Did you know that apart from being the prime source of sustenance for infants, breastfeeding also protects a newborn from diarrhoea and pneumonia and that a breastfed human baby is less likely to be obese or have diabetes as an adult?
And children are not the only ones reaping the benefits of suckling on their mother’s milk. Numerous studies have demonstrated the direct benefit of breastfeeding for both babies and mothers. Despite several campaigns directed at advocating and promoting exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of a human child’s life, there still seems to be a lack of awareness about breast milk being the best form of nourishment for infants, feel experts.
According to a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) study, less than 50 per cent of newborns globally are put to the breast within an hour of birth, which basically means that they wait far too long to make this critical contact with their mothers and receive the key health benefits associated with breast milk. The practice, however, varies widely from region to region. South Asia has reportedly clocked the highest prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding, with nearly 60 per cent of infants being exclusively breastfed. In contrast, only 26 per cent of infants (0–5 months) in Northern America are exclusively breastfed. The report also suggests that good nutrition in early life is crucial to achieving sustainable development and food security and eradicating hunger among infants.
Sindhu Sivalingam, a communication professional and mother to a six-year-old girl, says she breastfed her daughter from birth until she was two and a half years old and wouldn’t have it any other way.
“On the first day, I had some difficulty getting the baby to latch on, mostly because I did not get any help at the hospital. When I told the nurse, she just handed me a tin of formula feed! Luckily, one of my aunts visited and helped in positioning the baby and that’s it — my child was comfortably feeding at the breast.”
Sivalingam feels that the long duration of breastfeeding helped her forge a strong bond with her little one. “When my baby was about two and a half years old, I started preparing her for weaning by telling her stories about how the milk storage is getting depleted and she would have to stop feeding from the breast. It wasn’t easy immediately after we stopped, more for me than for her. But things improved after about two weeks,” recollects Sivalingam.
A 2016 paper published in The Lancet, ‘Breastfeeding in the 21st century: epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effect’, shows that scaling up breastfeeding to a near universal level could prevent 8,23,000 annual deaths in children younger than five years and 20,000 annual deaths from breast cancer among nursing mothers.
The worldwide study has further revealed that breastfeeding protects children against various kinds of infections, increases intelligence and promotes reductions in obesity and diabetes.
“For nursing women, breastfeeding gave protection against breast cancer and it improved birth spacing, and it might also protect against ovarian cancer and type 2 diabetes,” says the report.
Under the Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding, UNICEF and World Health Organisation (WHO) recommend:
- Initiation of breastfeeding within one hour of birth.
- Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life.
- Continued breastfeeding up to two years of age or beyond, with introduction of nutritionally adequate and safe complementary (solid) foods at six months.
Myths and facts
Here we bust some age-old myths and misconceptions surrounding breastfeeding and help you get your hands on the facts instead:
Myth 1: The first breast milk is too little for the baby
Fact: “This is a common misconception that families have because they feel that the mother is producing too little milk in the first few days, leading them to think that the newborn may need other foods to compensate the supposedly low nutrition intake. In fact, the ‘first milk’ or colostrum is thick and comes out in small quantities because at that stage, that is all the baby needs.
“This milk is rich in antibodies and protects the baby’s immune system from infections. Also, human milk shouldn’t be compared to cow’s milk, because the composition is different. Human breast milk adapts according to the growing baby’s needs and is packed with nutrients, which cannot be supplemented by other foods until the baby is six months of age,” Dr Ravneet Joshi, paediatrician and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) practising at Manipal Hospitals, Bengaluru, told Happiest Health.
Myth 2: You should eat bland food when breastfeeding
Fact: Nursing mothers need a balanced diet packed with vitamins, minerals, proteins and carbohydrates. Lactating women burn about 500 extra calories a day. Therefore, it is essential that they replenish the loss with the help of a healthy and balanced diet. Simple, healthy and home-cooked meals that include a wide variety of foods are the best because, through breast milk, babies will also get acquainted with what the mothers are consuming. This will also help the children adapt and be open to different kinds of foods as they grow up, feel doctors.
Myth 3: Mothers do not need support with breastfeeding
Fact: The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), a global network dedicated to promoting breastfeeding, advocates that new mothers be given practical help and support for successful breastfeeding and to promote physical and emotional bonding between the mother and the child.
“New mothers are vulnerable and go through a lot of physical and emotional changes. Under the joint family structure common in many earlier societies, the other women in the household would often help the new mother in bringing up the child with tips and advice. Nowadays, many young mothers struggle to find their way around their newborn babies, be it the right techniques to hold them or the correct approach to feed them.
“They need guidance on feeding positions and helping the baby latch on to the breast and so on. The support has to come from healthcare providers, family members and the community — this is what we call the warm chain of support. In special circumstances, such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and preterm deliveries, the mother might need help in expressing milk and feeding the little one. That’s why receiving counselling and accurate information on feeding practices is important so that the mother feels relaxed, which again plays a role in increasing breast milk flow,” adds Dr Ravneet.
Myth 4: It is hard to wean a baby if you breastfeed for more than a year
Fact: According to UNICEF data, there are no studies to show that weaning is difficult. On the other hand, there is enough research that points that breastfeeding up to two years is good for both the mother and the child. It is, eventually, for the mother to decide how long she wants to nurse her baby.
Myth 5: Working mothers cannot breastfeed their baby
Fact: While it can be a challenge for working mothers to continue to breastfeed when they get back to work, it can be done with some planning and support from employers and family members. “While on maternity leave, prepare a solid ground for continuing breastfeeding when you return to work. Feed your baby frequently and on demand. Developing good feeding technique at this stage will help you build a good milk supply, which will make breastfeeding easier when you get back to work. If your workplace has a crèche or nursery, feeding your baby at regular intervals could be slightly easier. Else, consider feeding your baby in the morning; store expressed milk for the baby in sterile conditions so that a caregiver can feed the little one in your absence and breastfeed on demand once you are at home and at night. This way your baby won’t be denied the benefits of natural goodness that breast milk is blessed with,” advises Dr Ravneet.
