Researchers said that breastfeeding an infant reduced their risk of cardiovascular disease such as heart attacks or strokes in the later stages of life and could prevent a significant number of deaths every year. It was discovered that breastfed babies endured fewer cases of childhood infections and allergies. They were also shown to be less likely to develop obesity.Scientists explained that breastfeeding and slow growth rate during the first few months of a child’s life acted as a protective agent against heart disease.
On the other hand, babies whose diets promoted quick growth were placed at risk later in their life for health conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and the increased likelihood of developing diabetes and obesity. These four conditions were considered the central risk factors for heart attacks and strokes.
Sasha said...
Ahem, Big Man:I am black. I have a child born "out of wedlock". I returned to work when he was 3 months old. I breastfed that child until he was 11 months old, when he lost interest.
If you work outside the home, breastfeeding for any significant amount of time requires planning and calculation. Carting a pump to work every day is a pain and you need to work in an environment that is conducive for the privacy that is required to pump. (Not everyone has an office where they can close their door and not be disturbed.)
Additionally, I was raised among women who breastfed their children so formula never even crossed my mind. So I see it as issues of 1) discipline and 2) exposure.
True Sasha you're right about that. My younger sis had to work half days till my niece was 15months bec she wanted to and also had to, to breastfeed her daughter. My niece reacted very badly to formula, even the soya one. A pump didn't work either because my neice refused the bottle, so it was breast all the way. She's fortunate she was back at home and could do that, but some women don't have that choice.
But on young mothers; I find there's alot of discouragment of breastmilk in The West. [Social Darwininsm / Eugenics] There's a stigma of backwardness associated with the breast and its also seen as laborious. Nurses encourage women to begin the bottle at six weeks. I think it's also linked to the fact that they don't teach new mothers how to breastfeed properly.
My cousin only breastfed for two weeks and had to switch to fomula because the child 'didn't want her mother's milk' - according the to nurses, but the truth is the child wasn't really drinking the milk because there was no one to teach her how to breastfeed that child properly.
If she'd been home when she gave birth, her daughter would have been drinking breastmilk.
I'm not knocking all nurses, I'm sure TGN really is The Good Nurse, but I'm speaking more about the prevailing attitude within the Plantation Health industry. It's a more formulaic rather than instinctual approach to mothering.
27 comments:
Way, WAY too many young sisters have babies and don't even consider breastfeeding. I see it all the time man.
True, many of these young girls are having babies out of wedlock, and are forced to go back to work which can make breastfeeding difficult if not impossible. If more babies were being born inside of marriages, I think breastfeeding would rise among young black women, but that's a larger issue.
Too often though, these young girls don't even consider breastfeeding because they dont' think that's something black people do. They've been trained by the formula industry to put an inferior and more expensive product in their babies system. It's really wild how this has happened.
Ahem, Big Man:
I am black. I have a child born "out of wedlock". I returned to work when he was 3 months old. I breastfed that child until he was 11 months old, when he lost interest.
If you work outside the home, breastfeeding for any significant amount of time requires planning and calculation. Carting a pump to work every day is a pain and you need to work in an environment that is conducive for the privacy that is required to pump. (Not everyone has an office where they can close their door and not be disturbed.)
Additionally, I was raised among women who breasfed their children so formula never even crossed my mind. So I see it as issues of 1) discipline and 2) exposure.
True Sasha you're right about that. My younger sis had to work half days till my niece was 15months bec she wanted to and also had to, to breastfeed her daughter. My niece reacted very badly to formula, even the soya one. A pump didn't work either because my neice refused the bottle, so it was breast all the way. She's fortunate she was back at home and could do that, but some women don't have that choice.
But on young mothers; I find there's alot of discouragment of breastmilk in The West. There's a stigma of backwardness associated with the breast and its also seen as laborious. Nurses encourage women to begin the bottle at six weeks. I think it's also linked to the fact that they don't teach new mothers how to breastfeed properly.
My cousin only breastfed for two weeks and had to switch to fomula because the child 'didn't want her mother's milk' - according the to nurses, but the truth is the child wasn't really drinking the milk because there was no one to teach her how to breastfeed that child properly.
