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.
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Love hearing the benefits of breastfeeding both emotional and scientific as I read this whole breastfeeding my little one- feel good endorphins!
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear your background in breast feeding. I love hearing the benefits.
ReplyDeleteIs 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! :-)
ReplyDeleteI chose to breastfeed just because it's natural, never really occurred to me not to!
ReplyDeletei 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
ReplyDeleteTo 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
ReplyDeleteit 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
ReplyDeleteIt's free and something only I can do for my child
ReplyDeleteI loved breastfeeding and was really sad when my little boy self weaned at 11 months.
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteits best for baby and its free
ReplyDeleteLynsey Buchanna
It just felt right
ReplyDeleteIt was good for my daughter
ReplyDeleteI 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!
ReplyDeleteBest for baby and easiest for me, I love making milk in my sleep, no getting up to make bottles for me.
ReplyDeleteI 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
ReplyDeleteTo give the best possible start to life to our babies <3
ReplyDelete(Pia S)