Breastfeeding 101

Humans as a species have been breastfeeding for nearly half a million years. Today it is not uncommon to hear women MANY women feeling that they couldn't physically produce enough milk to sustain their infants and therefore opted for formula to meet their infants needs. Unfortunetly that is not the common case.

Nearly all women around 99% can breastfeed successfully and make enough milk for their babies to not simply grow, but to thrive.

Mismangement, lack of support & accurate information of these doubts and issues we come across in our breastfeeding relationships all too often results in the end of them.

With encouragement, support and help, almost all women are willing to initiate breastfeeding, but the drop-off rates are alarming: 90% of women who give up in the first 6 weeks say that they would like to have continued. And it seems highly likely that long-term exclusive breastfeeding rates can be improved if consistent support were available, and if approval within the family and the wider community for breastfeeding, both at home and in public, were more obvious and widespread.

Clearly, this social support isn't there, and the bigger picture of breastfeeding vs bottlefeeding suggests that there is, in addition, a confluence of complex factors, medical, socioeconomic, cultural and political, that regularly undermine women's confidence, while reinforcing the notion that feeding their children artificially is about lifestyle rather than health, and that the modern woman's body is simply not up to the task of producing enough milk for its offspring. Which is simply a blatant untruth.

It has only been in the last 60 years or so that we have begun to so non chalantly without hesitation given our babies the HIGHLY processed convenience food we call formula. Health consequences include twice the risk of death in the first 6 weeks of life, 5 times the risk of gastroeteritis, twice the risk of developing eczema and diabetes and up to 8 times the risk of developing lymphatic cancer.

Infant formulas were never intended to be consumed on the widespread basis that they are today. They were conceived in the late 1800s as a means of providing necessary sustenance for foundlings and orphans who would otherwise have starved. In this narrow context, where no other food was available, formula was a lifesaver.

For years, it was believed that the risks of illness and death from bottlefeeding were largely confined to children in developing countries, where the clean water necessary to make up formula is sometimes scarceand where poverty-stricken mothers may feel obliged to dilute formula to make it stretch further, thus risking waterborne illnesses such as diarrhoea and cholera as well as malnutrition in their babies. But newer data from the West clearly show that babies in otherwise affluent societies are also falling ill and dying due to an early diet of infant convenience food. Because it is not nutritionally complete, because it does not contain the immune-boosting properties of breastmilk and because it is being consumed by growing babies with vast, ever-changing nutritional needs and not meeting those needs, the health effects of sucking down formula day after day early in life can be devastating in both the short and long term.

Before bottles became the norm, breastfeeding was an activity of daily living based on mimicry, and learning within the family and community. Women became their own experts through the trial and error of the experience itself. But today, what should come more or less naturally has become extraordinarily complicated, the focus of global marketing strategies and politics, lawmaking, lobbying support groups, activists and the interference of a well intentioned, but occasionally ineffective, cult of experts.

I think we are too focused on taking sides and quick to create cliques where we pit breastfeeding mothers against formula feeding mothers, arguing over accusing each other about bad parenting because babies are formula fed and mothers who become racked with guilt when they feel they have no other options.

What we need to do is throw that to the side and once again form a sisterhood, bond together and provide help, support, assistance when it come to solving our breastfeeding issues. The common reasons as to why women quit & give up can more often than not be solved if identified and treated early avoiding the frustration of a prolonged and worsening issue.

Its a sad fact that our culture isn't breastfeeding friendly enough. Until we can put aside the conflict and risk of making mothers feel guilty we cannot fix the true issues at hand that end up making women feel resentful and resistant towards attempting to breastfeed again.

When I hear the word “formula” I think scientific concoction or math equation… not baby food. I always pictured babies at their mothers’ breast not strapped in a car seat with a bottle propped on a pillow in their mouth with no engagement to a human being.

Unfortunetly feeding our babies formula has become the norm, no questions asked. Moms typically give up breastfeeding (if it was initiated in the first place) when they return to work or after encountering a road block and using formula as the solution because we have no “sisterhood” or “village” to turn to with a lifetime of breastfeeding experience under their belts. No second thoughts. I have to admit I didn’t see anything wrong with it either. I mean I was formula fed and turned out ok. Now I know better.

