Tuesday, August 07, 2007

World Breastfeeding Week 2007: Why


Why do I participate in World Breastfeeding Week? Well, the reasons, first, are personal. I believe in breastfeeding because it’s been so beneficial for my own three little ones, and for me. My main goal is encouragement. Breastfeeding is good for mamas and babies. Our medical community (as a whole) is concerned about low breastfeeding rates in our country and they are aggressively campaigning to bring those rates up. The reason? Because it’s a healthy choice. Billy asked our pediatrician (not the one referenced here) whether he saw a health difference in breastfed babies versus those fed formula, and he stated emphatically, “Oh, yes.” If more women exclusively breastfed till 6 months, the lives of over 1 million babies would be saved this year, according to UNICEF. That’s a lot of babies. So if anything I say can encourage or help someone who is thinking about breastfeeding, then I’ve met my goal. Whether you breastfeed or not, I won’t stand in judgment of you. But if you make the choice to breastfeed your baby, I’m here to cheer you on!

1 comment:

Erica said...

Yes, breast feeding is very healthy for baby, and is my number one reason for nursing our little one, but the benefits for mom are pretty awesome too! Because making milk for baby takes approx 500 extra calories mommy loses a lot of that extra padding she put on during pregnancy a lot easier than the mommies who bottle feed and have to diet to slim back down. Also, as you mentioned, it works as a natural birth control for a while... I can't say how nice it was not to have to worry about menstrual cycles for 5 extra months! :)