World Breastfeeding Week: Benefits & Tips for Breastfeeding Success

It’s World Breastfeeding week so I thought we’d talk about breastfeeding! I realize that this might not interest a lot of you, but it’s important and even if it helps out one new mom then it’s worth it!

As a Dietitian, I worked with the WIC population when I was living in San Diego. It was an invaluable experience for so many reasons, one being that I learned so much about breastfeeding and infants. And this was all before I had kids. As part of the job, we were required to obtain a certification in lactation education which was really pretty neat!

I learned sooooo much about breastfeeding. More than I ever imagined there was to learn and it made me a very confident, successful first-time nursing mama.

I am proud to say I have exclusively breastfed all my babies without ever using a drop of formula. This post is in no way being shared to make those women who did not breastfed feel bad. It is a very personal choice. I simply never needed to use formula and am very proud of growing 4 healthy kiddos.

I want to share some of the wonderful benefits of breastfeeding, as well as a few tips for new moms. Although I say I was a successful first time nursing mom, it still wasn’t “easy” at first. I know it would’ve been much more challenging had I not completed all those lactation education classes.

I even got to shadow a Lactation Consultant at the hospital and watch her help all the new mommies. I realized then that in that line of work you definitely have comfortable with boobs! You are right there with the new moms getting the babies to latch on, it’s a beautiful thing and so rewarding.

 

So here we go…

Top Reasons to Breastfeed

• Breastfeeding is great for Moms. Breastfed moms burn more calories, lose postpartum weight quicker and spend less time preparing bottles. It is also shown that women who have breastfed have lower rates of breast, ovarian, cervical and uterine cancers.

• Breastfed babies are healthier with fewer ear infections, fewer allergies, asthma, less constipation, diarrhea and reduced risk of developing Diabetes and many other diseases. Breastfed babies have also been found to have higher IQs.

• Breastfeeding saves money! It’s free and formula is expensive. It also saves money as formula fed babies have more health care costs.

• Breastfeeding goes beyond just nourishing your baby. It offers an amazing physical contact that helps with bonding and offers security for your baby.

• It’s convenient– ready to go 24 hours a day at the perfect temperature!

• Breastfeeding is environmentally friendly. There are no packages, no waste, no plastic containers.

• Breast milk is the perfect food– formula companies spend millions each year trying to make their product as close to breast milk as possible but there are so many amazing ingredients in breast milk, some that scientists can’t even pin point, that will always make formula superior.

For those reasons WIC promotes and supports exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months and continued breastfeeding for a year.

Tips for Successfully Breastfeeding

• Read up on the subject. Knowledge is power. Of course you don’t want to be that person that tries to follow the text book word for word, but it does help to have a good book to reference when you have questions. The nurses in the hospital will make sure you know how many times in 24 hours they want you nursing (usually 8-12), how many wet/dirty diapers your baby should be having and other helpful tips.

• Take advice with a grain of salt. Every mom is going to have a different story, a different experience, different advice. Talk to a knowledgeable Lactation Consultant if you are experiencing difficulty.

• Have a support system in place. You will get frustrated at times so it’s helpful to know someone who has experience breastfeeding and can offer you support.  I’ve had several friends call me with their firstborn and I was happy to help!

• Let your goal be known. If you are interested in exclusively breastfeeding, it helps to let your family in on your plan. Hopefully that way there will be less of a chance of your mother, for example, offering formula to her grandchild.

• Pick up some basic supplies- A special breastfeeding pillow can help position your little one, nipple cream such as Lanolin prevents and treats cracked nipples, a nursing bra (more on that), breast pads are great for leaking breasts  (I still have to use them), a small hand held or electric pump is very handy especially for those returning to work, but also for moms who just want to offer an occasional bottle if they need to skip a feeding due to appointments, errands, travel, date night, etc.

• Only buy 1 or 2 nursing bras before baby comes (you can be fitted for them at maternity stores) and wait until your milk supply has come in before buying more. I ended up going through about 4 different bra sizes throughout the course of the year of nursing and often could’ve used 2 different sizes in the same day (at the beginning). Sleep bras are great because they’re more flexible to grow with you so those you could buy ahead but you will likely also go through a variety of sizes, start off with a larger size.

• Expect that it will be challenging. You might get frustrated and want to give up. It takes time to get in the rhythm and soon breastfeeding will be a breeze. With my second I could walk around if needed, grab a glass of water, while still having my baby latched on. That was just from experience!

• You might experience pain. Improper latch (which is common for new moms) can cause very bad nipple pain. Also, breastfeeding with the initial engorgement can hurt, but it’s temporary so stick it out! If you get help with your baby’s latch, breastfeeding will not be painful.

• Experiment with different positions. You can get a different let-down with different positions. For example, in the first few months of breastfeeding I had a very strong let-down with my first baby, who happened to be my smallest, so I basically drowned him in milk and he didn’t like that! He went through a phase where he constantly screamed and couldn’t handle my abundant supply so I learned that I had to lay back while nursing to slow the flow. I also had difficulty with the side lying position until he was a few months old. I needed all this support with pillows and such at the beginning and it just didn’t work for me until he was older. With my second, third and fourth babies I could nurse lying down from day one! Again, I think it was just due to experience.

• If you have to return to work, keep in mind pumping is a doable way to feed your baby your breast milk. Before work, during breaks and lunch, it should be manageable. If you have a good pump, it really doesn’t take very long. At least it didn’t in my experience!

• Don’t beat yourself up if it doesn’t work out according to plans. You are not a bad parent for using formula if needed! Much like expectations of child birth, things might go differently. Do what you can do in your power to get help and then “Let It Go” cue music from Frozen….

I know there are a ton more tips but I will leave that up to some of you moms to share. And if you’re pregnant and on the fence about whether you want to breastfeed, feel free to ask me any questions!

 

What’s the number one tip you’d give someone new to breastfeeding?

 

photo credit: 1st photo Heather Walker Photos, 2nd photo Bonnie Hussey Photography