I advise you to keep an open mind when learning what formula is all about and what’s in it especially if you have formula fed in the past. No parent wants to admit they are openly putting their babies at risk but the reality is nothing is without risk, there is an acceptable rate of contamination in all the food we eat formula being no exception. We also have to accept as a society the frank truth that when we are physiologically made to consume breastmilk and yet give our bodies (growing at an exponetial rate) a man made food there are going to be consequences. Whether they be acute or chronic illness or never appear at all. We are CHOOSING to take those risks.

Breastmilk is also free. A womens time is not but after the intial investment of that time to establish a successful breastfeeding relationship breastfeeding can be as natural and simple as changing a diaper or giving baby a bath. When we have children our lives are going to change drastically whether we would like it to or not and being forever tethered to our babes’ in one way or another isn’t going to change. All selfishness goes out the window. The billion-dollar formula industry-two million dollars a day-is about money, not public health.

As mothers we are willing to give our life for our children. To breastfeed is to literally continue to give life to our children.

Back to the topic lol, I won’t include everything in the variety of formulas for the sake of keeping it short & due to the variety of formulas, but I will include what I can,

Milk-Based Formula: The obvious base for this formula is good old cows milk, interestingly enough cows milk is NOT the most similar to human milk, horse milk is. Unlike cows, horses have only two teats and a 1,400 lb. mare will produce less than a quart of the precious liquid each day. Therefore cows which have 4 teats and produce quite alot more milk are used. Cows milk proteins are one of the most common allergens among infants and small children. Whey, one of the main ingredients in almost all formulas, is a waste by-product of producing certain dairy products, particularly cheeses. Palm, coconut and safflower oils are some of the least expensive oils, and so are used in many snack foods, and such things as movie theatre popcorn, also processed using high temperatures and chemicals, bleached and deodorized. Likely to be rancid. Carrageenan which is extremely hard to digest. In most ready-mixed formulas, carrageenan is one of the main causes of digestive disorders in formula-fed infants, not lactose-intolerance. it caused liver problems and retarded growth in rats. There are also synthetic vitamins which often have the opposite effect of vitamins naturally occurring in food. Free Glutamic Acid (MSG) and Aspartic Acid; neurotoxins formed during processing of milk and soy protein powders. Levels are especially high in hypoallergenic formulas.

Hypoallergenic or Hydrolisate Formula: Expensive, taste even worse than regular formula and still a health risk. Basically a “pre-digested” formula with similar ingredients meant for babies who have trouble or cannot break down the bovine (cow) protein themselves. Uses corn syrup instead of lactose, ( Lactose is a natural sugar in milk that provides a source of energy and contributes to the development of your baby’s brain and central nervous system. Because lactose releases its energy at a slow, steady pace, it doesn’t contribute to the highs and lows in blood sugar normally associated with sucrose, which is the sugar that is often added to formula. Human milk contains 50 percent more lactose than cow’s milk.), therefore a SIGNIFICANT drawback for longterm use.

Low-Iron Formula: Makes the most sense to use with a baby who is breastfeed part-time. Breastmilk will provide for most of babies’ iron needs, not the case for primarly formula fed babies. Again similar ingredients to the milk based formulas. Since iron is poorly absorbed through babies’ system quite a bit needs to be added which can than in turn be hard on babies’ system. Iron is necessary so it cannot just be left out unless your baby shows intolerance to a higher iron formula this shouldn’t be used.

Powdered Formula: If presented with the choice, I recommend ALWAYS use liquid or ready to feed. Powdered formula can never be sterilized and is therefore never sterile something to consider since formula fed babies’ lack the immune system of breastfed babies. Life-threatening cases of bacterial meningitis in babies up to a year old have resulted in the feeding of powdered formula that was contaminated in the factory. Besides the acceptable rate of contamination in anything we consume, whats a few rats hairs in a couple cans of formula right? The most severe cases of bacterial infection involve babies exposed to a bacteria called Enterobacter Sakazakii or E-sak. The Center for Disease Control notes e-sak can lead to raging infections, severe brain damage and ultimately death. Water is called to be heated for formula to make it safer and formula unfinished by baby should be thrown away and not left out due to the culmination of bacteria that can make your baby extremely sick. The lining of both liquid and powder cans contain BPA. (Low doses of bisphenol A can mimic the body’s own hormones possibly causing negative health effects. There is thus concern that long term low dose exposure to bisphenol A may induce chronic toxicity in humans right now.)

