Friday 20 June 2014

Why I Chose To Breastfeed




I grew up in a world that didn’t breastfeed.  I have no memories of seeing any child being breastfed before I became an adult.  In fact breastfeeding wasn’t even on my radar until I attended the University of Glasgow do study for a Human Nutrition and Public Health Degree.  It was there that I met Prof. Jane Scott PhD  and learnt about the importance of breastfeeding at a public health level.  It was also at The University of Glasgow where I was introduced to the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative and I was lucky enough to write my thesis on the effects of labour pain medication on the success of breastfeeding in an accredited hospital (Yorkhill, Glasgow).

Immediately after I graduated from the University of Glasgow and moved to the US, I discovered that there were more Baby Friendly Hospitals in the UK than there were in the entire USA, I think it was about 29 at the time.  I was gobsmacked!

After living in Baltimore, Maryland for a year I was lucky enough to be employed by the local WIC Program, a nationwide public health program providing nutrition and breastfeeding benefits to low income families.  In the WIC Program I was able to use my passion for nutrition and breastfeeding to help families to improve their knowledge so that they could improve the health of their families.  

It was at WIC that I discovered the wonder that is breastmilk and the importance of breastfeeding.  Yes, I had the educational background and had learnt the science behind it, but at WIC I got to see how it changed lives and created parents.  I saw babies thrive and mothers flourish and empowered by the act of nourishing their baby at the breast.  I worked in an atmosphere where breastfeeding was seen as the normal way to feed and I saw mothers and babies breastfeeding on a daily basis.

It was the strength of these mothers and the knowing that it was the norm and that breastfeeding was being successful around me every day that gave me the confidence to know that I could do it too and that I only wanted to breastfeed and that I wanted to breastfeed as long as my children wanted.  I have felt supported every single day throughout my breastfeeding journey and it’s been one of my proudest achievements.

This post is part of the Keep Britain Breastfeeding Internet Scavenger Hunt 2014.  You have now found the Keep Britain Breastfeeding logo and can enter for your chance to win over £1000 worth of breastfeeding and baby goodies.  To be eligible you need to enter at least 50 times by using the rafflecopters at the bottom of each article by tweeting, liking, commenting and following (entering at least ten rafflecopters should be enough).  I'll also link to some of the other bloggers and companies taking part so you can enter some more.

http://boobiemilk.blogspot.co.uk/p/keep-britain-breastfeeding-scavenger.html







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17 comments:

  1. Love hearing the benefits of breastfeeding both emotional and scientific as I read this whole breastfeeding my little one- feel good endorphins!

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  2. Great to hear your background in breast feeding. I love hearing the benefits.

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  3. Is it bad to say that initially I chose to breastfeed because mixing up formula and sterilising equipment and having to remember to take extra bottles on top of everything that a baby needs even when just 'popping out' and having to listen to screaming baby whilst heating up milk, all sounded way too much work! Now, I bf because it is the best feeling in the world when she looks up at me with a little smile that is all for me and no-one else! :-)

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  4. I chose to breastfeed just because it's natural, never really occurred to me not to!

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  5. i love reading other peoples experiences. i had my son 7 weeks early due to preeclampsia. i was very very ill for the first two weeks of his life (as was he, in NICU). i expressed but i wasnt getting very much at all. it felt like i was constantly pumping and getting nowhere. in the end, i gave up and i really regret it. im now 28 weeks pregnant with my second child (no signs of preeclampsia this time so hoping for a smooth birth) and i will definitely be breastfeeding this time. i want the bond and closeness and i know that it will benefit both of us

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  6. To help me lose weight, because it was free, and to offer health benefits to my baby. And I'm too lazy to get up in the night to make a bottle

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  7. it definatly is important to have breasfeeding around young girls and pregnant mums, all the ups and downs those first few weeks would be easier if you were expecting them because you had seen women go through them and how they coped and how much easier it gets afterwards

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  8. It's free and something only I can do for my child

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  9. I loved breastfeeding and was really sad when my little boy self weaned at 11 months.

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  10. I never thought about feeding my babies any other way - breastfeeding was the norm, especially as my mum was an LLL leader. When I discovered I have IGT I was devastated, but chose to continue breastfeeding along with supplementing because I wanted my babies to get the antibodies and the jaw development, and I wanted to protect myself against breast cancer.

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  11. its best for baby and its free

    Lynsey Buchanna

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  12. I chose to breastfeed because I just assumed that was what women who have children do. I've had to fight to breastfeed because it's part of how i show my son how much i love him, because i know it has health benefits for my son and i, because it enables me to experience love on a different level, because it challenges my selfishness and encourages self sacrifice, because of the incredible bond it enables between my son and i :-) ... so many reasons!

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  13. Best for baby and easiest for me, I love making milk in my sleep, no getting up to make bottles for me.

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  14. I felt strongly that breast milk would be best for my baby. I'm glad I managed to do it, I'd be useless at being organised enough to have bottles ready

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  15. To give the best possible start to life to our babies <3

    (Pia S)

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