Here’s Why Some Women Choose To Breastfeed
By Cordelia Uys, NCT Breastfeeding Counsellor
February 2022
Nikita Joshi photographed by her husband Nitin Sachania https://nitinsachania.com/
The health protections provided by breastfeeding are extensive. Any amount of breastfeeding is beneficial for both you and your baby, but exclusive breastfeeding offers a lot more protection. This is why the World Health Organisation recommends exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, and then continued breastfeeding for up to, and beyond, 2 years.
Breastmilk provides a baby with all the nutrients they need
Breastmilk contains just the right balance of fats, proteins, lactose, vitamins, minerals, and water. These nutrients allow for your child’s optimal growth and development. Breastmilk plays a key role in a child’s brain maturation. It is rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, taurine, choline, zinc, and many other nutrients that support this process.
N.B. Since 2017, UNICEF advises giving breastfed babies in the UK vitamin D supplementation from birth:
Breastmilk protects against infection
There are numerous antiviral and antibacterial properties in breastmilk that protect your baby from infection. These infection-fighting properties are being continually updated in response to your and your child’s environment. It’s no wonder that in the Lancet Breastfeeding Series 2016, breastmilk is referred to as ‘personalised medicine’.
Breastmilk has painkilling properties
Breastmilk contains natural painkillers called endocannabinoids. During painful procedures like inoculations, breastfeeding helps keep babies calm.
Breastmilk helps mothers and babies get more sleep
Breastmilk contains tryptophan, which is the building block for hormones that induce and regulate sleep. Breastfeeding mothers also produce hormones that help them fall back asleep more easily after night feeds.
Breastfeeding decreases a mother’s chance of developing life-threatening illnesses, including
Breast cancer
Ovarian cancer
Osteoporosis
Type 2 diabetes
Cardiovascular disease
Obesity
The protection against all these diseases is dose-related, so the longer you breastfeed, the greater the protective effects for both you and your child.
But for many women, breastfeeding is about much more than health protections
When members of an online breastfeeding support group were recently asked their reasons for breastfeeding, of the 70 mothers responding, most said that breastfeeding, for them, is about much more than the health benefits. As one woman put it: “All of the health and nutritional benefits is just extra justification and icing on the cake.”
Women often experience an inner drive to breastfeed
Several members of the online group mentioned that during initial difficulties with establishing breastfeeding, they felt: “an innate primal desire – an immense urge to keep on going.”
Breastfeeding provides women with a sense of pride
Seeing their baby growing and thriving on their milk is, for many women, one of the most satisfying and rewarding experiences of their life: “Although it wasn’t easy at the beginning with my first daughter, it is the most amazingly empowering feeling to be able to successfully sustain and nourish your baby.” “The sense of pride I have, watching her grow and knowing it is my body nourishing her, is amazing.”
Breastfeeding helps mothers experience a special bond with their baby
Almost all the responders mentioned an extraordinary sense of connection with their child. One said that she feels breastfeeding “set the foundations for love and trust.” Here are some more quotes on this theme: “As a full- time working mom, breastfeeding is the most important and special bond I could have with my child. No one else could do this, only me.”
It offers convenience and freedom
The majority of the responders mentioned the convenience (once the initial challenges of establishing breastfeeding have been overcome) and also the freedom breastfeeding gives to travel with a young child:“It’s incredibly convenient that breastmilk is always at the right temperature, available on tap, and no sterilising or preparation is required. And you can’t run out of breastmilk.”
It’s an amazing mothering tool
It doesn’t matter whether your baby is hungry, thirsty, lonely, bored, tired, scared, ill or in pain, you can offer the breast; it’s also the easiest way of helping a child fall asleep.
All of the above is beautifully summed up by this mother
“Before I started, I would have said, [I wanted to breastfeed] to give my child the best start in life that I could. I was completely thinking about it in a nutrition/health mindset. However, now I would say because it gives us both moments of peace and connection, and such joy. It is the cure for all woes. It is a unique bond between me and my girl. It is so much more than health and nutrition.”
For women struggling with breastfeeding but who want to persevere, there is a lot of support available
You can find an IBCLC Lactation Consultant here: https://lcgb.org/find-an-ibclc/
Breastfeeding lines:
National Breastfeeding Helpline: 0300 100 0212 (9.30am to 9.30pm every day of the year).
NCT feeding line: 0300 330 0700 (option 1). The line is open from 8am to midnight, including bank holidays.
Association of Breastfeeding Mothers: 0300 330 5453 (9.30am -10.30pm).
La Leche League: 0345 120 2918 (8am to 11pm, seven days a week).
Facebook groups for nursing mothers:
Can I Breastfeed In It:
https://www.facebook.com/canibreastfeedinit/
Can I Breastfeed In It Off Topic discussion group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/canibreastfeedinitOT/
Breastfeeding Yummy Mummies: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BFYummyMummy/
Boob or Bust: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BoobOrBust/
Breastfeeding Support and Information UK:
https://www.facebook.com/breastfeedingsupportandinfouk/
Recommended accounts on Instagram:
Kathryn Stagg: Kathryn Stagg IBCLC (@kathrynstaggibclc) • Instagram photos and videos
Lyndsey Hookway: Lyndsey Hookway (@lyndsey_hookway) • Instagram photos and videos
Lucy Webber: Lucy Webber (@lmj.infantfeedingsupport) • Instagram photos and videos
Stacey Zimmels’s account Feedeatspeak: STACEY ZIMMELS (@feedeatspeak) • Instagram photos and videos
Recommended websites:
Kellymom: KellyMom.com Breastfeeding and Parenting
Breastfeeding.Support: Breastfeeding Support - Breastfeeding tips, tricks & support
The Lancet series on breastfeeding (2016): https://www.thelancet.com/series/breastfeeding