There are baby formula shortages in the United States. A criticism from some who don’t know what they’re talking about are for parents to “just” breastfeed. Alyssa Rosenberg for Washington Post Opinion discusses the challenges behind that from a time perspective:
Even in the best-case scenario, breastfeeding isn’t free. It costs money for the supplies that keep a nursing mother comfortable and healthy enough to keep producing milk. And it costs time. I can show you exactly how much time, because I used an app to track every minute I spent nursing and pumping over the first six months of my son’s life.
She then translates the many hours spent into dollars, based on your salary.
“As a mother of a baby born in 1973 when nobody was breastfeeding, I didn’t know why, but I instinctively knew breastfeeding was the best thing to do.” After my first son was born, I went back to school to become a nurse. During my interview I said, “I’m not interested in sick people, but I want to work with new moms and babies.” So, I worked in labor and delivery for 10 years. During my time on the labor and delivery floor I dedicated all of my free time to helping new mothers initiate breastfeeding. I realized this was my true passion, so I became a certified lactation consultant and have been helping mothers and babies ever since.
Today, I want to share four things you might not know about breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding is good for your baby (and you!)
Breastmilk has cells, hormones, and antibodies that help protect your baby from illnesses. Babies who are breastfed are less likely to have asthma, ear infections, diarrhea and vomiting, and lower respiratory infections.
Breastfeeding can help your baby feel more secure, warm, and comforted. Physical contact also increases a mother’s oxytocin levels, which can help breastmilk flow.
Breastfeeding helps a mother heal after childbirth. It also reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes, certain types of breast cancer, and ovarian cancer.
Breastfeeding is adaptable
Your baby’s saliva transfers chemicals to a mother’s body that causes breastmilk to adjust to meet the changing needs of your baby as they grow.
The first milk that a mother’s body makes during pregnancy and just after birth is called colostrum. It is a deep yellow color and is very rich in nutrients that helps your newborn baby’s digestive system grow and function.
Mature breastmilk has the right combination of fat, sugar, water, and protein so your baby continues to grow.
Breastfeeding can save your baby’s life during a natural disaster
Breastfeeding can protect your baby from illnesses caused by dirty water, including diarrhea. It can also help prevent respiratory illnesses.
When you breastfeed your baby will always have milk available without have access to additional supplies.
Breastmilk is always at the right temperature and can help keep your baby’s body temperature from dropping too low.
Breastfeeding benefits society
Babies who are breastfed usually go to the doctor for sick visits less often, need to take fewer prescription medications, and are less likely to go to the hospital.
Mothers who breastfeed miss less work to take care of their sick babies, compared to moms who feed their baby formula.
Milk is a renewable resource that does not create trash and plastic waste from things like formula cans and bottle supplies.
August 1 – 7 is the 25th anniversary of World Breastfeeding Week. This year the campaign is focused on “sustaining breastfeeding – together” and the important role of support at all levels for successful breastfeeding.
Across the world, CDC has people on the ground working to protect the health of those affected by the crisis – people like Leisel Talley, whose mission is to help mothers and babies get the nutrition they need, despite unimaginable circumstances.
Fifteen minutes to help
In December 2015, Leisel spent time at the Slavonski Brod transit center in Croatia, where refugees fleeing Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan were processed and registered within Croatia and then sent on to Slovenia. Refugees typically traveled a grueling 12-30 days before reaching Croatia, and only stayed at the Slavonski Brod center for about an hour and a half, during which things moved quickly.
The center provided basic necessities like hygiene kits, hot tea, and meals, as well as reunification services to help people find family members they had lost along the way. The team there also provided access to minimal healthcare, along with space for infant feeding, clothing, and breastfeeding support. This is where Leisel came in. She recalls: “I had 15 minutes to give a comprehensive infant feeding assessment in a 20-foot by 20-foot tent.”
Mother and baby tent in Slavonski Brod, Croatia
Protecting the smallest refugees
“We asked mothers if they were breastfeeding, which we encouraged,” Liesel explains. “Those who didn’t want to breastfeed were asked to cup-feed infants with a ready-to-use, liquid formula, instead of powdered infant formula, which requires clean water to safely make.”
Globally, less than 40% of children under six months of age are exclusively breastfed, with no other foods or liquids. Babies who are not breastfed are extremely vulnerable to diarrhea and pneumonia, which increases their risk of dying. Breastfeeding lowers the possibility that babies will be fed formula mixed with contaminated water.
Leisel is one of many people working to make the best of a horrible situation. One in every 113 people around the world is now either a refugee, an asylum-seeker, or an internally displaced person. Fifty-one percent of them are children. Working alongside UNICEF, Save the Children and MAGNA, Leisel used every minute she had to help replenish, educate, and prepare the tired refugees for the next leg of their journey.
A day for awareness
August 19th is World Humanitarian Day – an opportunity for us to recognize aid workers and their passion for humanity. The General Assembly designated World Humanitarian Day to coincide with the anniversary of the 2003 bombing of the United Nations (UN) headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq. Please join us in observance of World Humanitarian Day and use the hashtags #sharehumanity and #WorldHumanitarianDay on social media to raise awareness about the millions of people living in crisis around the world and the aid workers who have devoted their lives to this cause.
CDC’s Emergency Response and Recovery Branch has been on the scene in Syria since 2012. The branch has conducted more than 85 humanitarian public health missions related to the crisis, making it the second largest humanitarian response to date, surpassed only by their work following the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
Learn more about the global commitment to humanitarian response:
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