Breastfeeding Benefits and Tips

Mothers who choose to breastfeed benefit themselves, as well as their babies. For example, one of the most important benefits a baby receives from breastfeeding is the mother’s antibodies. One of the mother’s benefits is never paying for formula, which can be expensive.

The Additional Health Benefits of Breastfeeding

For the Baby:

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, breastfeeding helps prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and reduces the possibility that the baby will become overweight/obese during childhood, develop leukemia, necrotizing enterocolitis, as well as celiac disease. Furthermore, breastfeeding decreases the likelihood that the baby will develop asthma, diabetes and allergies.

For the Mother:

Breastfeeding helps the mother lose excess weight and assists her uterus with returning to its pre-pregnancy size. When a mother breastfeeds, she decreases her likelihood of experiencing postpartum depression and delays the return of her menstrual cycle. Moreover, her risk of developing breast cancer, cardiovascular diseases, ovarian cancer, hypertension, endometrial cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and type 2 diabetes decreases.

Breastfeeding Tips: Preparing for Baby’s Arrival

During the last trimester of pregnancy, a mother who intends to breastfeed needs to begin preparing for her baby’s homecoming. Use the breastfeeding tips below to ease the transition into life as a breastfeeding mother.

4 Breastfeeding Tips—Getting Everything Ready to Bring Your Baby Home

  1. Consider a Breastfeeding Class.

Some mothers find that taking a breastfeeding class helps them prepare for their baby’s arrival.

  1. Have Everything Necessary for Breastfeeding Before Baby Arrives.

Purchase the items that mothers use for breastfeeding ahead of time (e.g., a breastfeeding cover, a nursing bra, soothing nipple covers and a nursing pillow).

  1. A Complimentary Breast Pump?

Check with the hospital and health insurance company to see if they provide new mothers with a free breast pump. If not, purchasing a pump now is a good idea because, in the event that the mother needs to be away from her baby, she can pump and then store her milk.

  1. Prior to the Baby’s Arrival, Consider Making an Appointment with the Pediatrician.

A mother who has questions about her baby and breastfeeding should consult the pediatrician who will be caring for her baby following his or her birth. Addressing concerns before the baby arrives is beneficial because once her baby is born, she will need time to recover and adjust to motherhood. Therefore, anything an expectant mother can take care of ahead of time is highly beneficial.

7 of the most common questions expectant mothers ask pediatricians include:

  1. When should my baby be back up to his or her birth weight?
  2. Which growth chart does the office use?
  3. Do you think it is okay for a mother to use a nipple shield to help the baby latch on?
  4. How often will my baby need to breastfeed?
  5. What if I have poor milk production and have to add a supplement? Which formula do you recommend?
  6. Would you recommend that I wake the baby so he or she can nurse during the night?
  7. Should I limit the length of time my baby breastfeeds?

Besides all the other benefits of breastfeeding, it helps mother and baby build a strong bond. Contact Parker Pediatrics today to learn more.

Jaundice, Breast Milk

This article is an excerpt from "The Nursing Mother's Problem Solver" by Claire Martin.

Q: I thought breast milk was supposed to be best for babies. My pediatrician wants me to put the baby on formula because she says breast milk is causing my newborn's jaundice. How can my breast milk be bad for my baby?

A: There is a condition called breast milk jaundice, but nobody knows exactly what causes it. Breast milk jaundice occurs in 1 in 250 babies. Usually, jaundice is diagnosed in a baby between 5 and 7 days old. It's a common condition-40 percent of babies are diagnosed with some form of jaundice.

Jaundice is caused by a buildup of bilirubin in the baby's blood as the newborn's liver-whose job during pregnancy was handled by the mother-starts functioning on its own. Jaundice usually is resolved within a few days, with phototherapy.

Breast milk jaundice peaks between 10 and 21 days after birth and can last until 4 to 6 weeks after birth.

One way to diagnose breast milk jaundice is to temporarily wean the baby. If the condition is indeed breast milk jaundice, the bilirubin levels will drop in 12 to 24 hours. The levels rise again when the baby resumes nursing, although that's not really a problem-breast milk jaundice does not endanger the baby. Many pediatricians are recommending against temporary weaning as a diagnostic tool for breast milk jaundice, because it can lead to nipple confusion and to formula use by mothers who are groundlessly afraid that their babies will be harmed somehow if they continue nursing.

It is rarely necessary to stop breastfeeding a baby with breast milk jaundice. The jaundice resolves itself, even if you continue to breastfeed. Nipple confusion at this age is a real possibility. You may want to ask another pediatrician for a second opinion.

There are only two known medical conditions that may require weaning a baby from breast milk. In the first, the baby cannot process the amino acid phenylalinine. The phenylalinine builds up in the baby's body and can lead to serious developmental disabilities. However, the amount of phenylalinine can be calculated, and the baby's blood levels monitored, if you wish to continue breastfeeding. (It means extra work, but if you're determined, you can continue nursing.)

The other condition, which at this point does require weaning, is galactosemia, wherein the baby cannot process galactose, one of the components in lactose.

Newborns are tested for both conditions during the first few days after birth.


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About the Author

Claire Martin is a parenting writer at the Denver Post. Her writing has won national and regional awards, and has appeared in publications such as the St. Petersburg Times, Good Housekeeping, and Sunset magazine. She lives in Denver with her husband and two daughters, both of whom were breastfed.

From THE NURSING MOTHER'S PROBLEM SOLVER by Claire Martin. Copyright © 2000 by Claire Martin. Reprinted by permission of Simon & Schuster, Inc.