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Almost immediately after your baby's birth, you'll make an important decision; whether or not to breastfeed. Or maybe you're among the 50 percent of women who decide even before pregnancy that they'll give nursing a try. If you've already made up your mind to nurse, you'll receive plenty of moral support; the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Dietetic Association and most other health organizations recommend that all fullterm infants to breastfed when possible.
The benefits are many. Mother's milk is free and ecologically correct. It can't sour, cannot be overheated, mixed improperly or contaminated by poor sanitation. It contains the precise amount of protein, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients a baby needs to thrive. Breastfeeding nourishes the baby's sense of touch, taste and smell and is also good of the mom: It helps her uterus contract to its prepregnancy size, makes night feedings a snap and provides the sense that she's giving her baby the best possible start in life. There are reasons women plan not to breastfeed, of course. Mothers on certain medications can't because the drugs may harm the baby. Others worry that their breast implants might expose their babies to harmful silicone (although a 1994 study published in the Journal of the American Medical
Association noted that it's still unclear whether silicone or other by-products released by implants pose enough risk to outweigh the benefits to breast milk). Second-time moms who ran into problems nursing the first time around may be too discouraged to try again. A busy life, time consuming work, a long commute, initial embarrassment about nursing in public, a desire to exercise and temporary discomforts (especially in the early weeks) also can be discouraging but none of these reasons need stop breast pumps and a support system that includes family, husband, sister, friends and /or coworkers will help. Even exercise doesn't interfere, as long as you rest and ear well. But what if you're straddling the fence-not quite sure if you want to nurse? Well, formula is certainly a safe and adequate stand-in; in fact, you may be one of the millions of healthy people who took it in infancy. Still, mother's milk is indisputably the superior food-and it provides a surprising array of health benefits, some of which are only now being explored.
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