I gave a ride to a lovely Dominican woman who is a new mother. We started talking about the benefits of breast feeding. This is a norm for most Dominican mothers and I find it practical, economical and natural.
I breastfed both of my children for the very same reasons. I was in chiropractic college when I became pregnant. Surprisingly the course I was taking at the time was obstetrics and gynecology! It was here I learned all the advantages.
Breastfeeding is practical because you always have the baby’s food with you, at the right temperature, at the right time (babies and “milk let down” are synchronicity plus!).
It is economical because there is no purchase of bottles, nipples, sterilizing equipment or formula. This investment can become quite costly. Disposable bottles can be easier but are not “green” as they do not contribute to a clean environment. Also, antibodies are passed to the child when breast fed to boost their immune system while growing up and this can be a way to decrease doctor bills.
Breast feeding is natural because the female body is designed to sustain life for the new born without needing any other source of sustenance. Mother’s milk is chocked full of all the nutrients the baby needs, provided, of course, the mother has taken care of her nutrition before and during the pregnancy. And both mother and baby benefit from the close contact of mother/child bonding.
One other not often mentioned benefit is that the mother will lose her pregnancy weight more quickly when breast feeding and that goes a long way to bolster her if any “post partum blues” are part of her experience. Yes, the creator knew what they were doing when creating the capability to breast feed.
