World Breastfeeding Week on August, 2024: Breastfeeding.?

World Breastfeeding Week 2024. World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is an annual celebration which is being held every year from 1 to 7 August in more than 120 countries.

World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is an annual celebration which is being held every year from 1 to 7 August in more than 120 countries.

I keep saying that I want to become a peer counselor for breastfeeding moms for one reason only. To show that it is so so hard in the beginning but that it DOES get easier. Mine didn't hurt...I used the nipple cup things that madela makes (you put them on between feedings...not during) which made me never feel engorged and kept air flow around the nipples to ease with the dryness and chapping. So my nipples and boobs never really hurt. HOWEVER, I watched those videos and read the books and knew all the pros and cons and my best friend breastfed for a year so I knew I wanted to do it. I think the videos of babies breastfeeding is really misleading. How they show the baby turning towards the nipple and latching on. And"this is what you do to break the latch". They never explained that that was clearly an experienced baby and NOT a newborn. That being said, the first two weeks or so, I was in tears. She would NOT latch on! ANd she'd arch her back and pull her head back and cry and cry. I refused to give her the bottle and her dad was always standing by with one telling me it was okay to quit. Which of course, just made me more frustrated and determined at the same time. SO, by about the 3rd week she really got the hang of it. ANd I remember talking to my friend about how around the 6th week I could just unhook my bra and put her in the general area and she'd go right to it. If I hadn't been so stubborn I would've quit. Just because it was never really explained how impossible it would be the first few days. She's 12 weeks on Thursday and just started taking one bottle a day (of pumped milk) two days ago. We've really got the hang of it and I would recommend it to anyone.

Also, I used to think that women breastfeeding in public was so unsanitary and quite frankly, disgusting. Now I am the mom who sits on a bench in the lawn and garden section of Wal-Mart and just whips it out cause she's crying from being hungry. I can't tell you how many bathrooms I've fed her in. A lot of stores will bring a chair into the bathroom for you to feed with too if you ask (I've been buying furniture and the furniture stores always bring me in a nice chair to use) or how many times she's been fed in the passenger seat of my car.

Good luck. I'd be interested to know how you do if you do try it.

breastfeeding?

Hi there,

Sweetie, nothing could be further from the truth! I don't know where you heard this mis-information. Breastmilk NEVER loses its goodness. "Your milk continues to provide special benefits for your baby that nothing else can provide! The same immunological benefits of human milk that protect your baby from illness in the early months continue to offer significant protection as your baby gets older" (The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding).

I think it is important to remember that unlike bottle feeding, breastfeeding is a great deal more than simply a way to get nutrition into a child. It is how we nurture our children, it is how we love them. Any mother who has had a baby come running to them with a bump on their head and wanting to nurse, knows that breastfeeding is a great deal more than milk. I always used to breastfeed my babies when they got a shot at the doctors. Their reactions varied from a furrowed brow to pulling away for a minute ( as if thinking "what was that?") and then they would go back to nursing! Older babies nurse when they are afraid, uncertain and sleepy. Breastfeeding offers a safe haven from a world that can get scary and over-whelming for a toddler. It reassures them, it restores their equalibrium! You can see it with your own eyes. They go from whiny, angry, frustrated little people to someone who is ready to take on the world! And they are not the only ones that it does that for! It helps us Moms cope with the challenges of an older baby.

Remember too that an older baby will not be nursing nearly as often as a young baby. He may only want a bedtime snack or he may want to nurse when he is sick. Your milk continues to contain antibodies that will help him get better sooner.

No, the benefits of nursing do NOT stop when a baby gets older. They change a bit but they do not stop.

Also remember that weaning should be a natural process that will happen over time and need not be stressful for the mother or the child.

The most important thing is to continue to meet your childs needs. Do not let anyone rush you into weaning your child. Do not let the fear of "what other people will think" push you into making a decision that you will always be sorry for. Remember once your child no longer nurses, it is gone forever.

Natural weaning is the key and remember the phrase "gradually and with love". That is the way you want it to happen. As your baby grows older you will begin to notice that he is skipping one or more of the times that he used to nurse. One day you will realize that he did not nurse at all that day. When weaning happens like that you never have to worry about being engorged or pumping or anything like that.

Gradually and with love, that is the key.

If you do not already own it I would really advise the book I mentioned from La Leche League, "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" it is literally invaluable. It became my bible when my babies were young. I recently had to buy a new copy as mine was actually falling apart from use. It has everything in it that you will ever need to know about breastfeeding.

