Have you seen the latest video of Chrissy Teigen trying to salvage as much of her spilled breast milk as possible? She’s disappointed that she doesn’t produce enough milk for her 9-week-old son and later reveals on Twitter that she supplements with formula.
I can laugh about the video now because Chrissy’s experience is so relatable — I, too, struggled to produce enough milk for my son. The entire breastfeeding process didn’t come as naturally as I would’ve liked. Even with lactation consultants, it took weeks for my son to properly latch (he was never diagnosed as being tongue-tied). When I wasn’t breastfeeding, I was expressing or pumping, which meant I wasn’t sleeping. I was consumed with guilt when I resorted to supplementing and the guilt resurfaced when I weaned him off breast milk completely before he was 12-months old.
What struck me about the video was not so much the content but the number of comments from other moms who’ve also struggled with breastfeeding and milk supply.
Why do we put so much pressure on ourselves to exclusively breastfeed? Because we know that breastmilk is liquid gold.
Breastfed babies are less likely to have infections.
- “The risk of hospitalization for lower respiratory tract infections in the first year is reduced 72% if infants breastfed exclusively for more than 4 months.”
- “Any breastfeeding is associated with a 64% reduction in the incidence of nonspecific gastrointestinal tract infections, and this effect lasts for 2 months after cessation of breastfeeding.”
Breastfed babies are less likely to get certain types of diseases.
- There is “a protective effect of exclusive breastfeeding for 3 to 4 months in reducing the incidence of clinical asthma, atopic dermatitis, and eczema by 27% in a low-risk population and up to 42% in infants with positive family history.”
- There is “an association between increased duration of breastfeeding and reduced risk of celiac disease.”
- “Breastfeeding is associated with a 31% reduction in the risk of childhood inflammatory bowel disease.”
Breastfed babies are less likely to be obese as adults.
- “[B]ecause breastfed infants self-regulate intake volume irrespective of maneuvers that increase available milk volume, and the early programming of self-regulation, in turn, affects adult weight gain.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) regularly reviews the research available on breastfeeding and their findings continue to support their recommendation for “exclusive breastfeeding for about 6 months, with continuation of breastfeeding for 1 year or longer as mutually desired by mother and infant”. And yet, moms who start off breastfeeding often don’t end up meeting the AAP’s suggested 6-month minimum requirement to exclusively breastfed. Why?
According to the Office of the Surgeon General, the top reasons why moms stop breastfeeding include:
Embarrassment
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Do you own a nursing cover? Have you ever opted to feed your child with the bottle because you were afraid to “whip out” your boobs for all the world to see?
All 50 states in the US protect a mother’s right to breastfeed in public, with Idaho and Utah as the last states enacting law to do so this year. While the law is now in place nationally, shifting cultural norms is difficult. Breasts have historically been overly sexualized in mass media and this has had the unintended consequence of viewing breastfeeding as a lude act.
Just a couple of weeks ago, two moms, Stephanie Buchanan and Mary Davis, were asked to leave a public pool in Minnesota because other patrons were uncomfortable watching them breastfeed in public.
To avoid this type of public shaming, I remember going out of my way to find secluded areas where I could nurse, which, at times, were in cramp and questionable bathroom stalls. It was when my baby was sweltering under the nursing cover during an exceptionally hot summer day that I decided enough was enough. I needed to get over the fear of public breastfeeding and put the health and safety of my baby first. Imagine that. I had been so hardwired to think that showing my breasts even if to simply feed my child could be misconstrued as sexual. Fortunately, I was never asked to cover up or leave a public area while breastfeeding but I would hope that if I did, other moms would show their support.
Stephanie and Mary’s story spread. It prompted a sit-in outside of the pool where they had been asked to leave. Dozens of moms breastfed openly as a show of solidarity.
Employment and child care
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When I moved back to the US, it took me a few months to find a job. If anyone has had to apply to jobs in the traditional way (responding to online posts), you know it’s full-time work. On top of this, I was a 24/7 mom to a toddler. I postponed putting my child in daycare for as long as I could because it just didn’t make financial sense. But being a 24/7 mom does make you go a little bonkers at times. So when my little kiddo and I would go out on the weekdays, to parks or libraries, I had hoped to find other parents to talk to. Instead, what I found was a community of lovely, friendly, and supportive nannies and caregivers. I was, however, in the minority as a parent. This was an eye-opening experience for me and a real cultural shock, especially when I learned that some of the babies being cared for by nannies or caregivers were as young as a month old.
