Breastfeeding's best ... but not always easy
There are plenty of great reasons to breastfeed your baby, but that doesn't mean that it will be easy. An expert offers some helpful strategies.
Breastfeeding’s best … but not always easy
Sari Harrar
Breastfeeding moms are standing up for their rights to nurse in public – essential for keeping a hungry baby fed and happy. This past week, “lactivists” staged nurse-ins in Georgia demanding new laws after one pastor insisted a woman stop nursing in church last summer. Moms held over 200 nurse-ins at Target stores across the nation in late December after employees at one store ridiculed a nursing mom.
While 45 states including Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware specifically allow women to breastfeed in public, not everyone’s comfortable seeing a mom nursing her child on a park bench or at a table in a restaurant. Beyoncé made national news when she nursed 7-week old Blue Ivy at a Manhattan eatery in February. (I attracted zero attention – a good thing - nursing my baby in an Allentown, Pa. Jiffy Lube back in 1999.)
What’s tougher about nursing – and what all this new solidarity may help – are the early weeks. The American Academy of Pediatrics recently re-issued its recommendation that new moms nurse their babies exclusively for six months, and continue breastfeeding after they’ve added in solid foods for the rest of a baby’s first year (and beyond if they wish). There are plenty of great reasons to nurse – including reduced risk for SIDS and ear infections for babies as well as some protection against obesity, heart disease and severe pneumonia as they grow up. Moms get lowered risk for breast, ovarian and uterine cancers. And the two of you feel close.
Yet while 73 percent of women start out breastfeeding, just 14 percent are breastfeeding exclusively at six months. I asked Esther K. Chung, M.D., M.P.H., , breastfeeding advocate and director of the Newborn Nursery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, why – and how - expectant moms can prepare for successful nursing. “Breastfeeding is natural but that does not mean that it is easy,” Chung told me. “The first several weeks are generally the most challenging.”
Challenges include soreness, cracked nipples, a baby who hasn’t learned how to latch on, or one who likes marathon, hour-long feeds. Timing can be tough, too. Babies need to nurse more often during growth spurts, as well as middle-of-the-night feedings that test your ability to stay awake in a rocking chair at 3 a.m. “I tell mothers that they are on their way to success if they can exclusively breastfeed for the first 2-3 weeks,” Chung says. But new moms face another set of challenges, too – including going back to work or to school.
These strategies can help you get a great start – and give your baby one, too:
Take a breastfeeding class: Your local hospital may offer one, or breastfeeding may be part of your childbirth classes.
Line up a lactation consultant. A trained breastfeeding expert can answer your questions, meet with you to solve breastfeeding problems and support you when times get tough. Your hospital or pediatrician’s office may have one, or check the locater service of the International Lactation Consultant Association. Check your health insurance – some plans cover this important service.
Talk with your spouse and family. Nursing’s a big commitment of time and energy. A supportive spouse and family can make all the difference
Connect with other breastfeeding moms. “A number of hospitals offer breastfeeding support groups,” Dr. Chung says. “At Jefferson, we have a breastfeeding support group that meets from 12 to 1 pm on Tuesdays in the Family Medicine Conference Room, 833 Chestnut, 3rd Floor. For more information, call Parent Education 215-955-6713 or the Lactation Office 215-955-6665.” You’ll also find like-minded moms through the La Leche League International.
Talk to your employer. You can go back to work and continue to nurse, Dr. Chung says. Workplaces with more than 50 employees are required to provide breastfeeding mothers with time and space to express their breast milk while at work – but even if yours is smaller, it’s worth asking. “All working, breastfeeding women should be allowed and encouraged to express breast milk while at work so that they can maintain an adequate supply of milk,” she says. What you’ll need: A place to pump and time to do it. What to say: “Workplace lactation support programs have been proven to result in higher employee satisfaction, less missed days of work, less attrition, and higher work productivity,” Dr. Chung notes. “The return on investment is 3:1; for every dollar invested in lactation support, $3 are saved in costs related to missed days of work and caring for children with illness.”
Chung is also an attending physician at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children and an associate professor of pediatrics at Thomas Jefferson Medical College.
For those of you who are veteran breast feeders, we have a question. What is the most unusual place you've nursed your child? I've already owned up to a Jiffy Lube. How about you? I'm sure you've got some good experiences to share, as well. Post your responses in the comments section. We'll collect the best for an upcoming blog entry.