If she'd been home when she gave birth, her daughter would have been drinking breastmilk.
I'm not knocking all nurses, I'm sure TGN really is The Good Nurse, but I'm speaking more about the prevailing attitude within the Plantation Health industry. It's a more formulaic rather than instinctual approach to mothering.
Sasha, breast feed me too please. Trust me, I won't lose interest.
My daughters are 5 & 10 yrs. old. I stayed home & breastfed both of my daughters, my oldest until she was 13 months & my youngest until she was 16 months. After I went back to work, I continued to nurse both of them until they turned 3. My oldest was born in a birthing center. My youngest was born at home. They don't get vaccinations. They're vegan.
They are the most intelligent, loving, beautiful people I know.
...Did I mention healthy, energetic and creative?
See.
That's what I'm talking about.
Ya'll some bad black women. These stories / perspectives are rarely told.
The Plantation Media bombards us with negative images and faggoty statistics ("Da bwaaak male 17 tuh 23 year old haaamacide wate is Nintey PuhCent!")
You ladies need to be on television.
To hell with "Housewives of Atlanta".
"Sistas of DenmarkVesey.Net"
"Ya'll some bad black women. These stories / perspectives are rarely told."
u said it....is it because they are RARE??
Wait a minute....
Granted, I have no children, but.....
Breastfeeding a child at the age of 3......
Come on!!! That child had teeth!!!!
Hey Ladies!
Wow, I am so excited to see this topic discussed with such passion!
@KW...I am the good nurse..for real. I am not the norm when it comes to traditional medicine. I am not an advocate of lab created medicine, vaccines or unecessary surgeries. I believe in empowering our people to make intelligent decisions about their health...physical, mental and spiritual.
I am a strong advocate of breast feeding..I nursed the Bishop for 9mo after which I slowly introduced him to only healthy, vegan based foods. Now, he eats meat now, but very little. He is a healthy, strapping, fine young brother.
We must discontinue this pattern of poor health. We must educate all who will listen about the benefits of maintaining this temple we were blessed with at birth.
To all of you young sistas who are pregnant or thinking of having children in the future, please nurse your child with the best...what God has deemed sufficient.
TGN
A woman shouldn't have to be taught how to breastfeed by a "nurse" or "lactation consultant." Her MOTHER, AUNTIES AND COUSINS, should have taughter her when she was a kid. One of the challenges of the "modern woman" is that she has almost zero exposure to kids until she has one of her own.
Hey J!
So true...but unfortunately most of our mothers, aunties and other female family members did not nurse. I was the ONLY one of 5 girls to choose to breastfeed my son. I encouraged my younger sisters as they had their children but no dice....
the good nurse who nursed...
I breastfeed until my son was three months old. Then weaned him fully by the time he was about five months. He was gumming me badly! Boys will tear up a woman's boobs!
Interestingly enough, I came across a study that said that black babies who are breastfeed usually have vitamin D deficiencies. Since you can only get Vitamin D in select foods it seems like the diet needs to be changed to give the babies everything they need.
Formula supplementation can be helpful for some, especially if they develop breast infections...
MR...exposing our babies to natural sunlight will allow the body to produce much needed VitD...and yes, boys like the tit. I had to train my son not to gum or bite...it works.
tgn
TGN, thanks for the comment. My mother had the same problem with my brother. She was unable to train him not to gum hard and later bite. How did you do it?
BTW, the vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in winter months in the Pacific Northwest among Blacks and other brown folks. There is very little sunlight up there during that time, which is when the deficiencies peak and there are more cases of rickets etc.
Seafood and D3 supplementation or full spectrum sun lamps or tanning beds might be the way to go, but I am open to suggestions on this front TGN.
Thanks:)
@ RJ Esq
Yes, my daughters had teeth. I trained them not to bite.
Breastfeeding and teeth are unrelated.
"Supporters of extended breastfeeding believe that all the benefits of human milk, nutritional, immunological and emotional, continue for as long as a child nurses."
OK but you had daughters though. 100% of every single woman I have ever met say that their boys tore their titties up! How do you train an infant not to gum your breasts?
If someone can explain this, I will gladly pass it on because I wasn't able to crack that!
