Did you know that August is National Breastfeeding Awareness Month? At All About Women, we support breastfeeding mothers and their babies and we’re taking the opportunity to share some of the benefits of breastfeeding, as well as some strategies to help ensure a successful nursing relationship for our soon-to-be mothers.
The Benefits of Breastfeeding
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding exclusively until six months because of mounting evidence that breastfeeding provides a slew of benefits for both baby and mother.
For baby, breastfeeding can offer protection from:
- Ear infections
- Diarrhea
- Respiratory tract and urinary tract infections
- Type 1 and 2 diabetes
- Lymphoma and Hodgkins disease
Mothers benefit from:
- Less postpartum bleeding
- Return to pre-pregnancy weight sooner
- Some protection against postpartum depression
- Decreased risk of breast and ovarian cancer
Tips for Successful Breastfeeding
But just because breastfeeding may be the best for you and your baby, it doesn’t mean that it’s easy. While nearly 80% of all American women attempt breastfeeding, only a fraction will still be breastfeeding their baby at six months.
If you’re planning on breastfeeding your baby, here are a few recommendations to help make your journey successful:
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- Get Informed and Connected Before Baby Comes: You’ve probably taken a childbirth class because you want to be prepared. But have you considered taking a lactation class? Many women think that breastfeeding will just come naturally, but it can feel anything but natural when you finally have baby in your arms. You may be confused about how to get the right latch or what to do when there’s a problem. Attending a class will help you learn how to identify and trouble-shoot problems. The leaders of these classes usually also offer support when you need it. Before baby comes, you should have at least one name of a lactation consultant that you’ve met and can call when you need help.
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- Prepare to Focus: When baby comes, make sure you’re ready to focus on breastfeeding for at least the first week. Again, make sure you’re connected with a lactation consultant, especially if your hospital doesn’t have one on staff. Have meals dropped off or pre-frozen that you can focus on your task at hand. It may take a while to feel like a pro. Hang in there and get support.
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- Start a Stockpile: When you’re not nursing during your first few weeks after baby, you should think about pumping. Often times, women have a copious supply of milk in the first few weeks. Even if they don’t, pumping can help stimulate more milk production. As you pump, you’ll be able to establish a stockpile of milk for your baby. Having this milk already in the freezer will make it easier when you go back to work or when you need a night off from nursing.
- Know Your Rights as a Breastfeeding Mother: As a nursing mother, you have rights! In Florida, no one can tell you to stop nursing in public– your baby’s access to his food source is protected by state law. And a new federal law requires employers to provide a private space that’s not a bathroom for their breastfeeding mothers to pump milk.
Breastfeeding can offer great benefits for both mother and baby, but it takes some work. At Gainesville’s All About Women, our midwives and pregnancy doctors want your breastfeeding journey to be successful.
Contact our office today if you need support, or check out our articles – Breastfeeding 101 and When Breast Isn’t Best – for more information about breastfeeding and pregnancy in general.
