EVERYTHING
FOR YOUR FAMILY
KID
QUIPS
During last July’s 5.8 earthquake, 3-year-old Bronwyn told her 1-year-old sister, “We’re going for a wiggle.” READ MORE
First Years
|
||||
|
I excused myself to nurse my baby in the sanctuary of my sister’s bedroom, my niece following me to observe. She was at the stage where she witnessed other people’s activities with curiosity and judgment. After awhile, she asked, with a 4-year-old’s bracing straightforwardness, “Why do you do that?” I said what I’d said before: “I’m feeding the baby. This is the best food for him.” So much of childhood is asking the same question over and over again, and listening to the answers adults give, measuring the difference between what somebody big said before and what somebody big said now. I reassured myself that I had been giving her a consistent explanation for the previous 10 months. But this time she offered an observation meant to help avoid what she perceived as a serious lapse on the part of her dear auntie. At 4, she’d seen enough to know better. “Well,” she said with a sigh and a knowing nod, “some mothers use a spoon.” My niece didn’t remember her own brief time as a breastfed infant. Like 47% of American mothers, her own mother began breastfeeding, but after a few weeks, gave it up. Indeed, after 6 months, only 12% still nurse their children, despite the World Health Organization’s encouragement to breastfeed for as much as 2 years to reap the optimum benefits. Though the overall trend shows more American women choosing to breastfeed, and breastfeeding longer, we still lag behind. This is the legacy from a generation when industrial formula was touted as better and more convenient than mother’s milk. It wasn’t, and it isn’t. Difficulties persist, rooted in perception and attitudes. Yes, there is pain and discomfort, especially early on (immediately make an appointment with your hospital’s lactation specialist). I admit to stomping my foot during those first couple weeks when the baby learned to “latch” on. My C-section only exacerbated the pain. Yet a breastfeeding pillow offered real relief, as did reassuring information received from friends and advocacy groups such as La Leche League After adjusting to the initial phase of frequent feeding, then occasional bouts of engorgement (just what it sounds like), teeth arrive. You’re certainly going to wean once his teeth come in, people have asked, gnashing their own with exaggerated menace. I wondered. While the new teeth did require adjusting our technique, the baby and I carried on. A supportive colleague in biology quipped that if humans ceased nursing with the onset of bicuspids, our species would have died out long ago. I was certainly not going to let that happen. Besides, breastfeeding, when possible, is the best choice for modern baby and mother. It’s that simple. Baby benefits most: fewer ear infections and illnesses, and healthier digestion. Nursing protects against allergies, asthma, cancer and diabetes. In a time of rising immunological disorders, breastfeeding boosts his developing immune system. Breastfeeding forces the mother to slow down, maintain her health and, yes, as part of nature’s grand plan, to adjust to the post-partum state. Indeed, nursing releases hormones that help mothers relax and regain their strength in addition to reducing risk of some types of ovarian and breast cancer. Of course, La Leche League didn’t offer to sub for me at work. It would have been easy to quit nursing when I returned to work 4 months after birth. A majority do. Stubbornly, I decided my absence actually necessitated continued nursing. I wanted to sustain that special bond as well as allow the baby to continue receiving the special immuno-milkshake my body had, it seemed, created especially for him. So I did what others had done: I developed a relationship with one of the most formidable electronic appliances ever faced: a breastpump. Unlike my sister, who opted for a single hand pump (a decision that doomed her nursing career), I chose an electric, double-pump model recommended by friends and the smart women at La Leche. It was a considerable financial investment (others may find renting one from the hospital more practical and affordable) but one, finally, that ensured my success. Like most trying phases of parenthood, the mechanical pumping stage passed. Time spent hooked up to the wheezing machine, sterilizing bottles and freezing tiny bags of milk ended as the baby’s diet began to develop. Reliance on breastmilk diminished. My child ate mashed bananas, rice cereal and the odd bottle of rice milk during my absence. And when Working Mama returned home to a happy reception from her No. 1 Fan, we nursed. A nursing mother confronts attitudes, especially as the baby ages. The public tolerates toddlers with bottles and pacifiers, but somehow a nursing toddler is suspicious. I surmise this discomfort has to do with our attitudes toward, for lack of a better word, breasts! Too often seen only in a sexual context, Americans overlook -- many can’t seem to look at all -- their primary function: to nourish children. I resisted pressure and nursed my child well beyond his first year, however discreetly. I didn’t join any of the public “nurse-ins” organized last year to raise consciousness about breastfeeding. I wish I had. My child’s health and well-being are more important to me than what others think and I hope that that always remains so. Lisa Alvarez, an English professor at Irvine Valley College, lives in Silverado with her husband and 2-year-old son, Louis. She is a regular contributor to this column. More About Breastfeeding The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends breastfeeding “within the first hour” of life, and frequent breastfeeding 8 to 12 times per day at the earliest signs of hunger. “Exclusive breastfeeding ” is advocated for “approximately the first 6 months after birth ” and continuation of breastfeeding “for at least 12 months and thereafter, for as long as mutually desired.” Human milk and infant formula are different. Not only does human milk provide all the protein, sugar, fat and vitamins your baby needs to be healthy, but it has special benefits that formulas cannot match. Research also suggests that breastfeeding may help to protect against Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). There are also many health benefits for the mother because breastfeeding does the following: Burns more calories; reduces the risk of ovarian cancer and, in premenopausal women, breast cancer; builds bone strength to protect against bone fractures in older age; delays the return of your menstrual period, which may help extend the time between pregnancies; and helps the uterus return to its regular size more quickly. For more information on breastfeeding, visit www.aap.org (American Academy of Pediatrics) or www.lalecheleague.org (La Leche League International). Upcoming area meeting: The La Leche League of Southern California/Nevada will host an area conference May 28-30 at the Hilton Costa Mesa. “Breastfeeding in Today’s World.” For conference information, www.lalecheleaguescnv.org - Compiled by Sandy Bennett |
||||
RSS Subscribe
Digg This ArticleSEARCH THE SITE
