection against Herpes Simplex virus, and promising results show that HSV II can be prevented with the aid or breast milk. About 2 times as many infants experienced chronic bronchitis as those infants fed with breast milk. This research also suggests that breastfeeding aids in protection against wheezing and other respiratory tract illnesses, and consequently helps protect against SIDS.
In addition to being healthy for the baby, scientists have begun to discover that skipping the lactation period can lead to an increased risk of ovarian and breast cancer. It has been totally proven that breastfeeding helps the cervix and uterus to contract into its original size after birth, burns major baby weight calories, and helps rid the mother of her excess water weight common in pregnancy. In an article published in May of 2009 in Obstetrics & Gynecology, a study of over 135,000 women in America, post menopause, suggests that women who do not breastfeed for more than a year during their child rearing years were at a significant increased risk for cardiovascular disease, hyperlipidemia, hypertension and diabetes, in sharp contrast to those of the women who did breastfeed for more than a year. Overall, the benefits of breastfeeding certainly outweigh the disadvantages in most cases. Experts and parents across the country are pushing new mothers to begin to breastfeed and to stick to it.