Stylistic, My point wasnt about training them not to bite!
At some point, you sit your child at the table and put a plate of food in front of them.
They aint supposed to be washing down steak and potatoes with breast milk.
LOL@RJEsq!
No, a chicken leg, green beans and a tall glass of mother's finest is not the way to go! However, you can train a child not to gum or bite just as you would teach them anything else. Reinforcing the desired behavior is key.
With my son...if he decided he wanted to do a little "gumming" I would place my thumb and index finger over his mandible(jaw) and gently squeeze. This would make him open his mouth and let go. The majority of the time when he gummed or started to bite he was not hungry and was simply "playing" with the nipple. Bottle fed children do it as well....supply the child with a teething ring for the times he wants to play....
hope that helps.
as far as the Vit D issue...there are lamps that simulate natural sunlight for those who are living in areas where the sun is limited....
tgn
RJEsq, I mentioned that I went back to work after my daughters were 13 months and 16 months.
In an effort to be clearer, that meant they ate food and drank liquids. Nursing became a supplement to their food.
And right. They ain't supposed to be washing down steak..." My children are vegetarians.
Besides, what would've been wrong with them having a meal & breastmilk? That's actually very healthy. But, oh wait, your point is probably not about health. It's about sitting them @ the table. Right?
How many children do you have?
M. Rigmaiden, like TGN mentioned, you can train the babies not to bite by squeezing gently on their jaws. I have several friends with boys who nursed their sons until 1, 2 & 3 yrs. old without problems. I can't really speak on that one since it has not been my experience. I hadn't heard there was a difference between nursing boys & girls until now.
Not one of my future children, be it 1, or 5, will be breastfed with their feet draggin the floor.
RJEsq
It sounds like you're more concerned about how things look opposed to what's really best for your future children.
Then why'd u stop? Or maybe you haven't. Growing preteens would probably benefit from breast milk.
RJEsq
Gee, I wish I'da known that when my son was breastfeeding. EVERY SINGLE WOMAN with whom I spoke told me that their boys gummed the hell out of their breasts and that they thought they were breast feeding masters until they had boys. The lady in the bagel shop told me that I was doing well to breast and formula feed because boys never seem to be full and will tear you shit up.
heheheheh I am glad you guys were able to figure out a way to train your boys not to tear you up. Too bad my lactation specialist didn't let me know that trick!
My son was a "clamper." And yes it hurt. I didn't "train" him to do anything. I sat there and cried from the pain until he got into the right spot. I looked at it as coming with the territory. Thankfully, the time he did actually bite me is about the time he started losing interest. It also hurt when he first started on the day he was born (which is why I also think so many are turned off from it because at the beginning, the sh&t hurts.) Get a tube of natural lanolin and keep it movin'.
WTF does a "lactation specialist" know about your kid and your tits?? Puh-leeze. Pick up your child, exercise some patience, RELAX, and nature handles the rest. Babies were born to nurse. And contrary to most men's opinion, that is what breasts were made for.
RJEsq..that's why you are my homegirl. :-)
RJEsq,
You got jokes.
Whatever Sis.
Just be sure not to vaccinate your "future children."
I'm late to the conversation but that keeps me out of the fray.
I never experienced any problem and breast fed my son until he was 19 1/2 months. I didn't do all the drugs during labor (23 hrs 41 min) but had him all natural. He is never ill or running to the doctor. Perhaps we're just especially blessed.
Once, at about 2 1/2 months he made a movement that was more like a bite. It didn't hurt in the slightest but I pulled away with much astonishment, which astonished him. It never occurred again. Sometimes it is just common sense. I'm not short on that, it probably helps. Mostly, I'm independent and treasure being unique.
My concern now is that doctors currently tell parents to start feeding their babies no later then 6 months, so they don't lose the ability to chew/or eat properly. Unbelievable and very sad. I can't understand why people seem to believe everything that's handed out 'for their good'.
So many things aren't actually that complicated. Is there nothing left inside that nudges a person towards correct things?
An entertaining, informative, rude, humorous, annoying, and thoughtful blog, DV. Okay, perhaps some of the descriptions fit your guests better then your blog proper ;)
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