07/10/2022
Breastfeeding is not just about food! We sometimes forget about the great benefits to Mums also. đź’•
Isn’t it odd that something beneficial for a Mother is seen as weird, selfish, or wrong? Do we ever hear the same thoughts about a Dad going to the pub on a Friday night? Or playing football on a Sunday morning? There are great benefits to both of these things, btw – I'm not shaming partners!
Do we look at ANY other mammal and say it? Imagine telling an elephant that she needs to stop nursing her baby because it’s just for her own benefit!
I’m going to ignore the HUGE PILE of evidence we have that breastfeeding is hugely beneficial to the child for AT LEAST the first 2 years, and almost certainly much longer, for this post. And I’m going to focus SOLELY on these apparently terrible benefits to the lactating parent.
The longer you breastfeed, the lower your risk of:
- Breast cancer
- Ovarian cancer
- Type 2 diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Heart attack
In fact, it’s believed that optimal breastfeeding could save the lives of over 98,000 women a year. (Optimal breastfeeding is defined in literature as 6 months just breast, then complimentary breastfeeding with solid foods to at least age 2.)
Let’s then consider the AWFUL situations where breastfeeding can actually...
- Help a parent to settle their toddler
- Provide nutrition to a little one off their food due to illness
- Support getting the child to sleep
- Help to limit time off work for the parent due to their kid being sick less often
- Allow the parent time to sit and rest, and spend special time with their little one in a way that is unique to them
It’s such a selfish thing, isn’t it? Making life easier for yourself, your child, your workplace, your day-care setting, your partner, and the random person in the supermarket tutting because your kid is having a tantrum. (How many eye roll emojis can I insert?)
Citations:
Adetola Louis-Jacques, M. (2022). Long-term maternal benefits of breastfeeding. Retrieved 7 October 2022, from https://www.contemporaryobgyn.net/view/long-term-maternal-benefits-breastfeeding
Walters, D., Phan, L., & Mathisen, R. (2019). The cost of not breastfeeding: global results from a new tool. Health Policy And Planning, 34(6), 407-417. doi: 10.1093/heapol/czz050
