Ten Common
Breastfeeding Misconceptions
Every New Mother
Should Know:
-
I
won't be able to make enough milk. FALSE
It
may seem like there's not enough to keep a baby alive,
but...99% of women are physically able to breastfeed enough to
sustain
life. The first 3-5 days after birth colestrum is produced.
Colestrum comes a little at a time and is very concentrated.
This is perfect so baby can drink a little and then rest/sleep.
It is perfectly normal and healthy if a baby wants to sleep
for 7 hours or so after birth. Babies are born with brown
fat, like bears, so they can hibernate. Don't worry about
the baby not getting enough. After Mom and baby have had
a few days to recuperate from the birthing experience the
milk supply will increase. You will produce as much as
the baby asks for by sucking, supply and demand, supply and demand.
Unfortunately, many modern industrial culture women believe
that they can't nurse, don't have enough milk and that
their
body has failed. In nature, it would be extremely rare
for a woman (or any other mammal) to not be able to adequately
nourish her child unless she's starving, and has been for
days.
-
Artificial
Breast milk (formula) is
just as good as breast milk. FALSE
Mammalian
milk has evolved to meet the highly specific needs of
each particular species. Human milk contains the exact
nutrients in the perfect balance to grow the complex
brains and bodies of our infants. It contains living
immune factors to protect the health of the child. These
enzymes can not be produced scientifically in a factory.
The heating process kills them. It teaches both our immune
system and our metabolism how to function properly for
the rest of our lifetimes by mechanisms that are still
poorly understood. Children who are breastfed for a year
(or ideally two or more) suffer from less of every known
disease, not just as infants, but throughout their entire
lifetime.
The
benefits of breastfeeding include protection against
otitis media, gastroenteritis, severe lower respiratory
infections, and necrotizing enterocolitis. In addition,
the AHRQ report concluded that breastfeeding is associated
with lower rates of sudden infant death syndrome,
childhood obesity, type 2 diabetes,and leukemia.
The maternal health benefits of breastfeeding were
also identified, including reduced risk for type
2 diabetes, as well as breast and ovarian.
-
It
is OK to give baby a bottle
of artificial breast milk (formula) once in a while.
FALSE
Think about this very seriously.
Whenever artificial breast milk
(formula) is given, it takes
two weeks before the
normal flora in baby's tummy returns to optimal efficiency.
Moreover, artificial infant feeding formulas are unhealthy
and barely adequate substitutes that can’t come
close to Mother Nature's perfect food. Indeed, they cause
innumerable
infant health problems, including gastrointestinal distress,
allergies, irritability and malaise. Food, nourishment
and the associated feeling of love can become deeply
connected with feelings of sickness and pain. Better
not to mess
up a good thing.
-
I
have to stop breastfeeding when
I go back to work. FALSE
More and more businesses are providing a place for moms to pump breast
milk. At around 6 months of age babies are old enough to eat some
food and drink water till Mom comes home. When Mom comes home from
work, breastfeeding is a wonderful way for Baby and Mom to reconnect.
As the baby drinks, oxytocin is released to both Mom and Baby, a
happy, feel good, hormone. Exhale!
-
When
Baby gets teeth I have to stop breastfeeding
or I'll get bit. FALSE
It is very easy to get a baby to stop biting you. No need for yelling
or hitting and it only takes three times. You do have to be clear,
but it's simple. When baby bites it doesn't know it is hurting you.
Baby only knows it is getting teeth and biting is natural. To let
baby know this is not going to continue, immediately take the breast
away. The message is much clearer, baby will understand faster, if
there is no anger to confuse or frighten. Simply take the breast
away for long enough that the baby notices and can begin to connect
it's actions with the result. This takes less then a minute or so
and then resume nursing. After three times the baby will know what
happens and will never bite you again.
-
Breastfeeding
hurts. FALSE
The
way to prevent sore nipples is positioning. A newborn baby,
brand new, the first hour of life, can crawl up a reclining
Mom and
correctly position itself and successfully breastfeed. I'm
talking about a baby that doesn't have drugs in it. Breastfeeding
is
more efficient when baby has more of the areola to work on
with the lower jaw. So get lots of breast into baby's mouth.
If baby
is working on the nipples, it's unproductive. Little milk comes
out and there's lots of friction on nipples. OUCH! Dr. Jack
Newman on "Breastfeeding Online" has some excellent
videos of efficient breastfeeding. So get those nipples deep
into the
mouth. It's easier for Baby, baby gets more milk with much
less wear and tear on you.
-
A
baby born with jaundice can't be
breastfeed. FALSE
Breastfeeding is very good for the baby with jaundice. The nutritional
value and the emotional bonding, trust building, are very important
and work so much better when started from the beginning. Both also
help baby to get over jaundice faster.
-
If
I get mastitis I have to stop breastfeeding.
FALSE
Mastitis
means that the breast is inflamed, and there is swelling, redness,
tenderness and pain. Most often this occurs when Mom has been doing
too much. You just gave birth and need more rest then you might
think. Take care of yourself and get plenty of rest (both of mind
and body). Also drink more to keep things moving and nurse even
more often, especially on the sore breast. Don't restrict the length
of feedings. If you feel your breasts getting full, encourage your
baby to nurse. You don't have to wait for Baby to tell you he's
hungry.
-
When
my baby is a year old breast milk
has no more benefit. FALSE
Just so you know where we stand, on this planet the
average age to wean is four years old. Karen Cadwell,
Ph.D., R.N., I.B.C.L.C., stated, "Breastfeeding
continues to be of nutritional, immunological, and psychological
significance well into the second year and beyond." Breast
milk is always very nutritious and being with Mom, skin to skin,
is emotionally
healthy. Some babies wean themselves at nine months old, others
at a year and a half and many kids wean themselves at age three
or six.
Canadian doctors ask mothers to nurse for at least three years.
-
If
I breastfeed I will have to stay
home, I won't be able to go anywhere. FALSE
I hope you got a chance to see the two
minute preview of "Nursing
Mothers Welcome". It has almost 100 examples of
many women, happily going about their day, breastfeeding anytime,
anywhere. In
all these
images not a breast is showing.
Surgeon General, David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., stated, "together
we can shape a future in which mothers can feel comfortable
and free to breastfeed their children without societal hindrances."
RADM Steven K. Galson,
Acting Surgeon General
"When a mother chooses
to breastfeed, we also have a responsibility to protect and support
her decision by providing an environment that enables her to be
successful. In 1984, mothers could be cited for breastfeeding in
public, but legislation in almost every state now protects the
rights of mothers to breastfeed their children in public."
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