Did you know...?
For a mother, breastfeeding:
- decreases her risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer
- decreases her risk of developing endometrial cancer
- decreases her chances of devloping osteoporosis
- is a natural contraceptive
- enables her to sustain her infant independently
For babies, breastfeeding:
- reduces their risk of developing asthma,cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal disease, obesity, and diabetes
- reduces their risk of dying from SIDS
- reduces infectious diseases in early and later childhood
- reduces the incidence of otitis media (ear aches)
- improves their cognitive ability
For the family and community, breastfeeding:
- reduces the cost to families
- protects the environment
- improves the health and wellbeing of our population
- decreases health care costs (fewer physician and hospital visits)
- requires fewer resources and staff time in hospitals when mothers and babies room-in together (my note: and a home birth requires even fewer!)
- contributes to long term health care savings
- improves productivity and reduces absenteeism among breastfeeding mothers as a result of healthier children
The above was taken from several documents on the INFACT Canada website: Breastfeeding Benefits for Mothers, Healthy Babies and The Benefits of Breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding in Canada
Like the World Health Organization, Health Canada recommends that babies be exclusively breastfed "for the first six months of life" and that breastfeeding continue "for up to two years and beyond".
In Canada, your right to breastfeed anywhere, anytime is protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The British Columbia Human Rights Commission also specifically details the rights of breastfeeding mothers -- these provisions include time, access and accommodation in the workplace and in public.
Recipe for Breastfeeding Success
Breastfeeding is the natural way to feed babies, and human breastmilk provides the perfect nutrition for them. It's convenient, portable, always the right temperature and comes in a sanitary package. And, unlike it's inferior substitute (formula), it changes to meet the nutritional needs of a growing baby.
However, just because breastfeeding is natural doesn't mean it comes naturally. It's not as innate as you might think it should be. In fact, breastfeeding is a learned behaviour -- one that once would have been taught to new mothers by their own mothers or other elder women who had breastfed their own children. Unfortunately, in this day and age of the isolated nuclear family, women often have to seek out support for and education about breastfeeding that they need to succeed.
from Breastfeeding: What You Need to Know -- INFACT Canada:
- Read a reputable book about breastfeeding such as Breastfeeding Pure and Simple by Gwen Gotsch or The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding by La Leche League International.
- Evaluate your priorities and determine what you want for your child.
- Ask questions from reliable sources such as La Leche League, a certified lactation consultant or a successfully nursing mother. Find a breastfeeding support group or a lactation specialist near you and make contact before baby is born.
- Decide that you are going to breastfeed -- happily and successfully -- and go for it.
