Nice to have some reputable science behind the instincts I've been following for years. http://content.usatoday.com/communi...-ways-best-in-childrearing---like-neolithic/1
Wow that was a shocking stat to me that only 15% of mothers are still breastfeeding at twelve months! I guess it isn't convienent for most. As to the cuddling and carrying hear hear!
That's a US statistic, so it may be higher (hopefully) in Canada. Sadly, too many mothers don't even start breast feeding, let alone continue. And many more are told "just do it for a few weeks" by their doctor (because that's the 'most important' time, so they are essentially given the go ahead to give up).
I wish I could have breastfed Bo, m yoldest, but he was a TERRIBLE nurser, and never took to it well. We unfortunatly had to go to the bottle. With Paddy, I was put on Pain medication for my disc in my back, and could not breastfeed. It was either we breastfeed and I be paralyzed in pain, or I bottle and formula feed and be able to actually move. Even though we bottle and formula fed, we did it with love. Fully planning on breastfeeding again with the next one in 6 weeks! lol I think in today's age, it's a bit of an inconvenience, you know? I mean, women have to go back to work ASAP to make a living and not all workplaces allow time to pump every 2 hours let alone a place to store the milk once it's pumped. Plus, depending on where you work you may not have the time to stop what you are doing for 30 minutes and pump. I assume most women get the standard 6 weeks maternity, and thats the only time they breastfeed, if at all. After all, it's so much easier to pack formula than breastmilk.
Well I think statistically it's about the same here. It's just I hadn't heard the stat before. I know a lot of mothers and almost all of them were formula or solids by six months if they even breastfed at all. To me it's natural, healthy and cheap. I often think we need to develop a system here in the west of wet nurses. They used them a lot in days gone by and it makes perfect sense for parents who can't medically nurse but want better for their kids. Or maybe a milk bank. )
My "then" pediatrician told us that I only needed to breastfeed for a few weeks so the babies could get the colostrum.And..I listened to her. I honestly didn't know a thing about it at the time,and it is an uncommon practice in my family,so we listened to her.I mean,she is the professional and everything.So she had to be right!I can't even begin with the "if I knew then what I know now". I understand formula being convenient,and I'm not dogging women who choose to go that route.But in my opinion,there is just not enough support to breastfeed these days.It seems to me women are led straight to the bottle.Even when I did express interest to our pediatrician,or our families for that matter,there was little encouragement or support.I mean just the way people talked about it,like it was abnormal.One family member said they didn't think I could do it,another said it was crazy to breastfeed nowadays.Blah blah blah.I imagine many new moms go through similar ordeals.It's just sad. I like this article and I think things like this should be posted in every gyno and pediatrician office.
Speaking of being led right to the bottle: When my two were born, I had to sign a form that stated I didn't want the nursing staff to give him formula or sugar water from a bottle when he was born. They said alot of new moms ask for it so they can rest for a night after delivery and not have to worry about getting up every few hours. :/ I didn't have much support form DH's family. If they came over while I was feeding one of the boys (covered up completly let me add) his younger brother would yell, "EEEEWWWW GROSSSSS" and leave the house to sit out in the car, and his mom would go, "Oh, I guess we caught you at a bad time. How can you stand that? Oh well, call us when you're done, we'll be out in the car." No amount of persuasion could get them to stay, not even if I went into a different room. Their pretty darn weird.
Praise the Lord for my La Leche League mother!!!! My mom nursed my brothers (twins) until they were past 2. When the going got tough with nursing my ds, my mom was right there holding it over my head that if she can nurse with mastitis two babies at a time, I can surely handle one weak nursing baby and sore nipples! :lol: I ended up nursing ds until he was 30 months old, and dd weaned herself at 20 months. I was considered a "rogue" nursing mother by most, I'm sure. I nursed in the church pew with only my shirt to cover me (funny how my shirt covered just as much of me as a blanket, but most moms won't nurse without a blanket or specially designed wrap). Everyone I talked to years later that went to church with me had no idea I was nursing in the pew. :lol: What they don't know didn't hurt them, huh? I wish I could be a lactation consultant, but it seems you have to be a nurse before they let you teach moms about nursing....and most of the nurses who teach these new nursing moms never nursed their own babies cuz they had to run back to work so quickly to make the big bucks. :roll: (nothing against nurses, just the system is ridiculous when it comes to who they deem credible to teach people)
My three hospital babies weren't nursed until they were hours old (well, not true... my third was because I was bold enough to defy the doctor at that point). It seems that if your baby has low blood sugar at birth, they forbid you from nursing. Um... huh? That doesn't make any sense. Then an hour later, they give formula so they know exactly how much baby is getting. Then an hour after that, if and only if their blood sugar is back up, they let you nurse. Well, anyone who knows anything about the biology of newborn latching knows that this sets a parent up for a disastrous nursing relationship that has to overcome insane obstacles immediately. It not only causes nipple confusion, but infants at birth have an instinct to nurse that evaporates within minutes of birth. If they don't latch to mom then, it's a fight to 'teach' them how later. Anyhow, glad I had my fourth at home where logic dictates that a baby with low blood sugar needs the most nutrient rich food source known to man: colostrum.
Great post. Backs up my post about the idiotic way we deem people an authority over us and our children. Chaps my hide.
Fortunately here in Ontario we get one year Mat Leave. I took an extra 6months....I couldn't imagine only being with babe for 6 weeks. We are raising ds in a very AP environment. I was also very fortunate that ds was a wonderful nurser and we nursed until 2.5y. The day we moved was the day he self weaned. Good luck with nursing this time around!!
Oh LoneGirl! I couldn't imagine a 1 yr Maternity leave! Most businesses here are 6 weeks allowed, and if you have extra time on your books you can take it (like if you saved up sick time/vacation time/overtime). It also depends on where you work. DH works for the state and he can actually take 3 months off, paid, to stay home and help me. Anymore than that and he has to have Leave W/O Pay. The daycare I worked at when I was pregnant with Paddy told me I had only 6 weeks, and I would be working my whole 8 hours with no extra breaks or nursing time (if I chose to take him to that particular daycare with me). :/
I was able to nurse my ds to 9 months when he got really sick, quit nursing, and I dried up. He never wanted a bottle, so even if I did pump when I was away from him, he just didn't eat. Luckly I was able to stay home mostly and got to spend so much time with him. Also, our hospital had a Mommy and Me class that supported breast feeding, baby wearing, etc, which was so nice since none of my family breastfed more than a few weeks. For me, breastfeeding was way more convenient than bottles.
I agree! I always say that lifting my shirt is a whole lot easier than trudging to the kitchen, warming water, adding powder, sitting up holding baby with one hand and a bottle with the other... especially at 2 am. Now there are a few rare times that a bottle has been more convenient for us, but I do mean RARE. Actually, the only time has been on the drive to PA. My boys never really whole-heartedly commit to nursing, so it can be an on-again-off-again thing for an hour or so. But they'll take a bottle start to finish. So on the way to and from my mom's, I sometimes just gave the baby a bottle in the van; I would not have been able to nurse him on the move like that. But that is the ONLY time I can think of that it was easier for me to bottle-feed vs. nurse.
