While breast-feeding is the most natural and beneficial way to nourish a baby, it often takes a team to get it started out right. As grandparents, aunts, uncles, parents, friends and community members, baby boomers can help support expectant and new moms with their decision to breast-feed.
Nurses, physicians and hospital staff are there to support mother and baby during the first days as the family learns the beginning steps of breast-feeding. However, it is during the transition from hospital to home where breast-feeding rates begin to drop off and where support and encouragement is often needed the most.
When the family leaves the supportive womb of the maternity ward, family members and friends become a valuable support system and their guidance and support of the new mother is instrumental. As a board-certified lactation consultant in Missoula, I get to experience firsthand the important link between breast-feeding success and family/friend support.
From driving a mother and baby to a newborn checkup to helping the mother position the baby for a nursing session, doing chores that allows mother to bond with her new baby, you don’t have to know a lot about breast-feeding to be a supporter.
According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, there are numerous benefits to exclusive breast-feeding, including increases in immune system health to decreases in certain diseases like cancer and diabetes. For optimum outcomes, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breast-feeding for about six months, followed by continued breast-feeding as complementary foods are introduced, with continuation of breastfeeding for one year or longer as mutually desired by mother and infant.
Research shows that mothers have a greater probability of reaching the IEP’s breast-feeding recommendations when they have family members around them who are supportive of breast-feeding. The International Lactation Consultant Association recommends several ways family members can support the breastfeeding family:
• Help the mother have bonding time with her baby by helping with chores and cooking.
• Respect the mother’s feeding choices.
• If mom is experiencing difficulty, be aware of lactation support resources in your community.
• Provide transportation for mother and baby to appointments and social outings.
• Encourage mother to rest in between feeding sessions. It’s important for breast-feeding mothers to be relaxed and well-rested.
• One of the most supportive things family and friends can do is listen. New parents have concerns or worries. It’s sometimes helpful to listen with interest, without giving answers or advice.
I remember with great dread my first outing alone with my newborn. Where would I nurse my baby when she got hungry? What if she cried the entire time?
Breast-feeding support comes in many forms around our community. Business owners play an important part in normalizing breast-feeding culture. Businesses can make sure they are “breast-feeding friendly” by becoming aware of the state and federal breast-feeding legislation, and always welcoming a breast-feeding mother.
For me, there was nothing more welcoming than when I walked into a business on a cold winter day and the sales manager offered me a soft chair and pillow in a quiet corner just in case I needed to nurse my fussy newborn. It was warm, and in my gratitude I stayed longer and purchased a little something extra.
We have often heard the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child,” and what better way to help nurture a child than by helping to support the breastfeeding family during those first tentative days and weeks at home. Grandparents, family and friends may not realize what an important influence they are in supporting new moms.
So the next time we go to purchase the new baby shower gift or help install the car seat, I encourage us to think about the multitude of ways we can support the breast-feeding family – in doing this we are helping to ensure healthier children and better outcomes for the future. Now that is a great gift.
The Booming section features a monthly column by a member of the Missoula City-County Health Department in order to assist baby boomers to be healthy and resilient. Terry Hamilton Miller is executive director of the Montana State Breastfeeding Coalition and provides breastfeeding support through the Missoula Women, Infants and Children program. Miller can be reached at 258-4740 or tmiller@mt.gov.
