The decision about how to feed your infant is a personal one. Families hear a lot of opinions about how they should feed their babies. Women often hear the phrase “breast is better” in reference to breastfeeding. If you choose to breastfeed, it is important to know its health benefits.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that breastfeeding has many health benefits for the baby and the mother. Even in the first days after birth, breast milk provides all the nutrients that babies need to grow and be healthy. Research shows that babies who are breastfed have lower rates of respiratory infections, asthma, skin rashes, type I and II diabetes, obesity and necrotizing enterocolitis (a disease that affects the gastrointestinal tract in infants born before 37 weeks). Breastfed babies have lower rates of ear infections and diarrhea. Mothers who do not breastfeed have higher rates of heart disease and breast and ovarian cancers. Studies show that breast milk helps babies fight disease and illness.
With all its health benefits, are all women breastfeeding? The answer is no. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) most recent Breastfeeding Report Card states that, in 2011, 79 percent of infants started breastfeeding in the United States. At six months, 49 percent were still breastfeeding and 27 percent were at 12 months. But the difference in breastfeeding rates among African American women is large. In 2011, 58 percent of African American women breastfed, with rates also decreasing at six and 12 months. The same report shows that 72.9 percent of women in Pennsylvania have ever breastfed, with 45.7 percent still breastfeeding at six months and 26.1 percent at 12 months.
“Any breastfeeding provides health benefits, even if it’s only for one week,” says Debra L. Bogen, MD, associate professor of pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and volunteer medical director, Three Rivers Mothers’ Milk Bank. The decision to breastfeed can be a complicated one for many reasons. Many women lack support from family members. Some women feel disapproval when they breastfeed in public. Dr. Bogen says that 50 percent of infants born in the U.S. qualify for the federal government’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (commonly known as WIC). WIC provides free infant formula for a certain amount of time. This can influence a woman’s decision to breastfeed. But WIC also offers breastfeeding support. It offers access to lactation consultants (certified breastfeeding professionals), counseling, better food packages, breast pumps and longer participation in WIC.
Another issue that affects a mother’s choice to breastfeed is having to return to work. Many women have to go back to work after having children. The U.S. Department of Labor cites that, in 2015, 54 percent of all mothers with children younger than 12 months were employed. Seventy-three percent of those employed worked full-time (35 or more hours per week). Breastfeeding mothers cannot feed their babies on demand when they are at work. So, they have to pump milk from their breasts in order for their bodies to keep creating milk. Breastfeeding mothers need a clean, private place to pump their milk.
[pullquote]“The Affordable Care Act (ACA) states that women who work for employers with more than 50 or more employees must have access to a place to pump their milk until their child is 1 year of age, that is private and ‘not a bathroom,’” says Dr. Bogen. “The ACA also provides pumps for women.”[/pullquote]
Many women struggle with the mechanics of breastfeeding (like the baby has a hard time latching on correctly on the nipple). They do not know where to get help, so they stop. But more people and places to help support breastfeeding mothers exist than ever before. (See the list of breastfeeding resources elsewhere on the page.)
“I tell women in my practice that their bodies started the production process of breast milk in the first few weeks of pregnancy,” says Dr. Bogen. “Therefore, the body believes it’s an important thing to do.
“Women need to know the facts about breastfeeding. Then, based on their lifestyles and health histories, they can make a choice about what works for them.”
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