Is Breastfeeding Right for Me?

I know you may have met or read about perfect moms who have wonderfully beautiful and comfortable pregnancies and they see breastfeeding as natural and beautiful and say it's the best experience of their life. Well, I'm not one of those moms.

My pregnancies were very uncomfortable. I had terrible morning sickness with both. With my first pregnancy, my ligaments in my hips became so soft that I had trouble walking. I swelled up to the point that I didn't even recognize my own face in the mirror. I had both of my babies by C-section, which is a very unpleasant recovery. Before I had my first child, I had flat nipples. The entire first 3 months that I breastfed I had a case of mastitis that got so bad it turned into a staph infection. On top of all of this, I struggled with engorgement, extremely sore nipples, and back pain from my newly enlarged chest.

Even with all of this, I breastfed my first child for 18 months. During the last five months of breastfeeding her, I was pregnant with my second child!

Why did I tell you all of this? I want you to know that I understand the challenges you face. I did not have an easy experience breastfeeding, but still breastfed successfully for over a year. If I can do it, you can too.

All mammals produce milk for their young. It's a biological fact. Dogs produce milk for their puppies, cows produce milk for their calves, and people produce milk for their babies. Human babies are meant to drink human milk.

The American Academy of Pediatric states, "Human milk is species-specific, and all substitute feeding preparations differ markedly from it, making human milk uniquely superior for infant feeding...parents should be aware that exclusive breastfeeding is sufficient to support optimal growth and development for approximately the first 6 months of life and provides continuing protection against diarrhea and respiratory tract infection. Breastfeeding should be continued for at least the first year of life and beyond for as long as mutually desired by mother and child." Note that the AAP recommends breastfeeding for at least the first year! Very few moms and moms-to-be even know this because our society is not supportive of breastfeeding.

Formula is made of either cow's milk, which has to be modified and processed just so a human baby can tolerate it, or soy, which is loaded with plant estrogens. Formula is not natural. It's processed and man made. Babies were not designed to drink it.

Formula contains twice as much protein as human milk. Babies cannot absorb all of this protein so they produce large bulky stools that have all of this extra protein. Where as breastfed babies absorb 100% of the protein found in breast milk and produce soft, loose, and easy to pass stools.

Since a mother's milk is species specific, breast milk contains a unique enzyme that helps babies better digest their meals versus even the best formula. This aid in digestion doesn't just mean fewer incidences of colic, spitting-up, and other digestive problems, it also means the baby is getting more protein, zinc, and iron absorption. Babies bodies absorb nearly all of the proteins and vitamins that are found in breast milk, where as formula fed babies cannot as easily absorb the necessary nutrients and end up pooping most of it out.

I'm sure you are aware of that children can be allergic to cow's milk. Most people who are allergic to cow's milk were fed formula made from cow's milk as infants. The human infant was not intended to ingest cow's milk. Early exposure to cow's milk can cause a cow's milk allergy. Many children are allergic to cow's milk and their parents don't even know it. Sometimes parents think their children just have digestion problems or ADD when in fact, their symptoms are as a result of a milk allergy. I personally know of two children who were allergic to milk and their parents were completely unaware until they had them allergy tested. My niece was one of these children. She was formula fed and had what her parents and doctor called severe colic as an infant. She screamed and cried all of the time. As a young child she would get moody, hyper, and difficult to control. I have food allergies and my first cousin has food allergies. I urged my sister to get my niece tested and the results showed that she is allergic to milk and soy. The poor thing screamed and cried as an infant because she was being fed formula that she was allergic to!

Now, I want to note that I am not a vegan, or even a vegetarian. In fact, my family raised cattle, so I've eaten a lot of beef in my life and have no problem with eating animal products. The problem with animal products is in the first year of life. Babies are not designed to digest milk in the first year of life and exposing them to it too soon can cause an allergy to develop.

There are many ways that your baby benefits from breastfeeding. The most immediate is that serves as a very important bonding time for mother and child. Breastfeeding helps with the very critical attachment period. This doesn't just affect your child as an infant, it is an important element to his or her development and will affect them for the rest of their life. Children that don't attach during infancy have trust issues and trouble developing healthy relationships later in life. In extreme cases where babies are completely emotionally neglected, an anti-social personality can develop. These are the children that become sociopaths and lack empathy for others.

