I didn’t breast feed. I’m not blaming it on being high as a hippy for days after my difficult delivery or the absent breast Nazis who never taught me that “latching on” secret or even the breast pump that sucked not one drop of anything from these breasts. I tried a little. And then I just gave up.

Looking back, do I regret it? Of course. Especially when I hear more and more stories of the far-reaching benefits of breast milk for children. I want my son to have the best in this world. He is my life.

Now there is evidence that breastfeeding can be just as beneficial to mothers as well. According to a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine study, touted as one of the largest and longest-running investigations of its kind, women who breast-fed for two years or more had a 23 percent lower risk of heart attack. The same study also showed that women who nursed had a lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, with a 15 percent lower risk per year of breast-feeding.

“Is it the lifestyle of nursing mothers or the milk itself?” asks Alison Stuebe, M.D., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UNC Chapel Hill who lead the study. “These questions are hard to answer in observational studies. But the protective aspects of breastfeeding are becoming clear.”

Photo, Flickr, honey-bee

Post from: Blisstree

Breastfeeding has Lasting Benefits for Mom

In our house, the rule of thumb is that once the kids are weaned to a bottle, they are expected to sleep in their own rooms. The parent’s bed is only for the parents. This, in part, is due to the fact that my husband has serious back problems and cannot bear to sleep in compromising positions. We also share the belief that our bed is the place where we can strengthen marital bonds (aka have sex) and should not have to move kids into their own beds, in the middle of the night, to do so. I could not imagine how non existent our sex life would be if we allowed our kids to make themselves at home in our bed.

It has been shown that kids who sleep in a family bed, have trouble self soothing. Newborns who share a bed with their parents, are at a greater risk of SIDS. Kids also experience a lack of REM sleep. The same can be said for their parents. Also, what happens when these kids get older and sleep over at a friend’s house? I’m pretty sure that the parents of Jr’s playmate, will not be too thrilled when they get a 3 o’clock visit from him, requesting to share the bed space. It just seems like the positive aspect of bonding is far outweighed by the negative aspects. Maybe the answer is to spend more day light hours bonding, in order to get some spousal bonding at night. Then again, some people do not mind the lack of alone time. It really is an individual preference matter. What are your thoughts on this subject?

Post from: Blisstree

Families Who Share Sleeping Space

Via transcript from memory of The Lactivist:

DR. PHIL: All right. Another topic that gets people talking, and this one just, I got to tell you, this kind of creeps me out, is the use of wet nurses popping up in social circles. Can’t breast-feed your baby? No problem. Call one of your friends who’s breast-feeding and see if they can do it!

Ok, I have to admit the first image that comes to mind here is Rebecca De Mornay starring as a vengeful nanny out to destroy a naive woman and steal her family in the 1992 thriller - The Hand That Rocks the Cradle.  Remember mom walking into the nursery to find the nanny breastfeeding the baby?

BUT – like I said, that’s the first thing that came to mind — now I’m interested in hearing what you all think about the whole “wet nurse” trend and women mixing in social circles doing the baby swapping during feeding time thing.

Anyone?

I do think Dr. Phil brought up a very valid point that should be considered though — what happens when that kid grows up, finds out they were loaned out or played a game of nipple swap with their mothers friend or a neighbor?  Do mothers consider what impact that could possibly have on their child?

Just curious is all.  I’m honestly not quite sure what to think about this topic yet and I’m trying to reserve opinion until I have a more solid basis to build it on.

Post from: Blisstree

Dr. Phil on Wet Nurses