Top 5 Myths on Breastfeeding
Photo: Jane Beall
Search for quotes on breastfeeding and you get a lot of cute ones. “I make milk, what’s your super power?” and “Don’t bite the boob that feeds you” to name a few. But kidding aside, breastfeeding is no laughing matter.
Case in point, I am proud mother of a six year old whom I breastfed for a year and two months. Before she was born, I had no idea if I were to breastfeed or buy milk or what milk to buy. I was very blessed to have had a neonatal doctor who was also a staunch breastfeeding advocate and who never let us out of the hospital until my baby learned how to properly breastfeed.
I didn’t have a clue until my baby came too soon. She came out into the world when I was only 7 months pregnant with her. Mind you, I didn’t have any milk in my breast yet, (seven months is a long way off) but my doctor taught me everything there is to know about the beauty, the benefits and blessing of breastfeeding.
I HAVE SHORT SUPPLY. I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MILK - MYTH
As I mentioned, my daughter was born 2 months short, she was born on my 7th month. That being the case, I didn’t have any milk in my breasts yet, they weren’t ready to produce milk. Then my doctor said, the baby’s hungry, I want to feed her already. So she gave me A LOT of supplements, and massaged my breasts every two hours… until, come night time, lo and behold, my breasts were so engorged, that I felt like I was so sexy I could have starred on a porn film.
Funny right? Not quite.
It was one of the most heavy, tiring, exhausting ordeals I had to go through in my life. The doctor had to milk me like a cow, and when her hands were tired, my husband took her place. They did it every 2 hours. But it really paid off. The back pains, neck pains, breast pains, body pains, got me …. 1 cc of colostrum, enough to feed my baby although the night!
With this story, I’m going to debunk a really BIG MYTH that most women claim as an excuse not to breastfeed – that they don’t have enough milk. The big secret here is, very simple. FREQUENCY! Cows that are milked per schedule never run out of milk. That goes the same with humans. If you express breast milk at certain intervals, say, every 2 or three hours, you will never run out of supply. On the the contrary, the body will interpret that the child needs more milk, and thus, will make more milk.
BREASTFEEDING PROTECTS MOTHERS AGAINST POST-PARTUM DEPRESSION - FACT
Photo: Pinterest.com
I had a bucket list I was not able to check off. When I was seven months pregnant, I wanted to do a photo shoot wearing nothing but a bandeau bra on top to show my beautiful belly. I was waiting ‘til my 9th month as supposedly it was that time when my belly was at its biggest. That moment never came as I gave birth prematurely.
My baby at that time, wasn’t doing well. She cannot thermo-regulate so she needed to stay at the incubator for three weeks. I had to give her my energy so we did kangaroo mother care for 6 to 8 hours every day. She didn’t know how to properly breastfeed so we had to teach her for a very grueling three weeks. Plus, I had to think of the bills and loans and debts that went with hospitalization.
But, I’d like to think that breastfeeding, in a way, played a large part in keeping me sane. Of course it was taxing and tiring and I had a really big responsibility to play. If I don’t make enough milk, my baby won’t eat. But this big responsibility, together with God, always on my side, helped me get my act together and make it ‘til everything went fine.
YOU CANNOT BREASTFEED AFTER CESAREAN OR ANY OTHER SURGERY
After my CS operation, everything was hazy so I just let everyone do whatever's needed; if the doctor tells me to do this… I do it. When the doctor said “you need to produce milk,” I didn’t have enough lucidity to think about it, so I just did it.
They milked me like I cow, and I just let them. (My doctor was female, in case you were wondering) If that’s what’s best for my baby, I’ll do it. Sure, I was cut open just yesterday, sure I was still nauseous from the surgery, sure every part of my body was still aching with agonizing pain, sure I needed rest and sleep and a good hot bath… but all that didn’t matter, because at that time, nothing ever mattered so much more to me than my baby. And that fact alone, would make me sacrifice the lack of modesty of showing every inch of me to everyone, all the pain and even the lack of a hot bath, for a few cc of milk for my kid.
WHAT YOU EAT AND DRINK WILL BE TASTED AND CONSUMED BY THE BABY
I love coffee. I love it so much that, sometimes, I feel like if I get cut, instead of blood, coffee will flow from my veins.
However, the longest time that I went without coffee was for 2 years starting from the time I learned that I was pregnant up to the time that I stopped breastfeeding. It is indeed true. Everything a mother eats when she’s pregnant also gets tasted by the unborn child inside her. She eats healthy veggies and the child becomes a bouncing healthy baby. She eats junk food and drinks coffee and alcohol, and guess what the baby becomes ..... definitely not healthy.
ONLY WOMEN CAN PRODUCE MILK
Just to prove my point that breastfeeding is for everyone, here’s a very quirky trivia on men and breastfeeding.
Over all, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out these myth busting facts. All it takes is a quirky mother who wants what's best for her kid. Hope you enjoyed these quirky insights on breastfeeding. Tune in for more on my next post! 'Til then, happy breastfeeding everyone!