Ten surprising facts about breastfeeding

Here are some facts about breastfeeding that might surprise you:

Breastfeeding is a skill that has to be learned

Many people think because breastfeeding is natural, that it will come naturally to mothers, but in fact, for all female apes, breastfeeding is a learned behaviour. Take the case of the juvenile female gorilla in Ohio zoo who, having been separated from her mother at a young age, had no idea how to feed her first baby. During her second pregnancy, zookeepers had the inspired idea of asking some human mothers to come and regularly breastfeed their babies in front of her. When her 2nd baby was born, she immediately picked it up and put it to the breast.

In the past, human mothers would have learned how to breastfeed by watching relatives and friends. For this reason, it’s a good idea for pregnant women who want to breastfeed, to spend some time with a friend who is successfully nursing her little one.

Most women can produce all the milk their baby needs

The vast majority of women can make all the milk their baby, or indeed babies, need. Contrary to popular belief, the size of a woman’s breasts does not impact the volumes of milk she can produce. Milk production depends entirely on supply and demand: in the early months, milk needs to be removed effectively from both her breasts at least 8 times in 24 hours for a mother’s supply to be established and maintained. By far the most common reason for low milk supply is under-stimulation of a mother’s breasts, either because her baby isn’t feeding frequently enough or isn’t removing milk effectively.

Breastfeeding shouldn’t hurt

Pain is there to tell us something is wrong, and this is true for breastfeeding too. Pain and damage happen when a mother’s nipple isn’t positioned correctly in her baby’s mouth. In the majority of cases, when a baby is well-positioning and deeply latched, breastfeeding will be completely comfortable. If breastfeeding hurts, it’s important to seek out qualified support asap.

Breastmilk is personalised medicine

There are numerous antiviral and antibacterial properties in breastmilk that protect a baby from infection. These infection fighting properties are being continually updated in response to the mother and baby’s environment. When a mother’s body encounters a new germ, her mature immune system will deploy millions of white blood cells to fight it off and quickly pass them on to her baby via her milk.  

Breastmilk contains stem cells

It’s been discovered that every time a mother breastfeeds her baby, stem cells in her breastmilk cross the baby’s gut and into their blood, and then travel to all the baby’s organs, including their brain. These stem cells are capable of becoming functioning cells all over the infant’s body. It’s believed they can boost and support the infant’s optimal development and protect them against infectious diseases.  

Breastfeeding acts as a natural pain-killer

Breastmilk contains natural painkillers called endocannabinoids. Breastfeeding before and during vaccination injections has been shown to reduce pain in babies.

Breastfeeding protects mothers against breast cancer

The Tanka Fisherwomen of Southern China traditionally only breastfeed their babies from their right breast. In the early 1970s, a medical student at a Hong Kong clinic noticed that if Tanka women developed breast cancer, in 79% of cases, it was in their left breast. It was this observation that led to the discovery that breastfeeding is protective against breast cancer.

The temperature of a mother’s breasts adapts to her baby’s needs

A mother’s breasts can warm up by 2°C if the baby is too cold, and to cool down by 2°C if the baby is too hot. In fact, it has been shown that when newborn twins are placed in skin to skin contact with their mother, each of her breasts will heat up to a different temperature according to each baby’s needs! This is called thermal synchrony.

Breastfeeding mothers get more sleep

Contrary to popular belief, studies have shown that breastfeeding mothers sleep on average 45 minutes more a night, compared to mothers who formula feed. Human milk contains substances that promote sleep and calmness in babies. Mothers release the hormone prolactin into their own blood while breastfeeding, which helps them to fall asleep more easily.

Breastfeeding is carbon neutral

When a mother is breastfeeding, there is zero waste and no carbon emissions. Research done at Imperial College London, has shown that breastfeeding for six months saves an estimated 95-153 kg CO2 equivalent per baby compared with formula feeding.

Breastfeeding confers numerous health protections on both mother and child and creates a strong sense of emotional connection. In addition, for a mother to see her baby growing and thriving on her milk can be one of the most satisfying and rewarding experiences of her life. Despite this and despite the remarkable facts outlined above, the UK has some of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world. The majority of British mothers clearly want to breastfeed, as over 80% initiate breastfeeding, but by 6 months, only 1% are exclusively breastfeeding, as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO), and only 34% are doing any breastfeeding. When asked, 80% of the women who stopped breastfeeding before 6 months, said they would have liked to continue for longer. Our society is letting mothers down; there needs to be much more investment in breastfeeding support and education.

References:

Stem cells:  http://www.infantjournal.co.uk/pdf/inf_066_urc.pdf

Personalised medicine: https://www.who.int/pmnch/media/news/2016/breastfeeding_lancet.pdf

Sleep duration: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17700096/

Pain killing properties: https://www.cochrane.org/CD011248/SYMPT_does-breastfeeding-reduce-vaccination-pain-babies-aged-1-12-months

Environmental cost: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/193226/environmental-cost-formula-milk-needs-global/

Study into breastfeeding cessation: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4494694/ 

Crisis in breastfeeding: https://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/crisis-in-bf/