There are so many reasons to breastfeed that when I read in TIME magazine's September 13, 2010 issue that "only 14% of mothers in the U.S. do so" (p. 20), I was incredulous! Yes, it is a learned art, but it very worth it for the the health and bonding of mother and baby (not to mention finances) that it's a shame so few women do it.But what was most interesting in this TIME article was the the latest research: "Scientists report that among a group of 2,233 women ages 40 to 78, those who breast-fed their newborns were half as likely to develop Type 2 diabetes 30 years later as were mothers who used formula" (p. 20, emphasis added). That's a pretty significant health finding for women, I'd say!
4 comments:
I am super pro breastfeeding. I breastfed all 5 of my children. But I have a sister-in-law who tried very hard to breastfeed each of her 3 children and was unable to. She received a lot of support from her husband and her mother who is a midwife and lots of lactation consultants too. It just didn't work for her or her babies. I know that that is an unusual situation but because of it, I've become more sensitive to those women who know how important breastfeeding is and really wanted to, but were unable to.
I wonder what they based that percentage on....mothers who do it at all, for 3 months, 6 months, 1 year....because that is waaaaaaaaay lower than the numbers i've seen.
Definitely. I know women like that too. Fortunately, I think they are the exception rather than the rule.
That statistic blew my mind-eek. I'm glad I did with mine. It's sad, but I think the American lifestyle is not condusive to breastfeeding and many women give up too quickly.
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