ADA/DHA Enriched Formulas: ADA & DHA are polyunsaturated omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids important components of the human brain and eyes and are naturally present in human breast milk. The ADA/DHA Enriched Formulas are becoming increasingly popular due to their risky marketing, but there is no solid research to say they do ANYTHING more than increase the cost & digestive upsets to baby. Infant formulas containing DHA- and ARA- oils are novel foods—extracted from laboratory-grown fermented algae and fungus and processed utilizing a neurotoxic chemical, hexane. These algal and fungal oils provide DHA and ARA in forms that are structurally different from those naturally found in human milk. A quote from a Martek (company that produces the DHA/ARA) investment promotion from 1996, which reads as follows: “Even if [the DHA/ARA blend] has no benefit, we think it would be widely incorporated into formulas, as a marketing tool and to allow companies to promote their formula as ‘closest to human milk’ Some studies have reported unexpected deaths among infants who consumed formula supplemented with long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. These unexpected deaths were attributed to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), sepsis or necrotizing enterocolitis.

Soy Formulas: Not milk and should not be first choice. Contain no lactose (again crucial to babies’ brain development), Highly processed, contains phytoestrogens that can adversely affect baby’s hormonal development and depress thyroid function. Does NOT have FDA GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status. It is known that the thymus (very important part of our childhood immune system) is significantly smaller in infants raised on soy based formula. The main ingredient in soy infant formula is soy protein isolate, a powder extracted from soybeans through a process that involves not only high temperatures but also caustic chemicals. The alkaline soaking solution produces a carcinogen, lysinealine, and reduces the cystine content, which is already low in the soybean. Other carcinogens called nitrosamines are formed during high temperature spray drying.

Homemade formulas are never a good idea since baby can only consume what ever we feed them. If it is not a complete food that you are further risking your babies’ health, things like too many minerals can cause kidney damage. Organic Formulas are relatively new and may focus more on being organic than balance the right ingredients.

There is no formula that does a good job imitating breastmilk. The less formula used the less risk. Pumping may not be the most enjoyable task but neither is changing diapers or going without sleep. Breastmilk is a life long gift of health to your baby and they deserve it!

Breastfeeding your little one can be time consuming, difficult, exhausting and sometimes overwhelming but the benefits to you and your baby today and long term are nothing to scoff at or give up on. Just having a child will change your life and requires commitment to all aspects of raising them and when the times would get tough after only sleeping for an hour in the past 24 I remember thinking that formula wasn't solving my problems. Artificial Baby Milk wasn't making my baby stop crying, or sleep better, or comforting her. With whatever feeding choice I made I still had a baby to take care of in the end.

Everyone knows the endless list of benefits for baby when it comes to breastfeeding. It's the most natural way to nourish an infant! Not only does it change to suit the babies needs at every feeding, it's composition even changes throughout the feeding. From the watery fore milk in the beginning to satisfy babies thirst to the thicker hind milk towards the end providing baby with the calories they need and than the slower almost non existent flow afterwards providing baby with the comfort they crave from their mothers. You could never get this from Artificial Baby Milk in a bottle that remains the same in every feeding for the entire time your infant needs it.

But what about you? Mother's rarely know that the benefits of breastfeeding also extend to them! The physiology and behavior of mothers are influenced by the release of the hormones oxytocin, prolactin and cholecystokinin during breastfeeding.

Oxytocin is released in response to skin to skin contact and suckling at the breast. This hormone not only signals the breasts to release milk to the baby (this is known as the milk ejection reflex, or "let-down"), but simultaneously produces contractions in the uterus. The resulting contractions prevent postpartum hemorrhage and promote uterine involution (the return to a nonpregnant state).\

--the information below can be found at www.promom.org/101

Baby's suckling helps shrink mother's uterus after childbirth
The uterus of the non-breastfeeding mother will never shrink back to its pre-pregnant size. It will always remain slightly enlarged.

