Experts Want More Moms to Breast-Feed
Simple steps should help overcome problems

(HealthDay News) -- The number of new mothers choosing to breast-feed their babies continues to increase, but not as fast as health experts would like, given the advantages they say it offers both mother and child.

Breast-feeding has been shown to protect babies from lower respiratory and middle-ear infections, and to help a new mother's body recover after childbirth.

Still, a sizable number of mothers turn to formula because of difficulties with breast-feeding -- troubles, experts say, that can be easily overcome.

In the first half of this decade, the number of breast-feeding mothers grew from about 71 to 74 percent of women who delivered babies, according to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But that fell just short of the goal set by the federal government's Healthy People 2010 initiative, which had hoped to have 75 percent of new mothers breast-feeding by 2004.

Keeping in mind some simple advice might help increase those numbers, experts suggest.

For starters, don't assume breast-feeding comes naturally.

"Breast-feeding is not instinctive," said Katy Lebbing, a lactation consultant in Villa Park , Ill. , and a leader for La Leche League International, which promotes breast-feeding. "That's a myth. It's kind of like thinking all men can fix all cars."

Mothers who choose to breast-feed need education and support, agreed Karen Bonuck, associate professor of family and social medicine at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City , who has published studies on breast-feeding practices.

Early in their pregnancy, Bonuck said, women should start learning about breast-feeding.

Take a class, which many hospitals offer. Or consult an expert; doctors or the La Leche League should be able to offer referrals.

Just a few sessions with a lactation consultant can pay off, Bonuck said. "You will understand the normal physiology of how the milk is produced," she said. The consultant, working with a doll, can help women practice the best positions to breast-feed and get comfortable with the concept.

Pregnant women also need to let hospital personnel know they want to breast-feed.

"Make your wishes known," Bonuck said. "Some [hospitals] have cards that say, 'breast-feed only,'" which can reduce the risk of a baby mistakenly getting a bottle of formula, she said.

Bonuck urges new moms to breast-feed immediately after birth -- even before the baby is cleaned up. "Bring an advocate with you," she suggested, to help make sure that your wishes are carried out.

She also suggests that the baby stay in the same room as the mother, not in the nursery, while in the hospital. That gives mother and baby a chance to practice breast-feeding, she said.

And once mother and child go home, experts agree on one more tip: Get help.

"You need someone to cook and help around the house, especially in the first month," Lebbing said. That might also mean getting some child-care help if there are other young children in the family.

Relieving some of the stress that surrounds a newborn can help new moms focus on the important task of breast-feeding, Bonuck and Lebbing agreed.

On the Web

To learn more about breast-feeding, visit La Leche League International.

SOURCES: HealthDay News ; Karen Bonuck, Ph.D., associate professor of family and social medicine, Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York City; Katy Lebbing, La Leche League leader and international board-certified lactation consultant, Villa Park , Ill.
Author: Anne Thompson
Publication Date: Nov. 30, 2008
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