Public Health Measures

     Today it is much easier to get information and support about breastfeeding then when I breastfed my first baby.  I recall when I told my closes friends that I was indeed considering nursing my baby, "what, why would you do that" I was asked?  "You do know there is formula for that right?",asked another close family member.  I had to explain the research regarding the health benefits found in mother's milk.  That babies were less likely to get sick and that breastfed babies were protected with antibodies against any disease t which the mother is immune.  Still I had yet another friend just say "yuck."
     I did have one champion, my grandmother.  She had nursed her children and was thrilled to learn that I wanted to breastfeed the baby.  She instructed me in how to prepare my breast and some of the home remedies that would help with engorgement. We talked about foods to avoid and foods I should definitely eat.  I lived several states away and we racked up quite a phone bill talking about everything baby. 
     Sadly, I lost my grandmother before my son was born but her support of my choice to breastfeed my son enabled me to be successful in a time when breastfeeding was not the popular choice.  There was The La Leche League and informative books but nothing like a group of nursing mothers.
     With all of the preparation for nursing it was still awkward and I wanted to give up in two days.  I called the hospital and affirmed I was broken! This will never work.  After a good cry I was able to pull myself together and feed the baby successfully for the next nine months.  And then my daughter for one year and six months.
     Back then there were few places set aside for nursing moms. I vividly recall sitting in the back corner facing a wall in the airport waiting for a flight home with my infant, this was 1991, and a woman peering over my shoulder and asking with indignation, "ARE YOU FEEDING THAT BABY?"  I was too startled to answer when another woman who was sitting near by stood up and said to her, "yes, I believe she is and so."  I sat up a bit straighter and felt proud of my choice.
    Here is the cool part because of my choice twenty years ago every baby born into our family has been breast-fed.  My cousins all say it was seeing me nurse Danny and then Ally that inspired them to research nursing and all its benefits.  We have four babies that are currently breastfed in our family and moms all support each other.
     Hospitals encourage and support nursing by providing classes and coaching on day one of the babies life.  All are welcomed changes for nursing moms.

 

Berger, K. S. (2009). Public Health Measures. In The Developing Person: Childhood. (5th ed.). (pp. 154-155). New York, New York: Worth.