"Nursing will help you to regain your figure more quickly, since the process of lactation causes the uterus (which has increased during pregnancy to about 20 times its normal size) to shrink more quickly to its pre-pregnancy size. "

The Complete Book Of Breastfeeding M.S. Eiger. MD, S. Wendkos Olds, Copyright 1999, Workman Publishing Co., Inc., 708 Broadway, New York, NY 10003

Oxytocin is known to be essential for expression of maternal behavior in some mammals and although there isn't very much research there is some evidence that oxytocin is also involved in the development of maternal love in humans. Oxytocin also has a potent anti-stress impact on mothers.

Not breastfeeding increases mother's risk of breast cancer
Many studies have shown that women who breastfeed have lower risks of developing breast cancer. Recently, data from 47 studies in 30 countries was re-examined. The study group concluded that the incidence of breast cancer in developed countries could be reduced by more than half if women had the number of births and lifetime duration of breastfeeding that have been common in developing countries until recently. According to the analysis, breastfeeding could account for almost two-thirds of this estimated reduction in breast cancer incidence.

Jernstorm, H et al "Breast-feeding and the risk of breast cancer in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers." J Natl Cancer Inst. 2004;96:1094-1098

Lee, SY et al "Effect of lifetime lactation on breast cancer risk: a Korean women's cohort study." Int J Cancer. 2003;105:390-393

Collaborative Group on Hormonal Factors in Breast Cancer (2002). "Breast cancer and breastfeeding: collaborative reanalysis of individual data from 47 epidemiological studies in 30 countries, including 50,302 women with breast cancer and 96,973 women without the disease." Lancet 360: 187-95

Zheng et al, "Lactation Reduces Breast Cancer Risk in Shandong Province, China" Am. J. Epidemiol. Dec. 2000, 152 (12): 1129

Newcomb PA, Storer BE, Longnecker MP, et al. "Lactation and a reduced risk of premenopausal breast cancer." N Engl J Med. 1994;330:81-87

Not breastfeeding increases mother's risk of developing ovarian cancer

Based on the research, breastfeeding for a total of 12 to 24 months can reduce your risk of ovarian cancer by about one-third.

Hartage et al, "Rates and risks of ovarian cancer in subgroups of white women in the United States." Obstet Gynecol 1994 Nov; 84(5): 760-764

Rosenblatt KA, Thomas DB, "Lactation and the risk of Epithelial ovarian cancer". Int J Epidemiol. 1993;22:192-197

Gwinn ML, "Pregnancy, breastfeeding and oral contraceptives and the risk of Epithelial ovarian cancer." J. Clin. Epidemiol. 1990; 43:559-568

Nursing helps mom lose weight after baby is born
Breastfeeding requires an average of 500 extra calories per day and breastfeeding mothers who eat a normal diet lose the extra weight they gained during pregnancy faster than moms who choose to bottle feed. In one study, mothers who breastfed exclusively or partially had significantly larger reductions in hip circumference and were less above their pre-pregnancy weights at 1 month postpartum than mothers who fed formula exclusively.

Other studies have also shown that women who were overweight when they began their pregnancies can safely get closer to their ideal weight by breastfeeding in conjunction with a moderate exercise program.

DC.A. Lovelady et al "The effect of weight loss in overweight lactating women on the growth of their infants." New Eng Journal of Med, 2000; 342: 449-453

Kramer, F., "Breastfeeding reduces maternal lower body fat." J. Am Diet Assoc 1993; 93(4):429-33

Dewey KG, Heinig MJ, Nommwen LA. "Maternal weight-loss patterns during prolonged lactation. "Am J Clin Nutr 1993;58:162-166

Not breastfeeding increases mother's risk of developing endometrial cancer
A World Health Organization study has shown that the longer a woman breastfeeds, the less likely she is to get endometrial cancer.

Rosenblatt, KA et al "Prolonged lactation and endometrial cancer" Int. J. Epidemiol. 1995; 24:499-503

Breastfeeding acts like a natural tranquilizer for mom
Nursing mothers often joke about falling asleep on the job. The sleep inducing qualities of nursing a baby are remarkable. In fact, some new mothers have to be careful to hold a nursing baby in such a way that they will not drop the child when they inevitably nod off. Nursing in bed is a great solution. Even pumping at work can be a great way to calm down and get refocused during a stressful day. All this relaxation is caused by the hormone oxytocin, which is released each time a mother breastfeeds. It decreases blood pressure and calms the mother. Interestingly, one study found that there were far fewer incidences of domestic violence and sexual abuse in breastfeeding families

The Breastfeeding Book, Copyright 2000, M. Sears, R.N. and Wm. Sears, M.D.. Little Brown and Co.

