Almost obviously it is not accidental that the decreasing interest in breastfeeding a baby collided head on with the emergence of the American working mother.
While more women joined the labor force, more of them were encouraged to discard breastfeeding in favor of formula. And for a time, a substantial majority did just that.
However these days, the pendulum has swung over again. Breastfeeding a baby is currently experiencing a rebirth in popularity, partially thanks to the American. government’s Blueprint for Action on Breastfeeding awareness campaign that was started in 2000. Its exclusive objective is to teach women about the benefits of breastfeeding.
"The majority of today’s new mothers were not breastfed after they were born and a lot of their own mothers were not breastfed as either," claims Suzanne Haynes, MD, chairwoman of the federal Health and Human Services Commission’s subcommittee on breastfeeding.
"Therefore, we discovered that there was a great necessity for information not only on the health benefits, but also on some fundamental education on how to breastfeed a baby and how it can be achieved, even if you are a professionally active mother."
The studies concerning breastfeeding continuously reveal relevant health benefits for both baby and mother. Mother’s milk can provide the baby with a cache of protective effects, such as decreasing the risk of infections in the gastrointestinal, urinary, and respiratory tracts, reducing the rate of ear infections, lowering diarrhea and the risk of SIDS (sudden-infant death syndrome), and also helping to protect from various allergies, diabetes, and even obesity in their future.
"Even if a mother breastfeeds a baby for only several weeks after giving birth, she is providing her baby with a gigantic health boost with positive effects that can be seen almost immediately, as well as long- term profits that may help her child remain healthier clear into adulthood," explains San Diego pediatrician Audrey Naylor, MD.
Breastfeeding Is Good for Mother, Too
However, that’s not everything. Healthcare providers claim that breastfeeding is also beneficial to mothers, with long- term as well as short-term benefits.
"In the short run, breastfeeding a baby enhances the production of oxytocin, a hormone that not only increases production of milk, but also gives a mother the feeling of relaxation and calmness," explains Adam Aponte, MD, chairman of pediatrics and ambulatory care at North General Hospital in New York City. He observes that breastfeeding a child also enables a woman’s uterus contract and return to its prepregnancy state.
According to the latest studies, the effect of breastfeeding hormones on the uterus may help decrease a mother’s risk of experiencing postpartum hemorrhage (massive uterine bleeding). Furthermore, according to Naylor, preliminary evidence reveals that nursing may even help protect some women from the state of postpartum depression.
What’s more, breastfeeding your baby for even a few months can considerably lower your risk of breast, uterine, and ovarian cancer, as well as potentially help make your bones stronger- which in turn may provide some protection against osteoporosis.
"There is no question that nursing a child has some relevant health benefits for a mother - and due to the fact that it is so beneficial for baby, it is really a win-win solution. A woman is doing something good both for herself and for her baby at the same time," states Naylor.
How long should you be breastfeeding your baby? According to the advice of The American Academy of Pediatrics, exclusive breastfeeding (that is, only mother’s milk - no water, formula, or other liquids) for about six months, followed by nursing throughout a baby’s first year of life and beyond as long as both mother and child desire.
However, Aponte claims that even just two months of breastfeeding after birth can bring both you and your baby several important health benefits. You shouldn’t be anxious if you can’t go beyond that point, he claims. "You are still giving your child a generous head start in life and that can make a big difference in long- and short-term health," Aponte explains.
Eight Reasons to Consider Breastfeeding
Are you still not convinced that breastfeeding a baby is right for you? Below you can find eight more important medical findings you should take under consideration.
1. Nursing a baby could increase your baby’s intelligence level. The scientists in one study followed a group of babies into their teens and 20s, documenting intellectual development and cognition along the way. The result shows that babies who were breastfed were simply more clever.
2. Babies who are breastfed have better pain relief and not so great deal of stress. In one study, physicians discovered that both crying and "grimacing" - expressions of pain and stress - were considerably lowered in babies who were breastfed, in comparison with those who were not.
Heart rate was also much lower in breastfed children, even when subject to stressful or painful medical practices. Moreover, scientists reveal that preventing stress in an infant’s early life may have positive effects on how relevant brain chemical substances are processed later in life, which may consequently help him or her better cope with stress and anxiety experienced in future.
The American Academy of Pediatrics also emphasizes that nursing a baby during a painful procedure for the infant, such as a needle stick, considerably alleviates pain.
3. Breastfeeding is helpful in building your child’s bones. This means that your child will develop a stronger skeletal frame. One study conducted by the physicians proven that at the age of eight, children who were breastfed three months or longer had a stronger bone density in their neck and spine than the children who were breastfeed less than three months, or were not breastfed.
4. Breastfed babies receive a lot of cholesterol. In comparison with a baby formula, mother’s milk is packed with cholesterol. However, while that’s terribly bad for adults, cholesterol for babies is absolutely necessary for appropriate growth and development.
Several studies reveal that the high cholesterol content in mother’s milk may help nutritionally program a newborn’s metabolism in a way that lowers vulnerability to high cholesterol and some other dietary fat problems later in life.
5. Breastfeeding a baby can control obesity later on. Studies prove how high levels of the protein hormone leptin - plentiful in mother’s milk – have influence on a baby’s growth and body composition development.
Eventually this may affect a baby’s ability to be satisfied with food and the ability to self-regulate caloric intake. The final result is that breastfeeding may help your baby control weight and protect them from obesity in the future. Some other research discovers that breastfed babies also normally have lower insulin levels, which in turn can also help control obesity.
6. Breastfeeding may mean lowered risk of developing asthma. If your child is at risk for asthma or other respiratory ailments, nursing may provide some protection. According to a group of Australian scientists, breastfeeding had a protective influence on asthma even when the mother herself had this breathing disorder.
In another study, physicians discovered that even several short weeks of breastfeeding following birth brought about some measure of protection from the development of asthma.
7. Breastfed babies have considerably stronger immune systems. Due to the fact that your breast milk contains an array of disease-preventing immune factors, healthcare providers have long been aware that breastfeeding can protect your baby from a variety of diseases. Some latest research proves that protective influence of breast milk may be permanent. Even after an infant is weaned, the immune system remains much stronger than in babies who were not breastfed.
8. Breastfeeding reduces the risk of allergies. If you’re willing to protect your baby from multiple allergic diseases, such as allergic rhinitis or even atopic dermatitis, nursing can ensure it. The scientists discovered that babies who were breastfed exclusively within the first two years of life were less probable to experience any of these problems.
