Breastfeeding, A Winning Goal for Life!

"Welcome to the Milk Mama Diaries Carnival (August). For this month, we write about the World Breastfeeding Week 2014 - Breastfeeding: A Winning Goal for Life and share how breastfeeding can help the Philippines achieve the 8 Millennium Development Goals developed by the government and the United Nations. Participants will share their thoughts, experiences, hopes and suggestions on the topic.  Please scroll down to the end of the post to see the list of carnival entries."

The moment that a woman gives birth she does not only give life to the newborn child but also she also gives birth to her new persona, becoming a mother. Becoming a mother is no easy task as you are given a big responsibility or rather a gift of nurturing a new life. Women are designed by nature to nourish their children and this is through breastfeeding.



When I was still single and even when I had my first child four years ago, I didn't give breastfeeding much thought. I just thought that it will come naturally. Well it does come naturally but I didn't know that it was an act of conscious commitment. With my first child, I did not know much about breastfeeding. I gave in to the wrong beliefs about it and ended up giving my child formula on his third day and mix feeding him until he totally gave up on my breast at five months. I thought that it was enough that I was able to breastfeed him for a while. When I became pregnant again last year it was a very fortunate incident that I got to talk to a fellow pregnant mother who taught me a lot about breastfeeding. Now I think it's my turn to share my thoughts on breastfeeding.

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

My husband and I have a reversal of the more common husband and wife roles. He stays at home to take care of the children while I go to work. With my second child since I was more committed to breastfeeding it became a challenge for me to continue to feed my baby with breast milk when I got back to work after my two month maternity leave. I decided to express breast milk at work and store it for my baby's consumption. Pumping breast milk is not easy especially when you get busy at work. I realized then that women are really designed to stay at home at take care of their children. I am not being an anti-feminist here or being old fashioned but it seems nature designed it that way though if a mother decides to work there are lots of way to still continue breastfeeding  and find support at work especially now that our government released the Breastfeeding Act. My point is that a mother who stays home and takes care of her kids is a job in itself and a very difficult and important job. I used to think that for a woman to be successful or competitive she must be professional and have a very good career. Now that I am a mother I realized otherwise.

Breastfeeding is a very empowering act for women because through it we sustain life and provide our children with their much needed nourishment.

Breatfeeding my Baby Lili Anywhere, Everywhere

COMBAT DISEASES

I just learned that a mother's breastmilk is called "liquid gold". Through reading and talking with fellow breastfeeding moms I learned a lot about how precious breast milk is just as gold.From Unicef.org

Breast milk provides all of the nutrients, vitamins and minerals an infant needs for growth for the first six months, and no other liquids or food are needed. In addition, breast milk carries antibodies from the mother that help combat disease.  The act of breastfeeding itself stimulates proper growth of the mouth and jaw, and secretion of hormones for digestion and satiety. Breastfeeding creates a special bond between mother and baby and the interaction between the mother and child during breastfeeding has positive repercussions for life, in terms of stimulation, behaviour, speech, sense of wellbeing and security and how the child relates to other people. Breastfeeding also lowers the risk of chronic conditions later in life, such as obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, childhood asthma and childhood leukaemias. Studies have shown that breastfed infants do better on intelligence and behaviour tests into adulthood than formula-fed babies.

See how truly perfect breast milk is that I really see it such a waste of precious liquid gold when I see children being fed with formula. 
I just also learned that even when a mother is sick she can still continue to breastfeed her baby to help the baby produce antibody for combating the disease. And i have proven this  just recently, two weeks ago my eldest came down with colds which developed into a cough and my husband and I also caught it. I still continued to breastfeed my 5 month old but made sure that I cover my mouth when I sneeze or cough and ensure to always wash my hands when I hold her. In the two weeks time that we are battling the virus, my daughter did not catch the disease. She did not get contaminated with colds or cough, thank goodness!

I really hope more mothers, stay at home, work at home or working away from home would choose to breastfeed their babies as long as they can. There are a lot of benefits from breastfeeding and it will not help our family but also our nation. God gave us this gift which we should use wisely in raising up our children, the next generation.

#BF1st1000days

Here are many thoughts and reasons why we should all advocate for mothers to breastfeed for the first 1,000 days of life #BF1st1000days Jenny shares experiencing the One Asia Breastfeeding Forum
Mec insists to do the Math and breastfeed!
Ams, The Passionate Mom says Breastfeed for a Better Future
Pat says breastfeeding saves money and the planet
Cheryl, the Multi-Tasking Mama, tackles maternal health as addressed by breastfeeding
2011 CNN Hero Ibu Robin highlights gentle births and breasfeeding, even in disaster zones
Felyn stresses that Healthy Moms = Healthy Babies
Monique reminds us that there are second chances in breastfeeding
Normi relates how breastfeeding gave her strength and purpose
Nats thanks Dr. Jack Newman for showing how breastfeeding can be a win-win situation
Em believes breastfeeding is a solution to societal problems
Marge shares what breastfeeding has taught them
Kaity was empowered financially and as a woman through breastfeeding
Madel relates her breastfeeding saga
Jen of Next9 reminds us to do our research and share what we know
Celerhina Aubrey vows to work on one mother at a time
Grace wants to put an end to stories of toasted coffee and similar stuff over breast milk
Diane shares how she prevailed when things did not go according to plan
Hazel appreciates mommy support groups
Roan combines two passions, breastfeeding and architecture
Queenie tackled breastfeeding as the best choice for the environment as well and breastfeeding myths and poverty
Rosa shares how the picture she thought of was realized
Sally believes breastfeeding benefits mankind and our planet Earth
Floraine reminds us that breastfeeding helps combat diseases
Crislyn was happy to realize that she improved her own health by breastfeeding
Armi reminds us how breastfeeding during emergencies is crucial
Arvi tells us how breastfeeding made her look at her body a different way
Clarice elaborates on how breastfeeding saves lives and the planet
Giane reminds us that women empowerment can begin by seeing breastfeeding as more than a feeding issue
Liza thought she was only breastfeeding for her child