Acheston, L, "Family violence and breastfeeding" Arch. Fam. Med. 1995, 4:650-652

Breastfeeding mothers spend less time and money on doctor visits

In 1995 the Kaiser-Permanente Health Maintenance Organization in North Carolina found that formula-fed babies averaged over $1,400 more per year in additional health care costs than breastfed infants.
(Kaiser Permanente: Internal research to determine benefits of sponsoring an official lactation program - 1995)

A breastfeeding Mom gets more sleep
Especially if she sleeps with baby, but even if she doesn't. No bottles to prepare and warm. Less time comforting a crying baby suffering from gas and allergies.

Breastfeeding protects mothers against anemia (iron deficiency)
Since many exclusively breastfeeding mothers do not begin to menstruate for a year or longer their iron stores are not depleted by monthly bleeding during this time.

Breastfeeding mothers spend less money on menstrual supplies
Many breastfeeding moms do not begin to menstruate again until 14 or more months after giving birth. That means for 14 months, many nursing moms don't have to buy tampons, sanitary napkins, and cramp relief medication! "Multiply this by the four million US births each year to see that over one billion sanitary products annually could be kept out of our nation's landfills and sewers. To compound the scenario, because breast milk is absorbed by babies more efficiently, breastfed babies excrete less and thus require fewer diaper changes than formula-fed babies."

"Mother Nature Loves Breastmilk" D. Michels, Pub. various periodicals, available on Internet at http://members.aol.com/diamichels/greenbm.htm

Breastfeeding is a self confidence booster for mom
There is nothing more amazing than looking at a plump six month old baby and knowing that the only nutrition this happy little creature has received has come from your own body.

We would all like to hope that breastfeeding ends up going as smoothly as life in a lollipop forest with unicorns and butterflies every time and all the time.

Unfortunately that is not always the case and mothers just as you and I sometimes just need some inspiration & encouragement.

Breastfeeding problems more often than not have solutions. To persevere through the solution and get rid of the problem is where our spirits usually begin to falter. Having to try multiple times and multiples ways can be wearing on a mother because the fact is, not being able to breastfeed successfully is emotionally tough and sometimes formula may seem like "the better provider"

That is not true.

Formula is just something that will help your baby get by until breastfeeding is fixed. Nothing can replace momma! Like I said more often than not the obstacles we encounter whilst breastfeeding can be overcome! Formula is not a special potion that will make all your problems go away. As ANY breastfeeding mom will tell you there are many possibilities for problems from sore nipples to low supply to latch and so on. Those may go away with formula but your emotional ties to breastfeeding your child will not. And than there will be NEW problems. Just not breastfeeding ones.

Keys to remember while trying to fix any breastfeeding problem are:

Remain Relaxed. You Can Do It!! Take time to analyze the situation, remember why you are doing what your doing & love your baby. Love, Love your baby. Browse the internet and watch a few breastfeeding videos, read a breastfeeding book. Take fresh approaches to solutions and keep an open mind. Practice relaxation techniques. When it gets too overwhelming take a step back and use a break. Try one solution at a time and give it a few tries. Let your baby be the one who directs the show. We all know the more fussy a baby gets, the harder it is to slow down and relax.

Get Rid Of ANY Negativity. Don't let anyone get you down. This is your decision and anything worth doing is hardly ever easy. If no one has anything positive or encouraging to say, ask them to not say anything at all. Make a special breastfeeding area where you can tackle your problems with a positive outlook and forget about the rest of the world and it's distractions. Fully equip your area with supportive pillows, a glass of water, near a window, put up some inspirational artwork, or maybe have some calming music playing nearby.

VENT! Nothing helps your soul feel lighter by getting your frustration out. Write (or type for that matter) a journal, rip up a magazine, throw a dish on the ground outside. Anything to help release any pent up frustration or impatience you may begin to feel. Taking your anger out on someone just makes it harder to relax and can make you feel down. So take it out on a piece of paper, draw a picture, or call a friend.

Remember no matter what you are the best provider for your little one and to try and work as hard as you do, you know because you want the best for that little baby. Don't ever feel like you failed.