My Breastfeeding Journey

Breastfeeding has been a very wonderful bonding experience for me and my daughter, Ryleigh. When we have had a busy day it’s nice to relax with Ryleigh while she breastfeeds. I love how she smiles and tries to talk while she eats. It’s like she is saying, “Thank you mommy for the good milk.” Other times she slaps my chest, pokes my eyes, and picks my nose while she eats. Then it’s like she’s saying, “How dare you wait 30 minutes in between my feedings.” Breastfeeding can be a very sweet and funny experience. During my pregnancy I didn’t really think about what I was going to feed my baby. My mother breastfed my siblings and I, so breastfeeding my children was the most natural and comfortable option for me. My breastfeeding journey has been
A well-known benefit for the mother is that breastfeeding can help her get back to her pre-pregnancy weight faster than exercise alone. In a 24 hour period breastfeeding burns up to 500 calories. “Breastfeeding your baby, on average, burns 200-500 calories per day (above what you needed to maintain your pre-pregnancy weight) — so keep in mind that even without a weight loss program you are burning extra calories.” (kellymom.com) In addition, breastfeeding has been shown to lower the risk of childhood obesity. “First, because breastfed infants control the amount of milk they consume, their self-regulation of energy intake, which involves their responding to internal hunger and cues that they are full, may be better than that of bottle fed infants, who may be encouraged by external cues to finish a feeding. A second possibility pertains to insulin concentrations in the blood, which vary by feeding mode.” (cdc.gov) It is said that higher amounts of insulin, which is in infant formula, causes more output of fat tissue, which increases weight gain, obesity, and may also cause type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, there are also some serious health benefits to breastfeeding like lowering the risk of breast cancer, postpartum depression, and Sudden Infant Death
These deaths occur among infants less than 1 year old and have no immediately obvious cause.” (cdc.gov) “This study shows that breastfeeding reduced the risk of sudden infant death syndrome by approximately 50% at all ages throughout infancy. We recommend including the advice to breastfeed through 6 months of age in sudden infant death syndrome risk-reduction messages.” (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) It is very important that soon-to-be mothers and fathers know about the importance of breastfeeding regarding Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. By a year old only 27 percent of babies are breastfed. (cdc.gov) If mothers continued to breastfeed or give their babies donated milk, think of how much that would cut down on sudden infant