Why I Choose the Best: My Breastfeeding Story

Yes, breastfeeding can be challenging but definitely worth it. Let me share with you some of my reasons for choosing to nurse my children and give them what I believe to be the “best start” in life:

• I believe God made our bodies for a specific reason — for us women, it’s to bear and nurture life. Our breasts are there to nourish our children, plain and simple.

• There are SO many benefits to breastfeeding — both for the baby and the mother — I would have to write a completely different article just to enumerate them!

In fact, a study published on July 30, 2013 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics suggests that breastfed babies perform better on intelligence tests later on in life. The study, led by Dr. Mandy Belfort, a neonatologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, showed that the benefit was most significant in babies who were exclusively breastfed for the first six months. Isn’t this a great reason — among others — to pursue nursing our babies?

• Breastfeeding became one reason for my husband and I to grow closer to each other. His support and encouragement were crucial during the initial days of nursing our children, and it became just one more reason to appreciate him as a partner in life and parenthood.

• Although I know that many moms who formula-fed their babies can also say the same, I’d like to think that breastfeeding helped me bond more with my babies. At the same time, I was/am able to provide them with the best “food” during the early years of their lives.

While not all mothers can breastfeed their babies and have different beliefs and opinions on the topic, I’d like to encourage all expecting moms and even moms who have given up breastfeeding to pursue it (there’s such a thing as re-lactation for those who have stopped or did not try breastfeeding). And to those moms who chose to breastfeed against all odds, cheers to us!

Happy Breastfeeding Awareness Month to all!

Reference:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/breastfed-babies-smarter-study-finds/storynew?id=19807844

Image from un.org