Congratulations on making the wise and wonderful decision to breastfeed your baby. It shows that you are a great mother and that you are doing what is best for your child. I don't suppose that breastfeeding makes you a good mother but I have never known a breastfeeding mother who was not! It just seems to go hand in hand.

Keep up what you are doing. You are giving your child the ultimate, organic, homegrown, "super-food", keep it up! You are doing an awesome job!

Love and Blessings

Lady Trinity~

Breastfeeding??

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American Association of Family Physicians (AAFP), and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) strongly endorse breast-feeding. The AAP recommends breast-feeding infants for at least a year.1, 6, 7 Infants and toddlers can still receive many nutrients from breast-feeding should you want to continue past the first year.

Breast milk is the ideal food for your baby.1 It is the most complete and only nutrition source needed for babies up to 6 months of age.

Breast-feeding also reduces your child's risk for developing:

Many types of infections.

Eczema and asthma.2, 3

Obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

High cholesterol later in life.4

Breast-feeding helps you:

Recover from the stresses of pregnancy, labor, and delivery.

Bond with your baby.

Lower your risk for breast cancer.5

Respond to your baby's hunger quickly and conveniently.

Benefits of breast milk

Breast-feeding is a natural way to nourish your baby. Breast milk provides your baby with unique nutritional and health benefits, such as:

Antibodies to strengthen the immune system.

A reduced risk for eczema.2

A reduced risk for asthma.3

A reduced risk for becoming obese later in infancy and during childhood.

A reduced risk for developing diabetes and high blood pressure.

A reduced risk for high cholesterol later in life.4

Feeding your baby milk at the breast offers the added convenience of having a ready food source at all times that does not require special preparation.

How breast-feeding affects the mother

Soon after your baby is born, breast-feeding helps your body recover from the stresses of pregnancy, labor, and delivery. Breast-feeding also lowers your risk for developing breast cancer.5 The longer you breast-feed, the more this risk is reduced.5

Your body produces the hormone prolactin, which prepares your body for breast-feeding during pregnancy. After your baby is born and the placenta is delivered, prolactin immediately stimulates milk production. The amount of prolactin you produce depends on how frequently you breast-feed: the more often you breast-feed, the more prolactin your body generates, and the more milk your breasts produce.

Breast-feeding also stimulates your body to release oxytocin, which helps your uterus contract, bleed less, and return more quickly to its prepregnancy size. You may feel these contractions occur in the first few hours after birth, which are known as afterpains. The contractions may be slightly uncomfortable and last for a day or two.

Oxytocin also stimulates the let-down reflex, which occurs just before or soon after feeding or pumping begins. Let-down is often described as a tingle or an ache. If this is your first baby, you may not notice this sensation for the first few weeks.

Your body's hormones stabilize when your baby is about 3 months of age. At this time, you begin to lose the full feeling in your breasts between feedings. Your milk supply should remain the same even with this change.

The breasts first produce colostrum, followed by transitional milk after a few days. Mature breast milk usually is produced about 10 to 15 days after delivery. This milk contains about 50% fat calories, 45% carbohydrate calories, and 5% protein calories. Most of the carbohydrate is milk sugar (lactose), which helps babies absorb calcium.

You may find that losing weight is easier with breast-feeding. However, weight loss rates after delivery vary among women. Focus on eating a balanced diet to get adequate vitamins and minerals needed for breast-feeding. Eat an additional 500 nutrient-rich calories a day over the recommended amount for nonpregnant women of your height and weight; this is 200 calories over your recommended calorie intake during pregnancy. Talk with your doctor about continuing to take your prenatal vitamins while breast-feeding.

You can quickly become exhausted during your baby's first weeks. Allow others to help you when possible, so you can focus on breast-feeding and can nap with your baby.

You are not likely to become pregnant in the first 6 months of exclusive breast-feeding (which means you are feeding your baby on demand and not using formula, food, or water to supplement his or her diet). However, talk with your doctor about birth control while breast-feeding if you want to ensure that you do not get pregnant right away. After your baby is 6 months of age, you need to use a birth control method if you want to avoid pregnancy, regardless of whether you are breast-feeding exclusively.

Problems such as sore or cracked nipples, blocked milk ducts, or breast infection (mastitis) sometimes occur while breast-feeding. Most of these conditions are minor, easily treated, and do not significantly interfere with breast-feeding. For more information, see the Home Treatment section of this topic.

Some women notice that they become aroused during breast-feeding. Although this sensation is similar to a sexual response, it is not sexually driven. It is your body's way of preparing for breast-feeding. Do not worry or be ashamed if this happens to you.