Misinformation abounds on the topic of breastfeeding. While many people quit for their own personal reasons, others wean prematurely and unnecessarily. Here are some reasons:
Myth #1: Breastfeeding is always super fun and awesome.
Facts: Breastfeeding is a relationship you have with your nursling. Sometimes it’s super fun and awesome, sometimes it’s filled with lots of love and joy, and sometimes it makes you want to scream and shout obscenities. And just like any relationship it can start out rocky and get better or start out good and deteriorate. It’s best to breastfeed only as long as both members of the pair desire to.
Myth #2: Babies should be breastfed on a strict schedule.
Facts: I’ve read many, many different stats on how long newborns should nurse for and how often they should nurse and none of them told the truth, which is: nearly constantly. Seriously. It’s absolutely crucial to the nursing relationship that babies be nursed “on cue.” Babies have the amazing ability to self-regulate their milk intake if nursed on cue and that ensures that you will continue to produce all the milk they need.
Myth #3: Breast milk is useless and devoid of nutrition after six months or one year.
Facts: Breast milk continues to be made the exact same way it was always made, so why would its beneficial properties suddenly become null and void? In fact, there are many proven health and emotional benefits gained by nursing into the toddler years including reduced risk of breast cancer for the mother and increased immune function for the child. Worldwide, babies are nursed for an average of 3.8 years, and many mammals traditionally nurse beyond infancy
Myth #4: Babies need formula until their mother’s milk comes in.
Facts: Breast milk normally “comes in” two to five days after the birth. But before then a woman’s breasts will produce this totally amazing super milk called colostrum. Colostrum is rich and thick with tons of nutrients, antibodies, and calories. It is perfect for your newborn. Production of milk gradually increases after birth, as your baby’s stomach size increases. The colostrum gradually turns into mature milk. When babies are born their stomachs are teenie tiny! About the size of a marble, in fact. And, for most babies who are successfully latching on, formula is completely unnecessary. If you are birthing in a hospital, let it be widely known that you don’t want your baby to be given any artificial nipple, pacifiers, or breast milk substitutes. Many women tape signs to their child’s bassinets and add this information to their birth plan.
