Breast Milk is Best Milk … but Not Without Challenges

We are the proud parents of two young daughters.  Throughout our medical training, we’ve been taught the many virtues of breastfeeding and had no doubt that breast milk is how we would nourish our daughter. What we’ve learned over the past few months is that textbook parenting is not the same as real life parenting – and that extends to breastfeeding as well. This week, we want to share with you the many benefits of breastfeeding as well as some of the challenges we’ve noted.

Breastfeeding has benefits for both mom and baby. Breastfeeding promotes bonding between a mother and her newborn. Breastfeeding protects infants from many illnesses - antibodies are passed through the breast milk to the newborn, giving them immunity until their own immune system strengthens. Research shows that infants who are breastfed have less respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses than infants who are formula fed. Breast milk is also more easily digested than formula. Breastfeeding is less expensive – there are no bottles or formula to buy. Breastfeeding is also convenient – since there are no bottles to prepare, a baby’s hunger can be satisfied immediately. As an added benefit, breastfeeding burns an extra 500 calories per day, helping with postpartum weight loss.

As natural as breastfeeding is, it is not always easy. Here are a few things we’ve learned. Breastfeeding promotes bonding between mom and baby, but this can leave dad out. Some ways to include dad are to have him do infant massage and stimulate the baby while nursing so he or she stays awake and feeds better, have him burp baby during feedings, and once nursing is well established, he can give bottles of pumped breast milk.

Because breast milk is more easily digested, breast fed babies tend to eat more frequently than those fed formula. This means a new mom may feel like all she does is nurse, especially during growth spurts. Let go of the need to do laundry and clean – friends and family can help with these until baby is going longer between feeds. Also, since there is no easy way to know how many ounces of milk the baby is getting, you may question if you are making enough or doing something wrong. Trust your body and trust your baby – you’ll make enough and she’ll tell you when she’s full.

Whether you choose formula or breast milk, your child will get the nutrients they need to grow and develop. But if you can make the commitment to breastfeed your newborn, the added benefits to both you and your baby are worth the challenges. And it does get easier.