The first week in August is “World Breastfeeding Week” and this year women all over the world opened up on social media to promote the “liquid gold” that is the most natural way to feed our precious infants. This year’s theme was “Breastfeeding: Foundation of Life.” After decades where formula was more popular and less women opted to nurse, and despite recent political battles over the World Health Organization’s recommendations, hospitals and OB’s are now promoting breastfeeding more than ever due to all of its research-based benefits. However, with something being so natural, nutritious and beneficial for both mom and baby’s mental health, the challenges of breastfeeding are often not discussed and many mom’s feel guilty when breastfeeding doesn’t work out for them.

Here we will discuss the guidelines and benefits as well as what can make the process difficult, so that new parents know what to expect.

Guidelines

The World Health Organization (WHO) states that, globally, 820,000 lives would be saved each year if babies were breastfed exclusively the first 6 months of life. The also state it is “the  normal way of providing young infants with the nutrients they need for healthy growth and development. Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended up to 6 months of age, with continued breastfeeding along with appropriate complementary foods up to two years of age or beyond. While the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has the same recommendations for exclusive breastfeeding, they differ in recommending breastfeeding continue with complimentary foods to one year minimum versus the two suggested by WHO.

Benefits (via WHO & AAP)

• ⅓ reduced risk of sudden infant death syndrome.
• Contains antibodies to protect infants from illness, including diarrhea and pnemonia, the two primary child mortality causes.
• Protective effect against respiratory illnesses, ear infections, gastrointestinal diseases, and allergies including asthma, eczema and atopic dermatitis.
• Children are less likely to develop type II diabetes later in life.
• Reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancers for the mother.
• Reduces mother’s risk of post-partum depression.

Challenges

Despite all of it’s benefits, breastfeeding may not feel so “natural” to all mothers. As WHO states, “virtually all mothers can breastfeed, provided they have accurate information, and the support of their family, the health care system and society at large.” The also acknowledge that “breastfeeding has to be learned”. In the early stages, mother’s may become frustrated with baby’s inability to latch, which is especially true in the cases of premature infants. Milk production can also pose a challenge in women who deal with PCOS or in areas of the world where food supply is low. In these cases, women often supplement with formula early on to provide their infant with calories. While the WHO states that the latter causes more problems with milk production, there is a growing movement to promote that “fed is best”. If milk supply is low, and donor milk is not a feasible option, baby formula provides infants with energy and nutrients to thrive early on.

In relation to latching issues discussed earlier, many more mother’s are choosing to exclusively pump rather than use infant formula so that their infants can benefit from breast milk even if they do not have the skin to skin contact. While exclusively pumping may make the transition back to work for many moms easier, it also poses challenges to feeding in public (it’s only recently legal to breast feed in all 50 states), since mothers should pump whenever the baby eats to keep supply up.

All in all, mother’s should support one another no matter their choice for feeding their baby. Support from family members and the work place is crucial to ensure that mom can make it through the earlier challenging stages of breastfeeding, before it feels easy for her and the baby. In many cases, a lactation consultant or even support group is a key part of the breastfeeding team, and free services are available to those in need.