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Everyone has heard, "Breast Is Best". American women today, fueled by misinformation, lack of support or freedom of choice, often choose not to breastfeed their babies. The few who do breastfeed don't do it very long or exclusively. "Exclusively" means without formula supplements, juice, or baby foods. The current recommendation (American Academy of Pediatrics) is for all babies to receive only breastmilk for the first 6 months of life, and to nurse for at least a year or longer. Yet in Illinois, only 11% of babies are receiving any breastmilk by 6 months of age. Many women feed their babies according to their doctor's advice. Most doctors will tell you "breast is best, but formula is ok too". A doctor should not be telling a woman that formula is "ok too". If they were educated on the topic of breastmilk vs. formula, they would know that formula should not be presented as an acceptable substitute for breastfeeding when it comes to infant health. Unfortunately, doctors are taught to prescribe, and formula feeding offers an easy way for a doctor dictate in specifics...he can tell you how many ounces, how often are needed to meet your baby's caloric requirements. Breastfeeding is not as easy for a physician to monitor, as you can't measure the ounces of milk a baby gets from the breast. This is not to say that there aren't accurate ways to ascertain that a baby is getting enough when they are breastfed - it just means that most doctors aren't taught that way. Physicians also recommend other unhealthy feeding practices, such as rice cereal or other solid foods before the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines of 4-6 months of age....my point is, what or how to feed your baby is usually not a decision that a physician needs to make for a healthy newborn. Studies have found that for every year a woman breastfeeds, her risk of breast cancer declines by 4%. Considering that the average woman (without inherited mutations...which is not the same as having someone in your family who has had breast cancer) has only a .3% chance of getting breast cancer, you can see that in most cases, exclusive, extended (at least to age 1) breastfeeding can absolutely reduce or eliminate your risk of breast cancer. If you have a daughter, it is especially important to nurse. Women who were breastfed as infants, even if only for a short time, showed an approximate 25% lower risk of developing premenopausal or postmenopausal breast cancer, compared to women who were bottle-fed as an infant.
Source: Freudenheim, J. "Exposure to breast milk in infancy and the risk of breast cancer." Epidemiology 1994 5:324-331Get an idea of your risk of breast cancer here, and then factor in that your risk is reduced every year you breastfeed. My risk is 0%. Maybe yours could be too. You can read more about breastfeeding and breast cancer here. It's not only breast cancer risk you lower by breastfeeding, also uterine, ovarian and endometrial cancer. It's a year of your life that could save your life, or that of your child! Finding a cure is important. There are many women who never have biological children or are past childbearing age who need to live! But to bank on a cure and choose not to breastfeed is risky behavior. Especially if you are a smoker or have used the birth control pill in the past. SIDS Sudden infant death syndrome is the single most important cause of newborn mortality, striking approximately two infants per 1000 live births in the U.S. Exclusive breastfeeding cuts the risk in half. Your healthy newborn has a .2% chance of dying from SIDS if they are not breastfed. Factor in prematurity, low birth weight or having had a previous child die from SIDS and the risk is higher. If your child is a twin, their risk is doubled. If you sleep with your baby on a sofa, the risk goes up. If your baby sleeps alone in a crib, the risk goes up. If you follow safe co-sleeping guidelines, several well-designed research studies demonstrate that SIDS is actually reduced in babies cosleeping along with an aware, protective (non-smoking, non-drug-impaired) mother in a safe bed. The Chicago Infant Mortality Study reveals that Breastfeeding Infants have 1/5th the Rate of SIDS as their formula-fed counterparts. There are two kinds of cosleeping, a conscious decision made by highly attentive parents, and that coming from factors such as fatigue from partying or drinking. When sofa sleeping and wedging dangers are removed, the family bed with a breastfeeding mother shines as safest. In countries/societies where breastfeeding and co-sleeping are the norm, SIDS rates are astronomically lower. Central and South America's rates have the lowest incidence of SIDS (.13%, or 1 in 7,598). Raising your child in a "natural" way, by holding your baby as much as possible (avoiding hours a day in swings, bouncers, walkers, etc), breastfeeding, and sleeping safely with your baby keeps you and your baby safer and healthier than modern practices of Baby Einstein videos and bottle propping. It's never too late to choose to breastfeed your baby...a committed woman can relactate! :) Tags: breastfeeding
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Trying to pamper yourself by experiencing childbirth with all available medical technology at hand, is dangerously, stupidly self-indulgent.
