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National Breastfeeding Month
August is National Breastfeeding Month
August is National Breastfeeding Month, a time to raise awareness of the importance of breastfeeding for the health of both mother and baby. Breastfeeding provides necessary, natural nutrients and antibodies to the baby, is easier to digest than formula, and helps fight illnesses and diseases such as ear infections, diarrhea, asthma, obesity, and Type 2 diabetes. In addition to the health benefits to the baby, breastfeeding is also a boon to a mothers’ health. Mothers who breastfeed find that it can save them time, because there is no formula to mix, and money, because there are no feeding supplies to purchase. Breastfeeding also can be good for the mother’s health, including lowering her risk of Type 2 diabetes, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and postpartum depression. Finally, breastfeeding increases the bonding of both mother and baby, comforting the baby and releasing oxytocin in the mother, which helps milk flow and can calm the mother.
Despite the benefits of breastfeeding, many mothers do not meet the recommended guidelines for breastfeeding duration, which is 12 months of breastfeeding with exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Breastfeeding Report Card 2012, nearly 73% of mothers had ever breastfed their babies. Yet at six months, only 39% were breastfeeding and at 12 months only 21% were breastfeeding. Exclusive breastfeeding rates were even lower, with only 31% of mothers breastfeeding exclusively at three months and not quite 14% of mothers breastfeeding at six months.
Mothers often have difficulty maintaining breastfeeding, for a variety of reasons, including returning to work, soreness, low/over-supply, engorgement, and feeding strikes, among others. National Breastfeeding Month is designed to provide knowledge and support to breastfeeding mothers so they are able to initiate and maintain breastfeeding for their babies. To kickoff the month, The Big Latch-On will take place across the country, with events all across Indiana. The goal is to bring together as many women as possible in each location to latch on at the same time, for one minute, to hopefully break a world record and to build community support for breastfeeding. To find an event near you, visit The Big Latch On. Be sure to visit the Maternal and Child Health Breastfeeding page to learn more about breastfeeding.
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