Why does a baby need to feed everywhere? 24/7? Do babies need to feed continually? Don't know just asking why a baby would need to be fed in public except in rare instances.— ephraim- Yes, babies do need to be fed almost continually - every 2-3 hours. So chances are a mom and baby are not going to be at home every time the baby is ready for milk. — SN18104
- I imagine that, despite not having to eat "continually," you probably allow yourself the right to eat in public. Why would you hold an infant to a different standard? — profmom
- Hi Ephraim, Thank you for asking this great question -- and thanks to everyone who took time to explain about the shifting hunger pangs of babies...sometimes they can go for a couple of hours, sometimes, such as when there's a growth spurt happening, they're hungry every hour. — Sari Harrar
- Hi Ephraim, Thank you for asking this great question -- and thanks to everyone who took time to explain about the shifting hunger pangs of babies...sometimes they can go for a couple of hours, sometimes, such as when there's a growth spurt happening, they're hungry every hour. — Sari Harrar
- A newborn or very young infant nurses on average every 2 to 3 hours around the clock for the first month. It drops off a bit after that - maybe every four hours, though at that point the infant may go a bit longer during the night and feed more often during the day as they develop a day/night routine. As a new mother, unless you can plan your day to be out no longer than two hours at a time, you are going to be faced with the need to feed your baby. A lot of times, that is simply not possible.— JQ
- When the baby is hungry, it's time to feed the baby. The baby doesn't care where you are and women should nurse whenever necessary. Nursing exclusively is not easy; my wife did it for the first couple months with our first child, but when the 2nd came along, it has become difficult, so she pumps and then i can get more involved and help out. That being said, most of the lactation nurses in the hospital are way too forceful and do not show much compassion for te mother, they just force themselves and their (very strong opinion and personality)on the mother. I know a few mothers who were oin the fence about breeasfeeding and the attitudes and personalities of the lactation consultants pushed them toward formula.— imafanregardless
- I forgot to bring a bottle of pumped milk one day while out at the mall. I fed my child on demand so when she was hungry there was no holding her off. I was not comfortable parking myself on a bench in the middle of the mall, so I went into the handicapped stall in the bathroom to nurse her. It wasn't the most ideal spot, but got the job done.— nephillychick
- Let them feed as long as they need to and where they need to, as long as they are discrete. Cover yourselves, otherwise I'll be the first one to complain. I've had women tossed off planes, out of stores and especially restaurants, and in one case I won in court— intelliwoman
- If a breastfeeding woman was asked to leave a store or restaurant in this state, the law was broken. Here is the law: "A mother is permitted to breastfeed her child in any location, public or private, where the mother and child are otherwise authorized to be present, irrespective of whether or not the mother's breast is covered during or incidental to the breastfeeding."
BTW, do you eat with a blanket over your head? No? Well, my baby shouldn't have to either. And if a nipple offends you, you really need to get out more.— profmom - One of the first things you learn as a new mom, and especially as a BFing mom, is that as soon as you think you have things planned out, and are prepared, your little bundle will put you back in your place. I remember nursing my daughter just before we went out, thinking ahhh, now I'll be set...and we had no sooner sat down, than she was wailing to nurse again. She sure showed me. :-)
BFing, while natural, is certainly not easy, and a good, compassionate LC, along with a strong support network, can be the difference between success and failure. We need to not be so caught up in the whole "OMG, BOOB!" issue, and more concerned with how healthy and good for both mom and babe it is. Most nursing moms show less breast while BFing than many teens out in their scantily clad clothing.— JLT78 - get those knockers out !!!— the_chief
- I breastfed my children in public in the mall, church, playground, etc. and most people never even noticed. Strangest place, the cafe area near the bakery in our local supermarket. I had nursed my daughter before we left the house, but with two full shopping carts of over $300 worth of groceries and a VERY long checkout line, my daughter was screaming her head off. Rather than leave the store (and the staff having to put all of my groceries back), I went back to the cafe area and nursed my daughter. There were two butchers on their coffee break and several senior citizens enjoying their cookie club. I sat down and nursed my daughter without even taking my jacket off. (You don't have to bare it all to nurse, but you also don't have to cover yourself and the baby with a blanket to be discreet.) She looked like she was sleeping in my arms. No one paid any attention to me or the baby, and ten minutes later I went through checkout with a contented, quiet baby and all of my groceries.— Fitzpatrick