I’ve seen the woman in transition, unmedicated, her face glistening with sweat, her body glowing, working harder than she’s ever worked before, her eyes with a dreamy, far away look. I’ve seen women overcome the pain and the relentlessness of the contractions. I’ve seen them rise above, and do something they dind’t think they were capable of. I’ve seen births where I am so obviously in the presence of Deity. I’ve watched babies crown, and sometimes it’s like staring at the unmasked face of the Goddess. Having birth while medicated is like having meaningless sex your entire life, with someone you don’t care about and aren’t in love with, and thinking that that’s what sex is, without ever once dipping into the Mystery of it, into the incredible beauty of two souls entwined, without ever once making love. It’s the same kind of energy. Birth is making love in a different way—and who would want to make love while numb up to their waists? True, this may not be the best metaphor in the world, and true, birth is not always (or even often) a pleasurable experience, but it’s still one that I think you should feel.
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Every single day, I am happy that i had an unassisted birth with Fiery. Every single day I look at her with love, awe, and pride. She was a good teammate, did everything she was supposed to do. I think this was due to letting her know when she was still womb-side that I trusted her. That I knew no matter how she came out, or when she came out, that she wanted to be born and she wanted to be my daughter. It was the best experience of my life. It left me wanting to birth again and again. It made me want to take the fear or pain of other laboring mothers and bear some of it for them, because I loved every minute of it. I have this poem on the bulletin board on my kitchen, and I read it often before I became pregnant with her:
It is a terrifying thing to begin
To begin anything at all
The rewards are but rumors then
The glories but gossip.
To taste and to see, we must venture
Into the murky waters of inexperience.
And that is, indeed, a terrifying thing.
But 'tis more terrifying still...
To stand ashore and only wish
It could someday truly be true.
~ Tristam GylberdIt is so, so true for me now. Women, be strong! Birth is a privilege that you only get so many chances to be part of. Take care of this experience, guard it from harm and interference. Take what is yours and love it, don't fear it. 
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Kailleah and I don't get the opportunity to do typical age-appropriate mother-daughter stuff that we are both interested in, ever. Shopping? She hates it! Doing hair/makeup stuff? She'd rather die! I shopped for her first bra solo. We did celebrate her period together, but I don't think she cared much. Which is why I was excited to pierce her ears yesterday! About a month ago, she said she wanted them done. Of course, I would never do them with a gun, or have them done by someone else. She would never tolerate someone else doing it, and ear piercing guns are very bad to use. They drive a fairly blunt object through your tissue, which causes more inflammation and swelling and pain than is needed to wear earrings. Instead, I ordered real piercing needles. These are great because they are hollow, and the tip is a tapered razor blade. So they slide through flesh like butter, causing very little discomfort. I bought 14k gold hoops like these which won't fall out or be uncomfortable. She was prepared for it to hurt, and the first one did hurt during the part where I was putting the earring in because she moved. With these needles, you put the earring into the flat hollow end, so it slides in a fluid motion behind the needle. When she moved, it came out ofthe needle and I had to put the needle through again, which made it bleed and she didn't like that at all! We talked about it and she cried a little before we did the second one. She was very still and said that one didn't hurt at all. The placement was perfect and they are even and look lovely! I am happy and proud to have been the one to do it for her. She keeps looking in the mirror and talking about how much she likes having pierced ears. Some pictures of the event ( here )Tags: kailleah, milestones
feeling:  pleased
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norwegian_wood's journal
The Wayback Machine
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