If you’re a working mom in the US, you are not alone. Currently, the majority of women having children are also working moms. In 2016, the American Community Survey (ACS) estimates approximately 4 million women gave birth in the US, 62.4% of whom are in the labor force, with some moms going back to work just a fews weeks after giving birth.
Going back to work within 6 weeks after giving birth could jeopardize a mother’s ability to successfully establish breastfeeding and pose a significant barrier to exclusive breastfeeding. Fortunately, there are companies that have updated their work policy to better support new moms, giving them flexibility in their working hours to find time to express milk as well as providing a safe and hygienic room to express and store their milk. But these companies are few and far between, and often reserved for white collar jobs.
The US Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off, falls short of what other countries offer. Germany gives parents a full year of family leave with 60% pay. In the UK, my company gave me 6 months of full paid time off. But even with that length of time, I have to admit, it was still a struggle for me to establish adequate milk supply. So it’s not surprising that a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report found the rates of exclusive breastfeeding in US drops from 65% at 7 days down to only 25% at 6 months.
Lactation Problems
According to one national study, about half of mothers surveyed noted insufficient milk supply as their reason for stopping breastfeeding. Concern about insufficient milk supply could be due to improper latch, especially in the early stages. I can not stress this enough: please speak with a lactation consultant as soon as possible in order to get the technique down right.
In hindsight, I should have hired an experienced lactation consultant from the start. I was a newbie mom and thought the midwives at the hospital were experts in breastfeeding. What I faced were varied feedback and advice, which didn’t help with my confidence.
If you’re not sure where to even begin, the Office of Women’s Health’s website lists common breastfeeding challenges and provides helpful solutions.
Poor family and social support
I kept the word “poor” in the header of this paragraph because that’s how the Surgeon General’s report refers to it. I personally wouldn’t use such a negative term because let’s face it, in the past, bottle-feeding was the norm. A good majority of my friends and family who were born in the 1980s were primarily bottle fed and because they all turned out relatively okay, giving a child formula may not seem harmful at all.
It’s only recently that breastfeeding is getting all of the glorious attention that it deserves. But if not everyone in your immediate social circle is bought-in to the fact that breast is best, any sort of challenges you face in breastfeeding become heightened. In an effort to alleviate you from the pains and stress of breastfeeding, friends and family members could be quick to suggest giving your baby a bottle of formula instead. This isn’t particularly helpful though if your confidence already waning.
If you can’t find the type of support you need from your immediate circle of friends and family, there are an incredible amount of breastfeeding resources online. La Leche League USA is a good place to start if you’re looking for local breastfeeding support groups in your area.
Self-care
Photo by Josh Willink on Pexels.com
Finally, although it’s not explicitly mentioned in the report, having the confidence in your ability to breastfeed starts with you and taking care of yourself.
From my experience, I didn’t do enough to take care of myself and I think this affected my milk supply. Aside from lack of sleep, I barely had time to eat a proper meal, and when I did, what I ate wasn’t the best. As someone who loves to cook and eat healthy, I was surprised to find myself munching on chocolate bars, cookies, crisps or chips, and literally any other processed snack I could get my hands on. Even when I’d go through the effort of microwaving one of those pre-made meals for myself, I’d take a couple of bites, and mommy duties would take over again. What I’d return to was a cold, or sometimes if I’m lucky, lukewarm meal, that was always undesirable.
While I put so much emphasis on eating well when I was pregnant, I didn’t have the same level of concern when I was breastfeeding.
This is why I’m on a mission to find the best recipes for new moms. Recipes that are not only healthy, but also fit within our busy schedule and lifestyle.
Please subscribe to my blog if you’d like to follow me on this journey, and if you’re hungry.
Thanks for reading,
Regina
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article sponsered by Northern Michigan certified lactation consulting and Mother Hubbards Country Cupboard
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