Where to start with this one is difficult because it’s such an emotive issue and the last thing I want to do is to hurt or offend anyone, especially someone as vulnerable as a pregnant woman or new mum. Whether you breast or bottle feed your baby, I will support and help you on that journey.
I am a breastfeeding advocate because having fed all three of my babies, trained as a Breastfeeding Peer Supporter and read books such as Breastfeeding Uncovered and The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, listened to various topical podcasts such as the ‘All Things Breastfeeding‘ podcast and follow influential people like Maureen Minchin (infant feeding author and activist and reviewer of the International Breastfeeding Journal), I do believe that breastfeeding your baby is one of the best things you can do for them when they are born, it is the biological norm…but for many reasons is not the cultural norm in our society.
I would love for everyone to receive lactation and breastfeeding education from an early age and because breastfeeding is a learned skill, I would love for all women to receive all the free breastfeeding support that they need in order to succeed, but sadly that’s not the case. But perhaps things are changing, maybe we are seeing more women breastfeed in society, maybe we are supporting them more, maybe we are providing them with the inarguable facts and maybe those who can, are standing up for women and babies all over the world – because at the end of the day it’s not just an issue women face, it’s a health issue that society faces.
If you are pregnant and considering breastfeeding you might start by reading something like “The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding” and begin thinking about joining your local breastfeeding group and taking breastfeeding classes. For some women, they sail through breastfeeding but for many it is difficult at first but the payoff is huge. Women face so many barriers to breastfeeding in today’s society for simply trying to give their baby the best start in life, it is time these wonderful women are celebrated and not shamed. Hollie McNish – a Brittish poet and author who has written about motherhood since having her daughter, crafted this piece and nailed how many women feel when faced with breastfeeding in public.
Aren’t we mammals?
The word “mammal” is modern, from the scientific name Mammalia coined by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, derived from the Latin mamma. All female mammals nurse their young with milk, which is secreted from special glands, the mammary glands. (Source: www.definitions.net/definition/mammal)
This quote from Maureen Minchin is a powerful summary of just why breastfeeding is important:
Ghislaine Reid, thanks for the link you shared, ‘debating’ whether breastfeeding is natural…. I responded as follows: Why discuss anything with people who seem to know almost nothing, who cannot think logically, and who do not even respect the rules of courtesy, much less intelligent debate? Tucker, there really is no scientific debate about whether breastfeeding is better. Infant formula inevitably creates gut dysbiosis which in turn programmes different development trajectories than breastmilk would have. So MRI studies show differences in brain white matter development and electrical activity under 12 months of age, ultrasound studies reveal differences in reproductive tissue development by 4 months of age (less testicular tissue in boys, more ovarian tissue in girls), body tissue composition and deposition is different, there is more DNA damage and chromosomal breaks in infants not breastfed (discovered by cancer researchers wanting an explanation for higher rates of childhood cancers in not breastfed children); kidneys are enlarged and thymus shrunk.. the list is much longer…as is the list of harms to the women who do not breastfeed. Anyone really wanting to know the science should read Milk matters: infant feeding and immune disorder, which argues that the almost universal exposure to infant formula by the mid 20th century is responsible for ongoing and heritable damage. The evidence (fully referenced) comes from industry-sponsored scientists. Alas, revealing it to parents is the last taboo, with those who know some of it bullied into silence by allegations that they are simply trying to shame women. (Rather than save lives and prevent disease.) The World Health Organisation, a deeply conservative and controversy-avoiding organisation, urges exclusive breastfeeding to around six months and continued breastfeeding into the second year and beyond for good reasons, like the free stem cell transplants it provides to every baby, rich or poor. Breastmilk is a living tissue, and lactation an entirely natural process that bodies switch on after birth unless prevented by breast disorders or lactation mismanagement. Breastfeeding, like sex, is a learned skill, and women need help in communities where the skills have been buried under an avalanche of bottle feeding. The uncontrolled experiment of infant formula feeding since the late 19th century has been an unmitigated disaster. Formula feeding can save lives in some situations, but it still results in many more deaths than it prevents. The 21st century will see class actions by parents of preterm and sick infants damaged by formula (rather than human milk) in many NICUs. Once this begins, societal support and enabling of breastfeeding by mothers and surrogates, along with donor milk banking, will become the norm, and that most processed of all processed foods, infant formula, will be seen as the second rate alternative it really is. The fact that fathers or friends or grandparents or siblings can bottle feed does not mean that this is natural or even a good idea. But if others do want to feed, breastmilk can be fed by bottle and is preferable to heat-damaged cows milk mixed with multiple synthetic ingredients from multiple nations (including oils made by GM fungi and algae) and inevitably carrying damaging metabolites (check out AGEs, advanced glycation end products.) Waste of time, but every so often I have to respond. The glib notions that breastfeeding is not natural, and not best, really have to be challenged. Why do so many breastfeeding advocates jump on these bandwagons?
Maureen’s book Milk Matters is up there on my ‘must read’ books this year, I have so little time to read these days and have books that I need to read as part of my Doula certification process but as soon as I have time I will read this book cover to cover. The book seeks to educate society on the generational impact of formula feeding and the links between allergies, preventable diseases and formula feeding.
There are some wonderful resources out there offering tips, tricks and techniques, try some of these:
http://www.who.int/topics/breastfeeding/en/
There are also groups local to Drogheda such as the Drogheda Cuidiu Breastfeeding Group (I volunteer at this one), in Navan and Dundalk there are La Leche League Groups, if you have a medical issue you should contact your care provider as a first port of call who may refer you to a lactation consultant or you may search for your own local IBCLC