Meeting 1: Importance of Breastfeeding
Timbra lead this meeting. We started out by discussing World Breastfeeding Week, including theme (and reading the 10 steps for a Baby Friendly Hospital), a discussion on Elizabeth Smith's recent presentation at the Breastfeeding Cafe Kick-off event where she outlined and explained the ways in with our local University hospital worked to get this designation, fundraiser that our Murray group would be putting on during World Breastfeeding Week, AND the Breastfeeding Cafe class schedule and purpose (but on by Utah Breastfeeding Coalition at the Downtown Library in the SHARE space Aug 1-15 this year).
We followed with an introduction and "How are you beating the heat?"
Our discussion in this month's meeting was with regards to the change in our reasons for breastfeeding throughout this relationship with our children.
Why do we start breastfeeding?
Example
Pressure
Economics
Health
"Tradition"
Research
Why do we continue breastfeeding?
Many moms who begin breastfeeding have a "goal" in mind for the length of time they'd like to "attempt" and then usually throw in the towel if it's not going right by then. Some moms give this a couple of weeks, others a couple of months, some even so long as the first year. Many mothers are not exposed to the idea of child lead weaning.
Moms said they continued nursing beyond when they originally thought, or for reasons they didn't have before having children for various reasons:
Comfort
"I'm addicted to breastfeeding"
It's the only thing that special between he and I that only I can give him
Continued benefits for mom
Continued health benefit for baby (emotionally and physically)
Most of the moms at our meeting were mothers of babies under 1 year, therefore they have not gotten to a point where they have continued beyond what they once thought was a "reasonable" amount of time to nurse a child, but I hope this meeting offered a perspective on realizing that there are different reasons that mothers continue to nurse, which go well beyond all of the "utilitarian" causes that they perhaps went into breastfeeding with.
It is one thing to research all of the benefits, it is quite another to experience them.
We also discussed Diane Weissinger's "Breastfeeding Language" a bit, and talked about the difference between "may prevent" and "may increase risk of. . ." for instance, breastfeeding may reduce your risk of having breast cancer by 25% but the converse is that NOT breastfeeding may INCREASE your risk of getting breast cancer by 33%. Breastfed babies are sick less often. . .THEREFORE. . . formula fed babies are SICK MORE OFTEN. The converse statistic is a little more painful. And finally, mother's breastmilk is the #1 best thing for baby, then pumped milk, then breastmilk from a milk bank THEN formula. . . formula is the FOURTH best thing for a baby. So we need to realize that it is not just an "acceptable alternative."
Breastfeeding IS IMPORTANT!!!