In addition to the emotional benefits to breastfeeding, there are numerous healthful benefits. Here is a list of the health benefits we currently know that breastfeeding provides your baby:

1) Breastfed babies have fewer food allergies.
2) Breastfed babies have fewer ear infections.
3) Breastfed babies receive their mom's immunities, and as a result are sick less.
4) Breastfed girls are less likely to develop breast cancer later in life.
5) Breastfeeding lowers your child's risk of developing juvenile diabetes.
6) Breastfeeding decreases your child's chances of developing asthma.
7) Breastfeeding protects against Crohn's Disease.
8) If your baby is premature, your body naturally produces exactly what your pre-term baby needs. It differs from full term milk.
9) Breastfeeding increases your baby's I.Q. Formula feeding is associated with a lower I.Q.
10) Breastfeeding lowers your baby's risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).
11) Breastfeeding decreases your child's risk of becoming obese later in life.
12) Breastfeeding protects against diarrheal infections.
13) Breastfeeding protects against bacterial meningitis.
14) Breastfeeding decreases your child's chances of developing life-threatening respiratory infection including those caused by rotaviruses.
15) Breastfeeding lowers your child's risk of developing many childhood cancer's.
16) Breastfed babies were less likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis as adults.
17) Breastfed babies are less likely to develop Hodgkins disease.
18) Breastfed babies have less eczema and fewer rashes.
19) Breast milk contains chemicals that have natural pain relievers. Nothing helps calm a baby after receiving a boo-boo or vaccination shots like breastfeeding. Not just because it's emotionally comforting, but because breast milk actually helps stop the pain.
20) Children who were breastfed have fewer cavities.

There is no denying that there are numerous emotional and health benefits that breastfeeding provides your baby, but did you know that there are many benefits for you as well? Breastfeeding is an important stage that your body is intended to go through following pregnancy. Here is a list of great things breastfeeding does for moms:

1) Producing breast milk burns calories. The baby weight just steadily melts off while breastfeeding.
2) Breastfeeding helps you recover after birth. The baby's suckling causes uterine contraction that not only help your uterus shrink back to its pre-pregnancy size, but also decreases your postpartum bleeding.
3) Breastfeeding decreases your risk of developing breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and uterine cancer.
4) Breastfeeding helps you bond with your baby.
5) Breastfeeding produces a chemical that helps you sleep better.
6) Breastfeeding decreases your risk of developing osteoporosis later in life.

Now with everything we know about the health and well-being of the environment, going green is the right thing to do. It doesn't get more environmentally friendly than breastfeeding. It saves the earth the burden of more plastic bottles and formula packaging in the landfills. By breastfeeding, you are saving energy because you aren't washing, sanitizing, and warming bottles. Finally, with all the fear and controversy of the harmful chemicals we now know are in the plastic bottles, it's much better for your child to breastfeed and forgo the need for bottles entirely.

Breastfeeding is so easy. It's convenience is what I enjoy most about breastfeeding. With breastfeeding there are no bottles to sterilize, no formula to mix or heat up, and no supplies to carry with you when you go out. Breast milk is always ready and always the right temperature. I couldn't imagine waking up for those midnight feedings and having to go mix formula and heat it to the right temperature. It is so easy to just lay down in bed on my side and nurse my baby. There is no easier, more efficient, or more convenient way to feed your baby than breastfeeding.

The fact that breastfeeding is free is what what husbands love most. Formula is very pricey. When you formula feed, you have the expense of formula, bottles, a bottle sanitizer, and bottle warmer. It seems silly to me to buy formula when your body naturally produces what's best for your baby anyway.

We know that breast milk is the best food for babies, but there are some circumstances in which breastfeeding is not a good idea.

You should not breastfeed if:
1) You are not willing to give up alcohol until your baby is weaned.
2) You are not willing to give up drugs until your baby is weaned (including over the counter drugs and herbal supplements).
3) You have a contagious disease, such as AIDS or hepatitis that can be passed through your breast milk.
4) You are very ill. Breastfeeding is very demanding on a woman's body. If you are not healthy, you should discuss the risks with your doctor before deciding if your body can handle it or not.