Here are some personal & professional thought about breastfeeding.

This was an article written by ME and published on occasion of breastfeeding awareness week a couple of years ago!

So we have a breast feeding awareness week , and I wonder, why or how does a country like India , which falls under the category of being traditional & many times having conservative values , need breast feeding awareness! How ironical is that.
When did our culture turn its back from mother milk to “top feed”? How & why did this happen…when did the misconceptions & myths crept in the minds of our elders, who are always there to guide us during our journey from pregnancy to baby care.
Not only the family members , very often doctors are also unaware or have wrong information regarding breast feeding, simply because the government & medical council doesn’t feel the need to make them study the subject in depth.

I too belonged to the same class of medical practitioners till several years back, till the time I took efforts and studied about lactation so I could guide my patients & help myself as well….since I had struggled for the same during my 1st chid birth in the year 2011.
Oh I wish I had someone to guide and motivate me then, and I am glad now we have such support groups , communities & experts to guide mums like me & u , through this long, exhausting but very fulfilling jounery with your loved ones.

While I write this post, I can think of those misinformation and myths about breastfeeding & breast milk that are often asked by mums & grand mums too, which are often unanswered due to hesitation or poor communication between the doctor & parent/attendant.
The first one that one hears is the most relevant one too!

MYTH : Not giving the new born, colostrum.
FACT: There is nothing as important & good for the newborn as colostrum, which is full of antibodies which can protect the baby from a number of infections & strengthen his immune system.

MYTH : Breast milk is not enough!
FACT: Mothers body is making milk as per babys demand, which it deciphers by sucking. The more baby sucks, the more milk is produced. Crying , fussiness or putting fingers in mouth doesn’t mean milk supply is low . Baby’s output in terms of urine & stools in the indicator of his intake.

MYTH : Food restrictions during lactation.
FACT: Most babies are not affected by mothers diet. Only very few who have specific allergies will need there mum to restrict certain food due to medical issues. A mother can eat anything & everything in moderation, as long as it doesn’t affect her own health. Post delivery , while the body is recuperating from the sudden shock of labor or a major surgery like c section, the body may not be ready for certain food , which depends on ones own system.

MYTH : Feeding schedules & timing feeds.
FACT: Breast feeding babies or even formula fed babies can cannot be fed by looking at the clock, they need more at times, or less some times. At times they just want to be fed continuously or frequently, which is known as cluster feeding. There also periods when they may have more intake , these may be time of growth spurts.

MYTH : Feeding while lying causes ear infection .
FACT: Feeding in lying position ensures rest to mother, and is very useful at night when the baby gets up every couple o f hours, it just needs practice!

MYTH : Stopping breast feeding while sickness or fever.
FACT: Very few medical conditions or drugs given during those conditions may require the mother to stop feeding. Unless specified by your doctor, there is no need to stop.

MYTH : Breast milk becomes sour or bad or poisonous after 6 -12 months.
FACT: Breast milk is made by body FOR the baby , its never bad , at any age or any conditions.

I would like to share a small experiment I did with my son who is now 5.5 years old. He is prone to allergies & recurring – prolonged viral fever. So this time , I gave him few teaspoons of expressed breast milk ( lactating as I have a 1 yr old baby as well) few times a day, besides his usual homeopathic meds as per symptoms, and i noticed a drastic change in pattern & duration of his illness.

Repeated this again after 3 weeks, when he had cold & fever , the episode lasted for a 24 hrs only , to my surprise.

I cannot imply much here, but Breast milk did make a difference here in the case, and this field requires research.
Just want to add a trivia about breast milk , there are a number of homeopathic medicines prepared from milk of human & various other animals , which points to the fact that it has medicinal value.
Thanks for reading!