Tips for navigating breast-feeding challenges

Posted in breast-feeding
by Lorain County Moms

By Suzanne Perez Tobias, McClatchy-Tribune

Breast-feeding may be natural, but it doesn’t always come naturally.

Mothers who choose to breast-feed can face a host of challenges, including pain and insecurity in the early weeks, hassles at work or in public later on, and even disapproving remarks from friends or family.

“Women need to know it’s hard, but it’s worth it,” said Deniece Blasko, a Wichita, Kan., mother who is breast-feeding her fifth child, 1-year-old Lennon. “I wouldn’t trade this experience for any amount of money.”

Recently, the nation’s top doctor issued a call to eliminate obstacles to breast-feeding and encourage more women to nurse their babies.

The “Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding” by U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin says three-quarters of American mothers start out breast-feeding but only 13 percent follow recommendations that babies receive only breast milk during their first six months. Rates are particularly low among black women.

“The hardest thing is to keep it up, because our society and our culture aren’t there to support them,” Benjamin said. “They really shouldn’t have to go it alone.”

The report points to numerous studies showing the benefits of breast-feeding. Breast-fed babies suffer fewer illnesses such as diarrhea, ear infections and pneumonia because breast milk contains crucial antibodies. They’re also less likely to develop asthma or to become obese. Mothers who breast-feed shed baby weight faster and have a decreased risk of breast and ovarian cancers.

Even so, mothers who try to breast-feed say several factors impede their efforts. The report calls for 20 strategies to make breast-feeding easier, including:

• Strengthen programs that provide mother-to-mother support and peer counseling.
• Create a national campaign to promote breast-feeding.
• Ensure that maternity care and hospital practices are supportive of breast-feeding.
• Work toward establishing paid maternity leave for all employed mothers.
• Encourage employers to have lactation support programs for employees.
• Develop programs to educate fathers and grandmothers about breast-feeding.

Amy Ellington, a nurse and lactation consultant who manages the Via Christi Breastfeeding Clinic, in Wichita, Kan., said many mothers don’t get the help or support they need during the critical first days and weeks of breast-feeding.

“When they get home and that milk comes in, it can be a big issue,” she said. “They’re a little nervous, or it hurts, or they think they’re not doing it right and they’re starving their baby…. A lot of moms just want reassurance.”

The clinic, which opened in June 2008, recently expanded its hours from three to five days a week to meet a growing demand for its services.

Ellington welcomed the surgeon general’s call to action, adding, “It’s too bad that they have to come out with something like this.

“It’s a very natural thing to breast-feed your baby…. I do hope this will get people talking about it and perhaps it will be even more accepted.”

Julie Craft, a mother who recently opened a mom-and-baby boutique in Wichita, is hosting a “nurse-in” today in response to a recent Facebook controversy in which some women’s accounts were suspended after they posted photos of babies nursing. She said the surgeon general’s report further illustrates a need to increase awareness and acceptance of breast-feeding.

“I’m lucky, because I’ve had a great support system. I had a network of women that really helped me and made it so much easier,” said Craft, who breast-feeds her 8-month-old daughter, Maecy.

Breast-feeding “saves so much money and is so much easier and just such a natural thing. It’s funny that it’s not our first thought,” she said.

“I can’t help but think it has a little bit to do with the fact that it’s not as acceptable to be seen breast-feeding in public.”

A Kansas law passed in 2006 gives a woman the right to breast-feed “in any place she has the right to be.” It also excuses nursing mothers from jury duty.

Blasko, the mother of five who created Wee La Mode, a line of infant clothing and other baby products, said she nursed her oldest son only a week because she didn’t have much support. She said she wishes breast-feeding were more widely accepted and that more businesses, particularly restaurants, provided areas where women could nurse comfortably.

She also thinks women should be more honest with one another about how difficult breast-feeding can be.

“Young moms can feel very alone if they’re in pain or have problems. They think, ‘Maybe I’m just doing this wrong, so I’ll just give up,’” Blasko said.

“They need to know it’s completely normal, that you can cry to your best friend or let someone know and get some help. There is help out there, and that makes a difference.”

Where to get help with breastfeeding: La Leche League is a nonprofit group that helps mothers with breast-feeding issues. Chapters meet monthly at various times and locations. For more information, go to www.lllusa.org.