Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding in this country has made some headway lately. I know that it was a topic in the media in 2016. Mothers could not breastfeed where they wanted. They were treated like aliens and it was not liked if they did the act in public. However, in the private, public, and even in the Military world breastfeeding has changed. It is a victory. For me breastfeeding is important studies have shown that the babies that are breastfeed are less likely to get sick, awesome attachments are formed between mother and child, and the growth that takes place for a child that is breastfeed is right on. Now, just because it seems like I am very supportive of the breastfeed process, I do not want anyone to think that I am oppose to bottle feeding or choosing not to breastfeed. Everyone has a choice. I am in support of whatever you do and just want a healthy baby no matter how you choose to feed your child. I have had friends who made choices not to feed and I did not make them feel it was a bad choice, let’s be real no one wants to be told that the decisions they make for their child is bad and we should not make them feel that way. Like I was saying, I have had friends who did not breastfeed because they did not want to cause they thought it might hurt or could not because baby could not latch on, I mean there are several reasons for not choosing to breastfeed. But remember it is a choice.

Now, me personally, I chose to breastfeed all three of my daughters. My decision was to do it for about 6 months. After that, my decision it would be enough because at that point, they would be getting regular foods to support their diet, just like I did. For me, at that point too, research said that it wasn’t needed for nutrients or things it would be just for attachment purposes. Now I did the best with each child to meet my goal. We all know that all children are different, plus you have society and environmental issues that change. For my oldest 2 I was successful in breastfeeding them till we reached our 6 month mark. However I was at home with them for the 1^st year due to various reasons. I was not a stay at home mom but circumstances helped to support that and it made it easier to meet that goal. Now, with my 3^rd child, I worked before, during and still and going hard and strong in the work environment. I think that may have been small factor as to why we did not meet the 6-month goal. I was older so my milk supply was not as prosperous with her as it was her 2 siblings. But I did what I needed to with supplements and tricks it wasn’t too bad an issue. But when we hit month 4, and she began to get other sources of food, like jar and cereal; she wanted less and less of the breast milk and was fine with formula. For me, this was the crushing part. It hurt and devastated me when she didn’t want to nurse anymore. In some cases, I have seen that the nursing process is more for mom than it is for the child. So, we have to remember who the breastfeeding is for, us or the child. Yes, we want them to reap the benefits of breastfeeding but when it is time to let go, you must let go. Children are more resilient that we give them credit for. So, I pretty much stopped breastfeeding my youngest at around 4 mohths. Looking back I do contribute some of that to my crazy work schedule. Like, I said before, I did not work during the same time period with my other 2 but with her I worked all along and did the traditional 6 weeks off for maternity leave. I don’t know if that really is enough time. Looking at other countries, they get WAY more than us Americans. But as far as the attachment thing goes, she is the most clingy child of the bunch. She is always around me, even today and she is nearly 8. She is like that gnat that just seems to always chase you, not that I comparing my child to a gnat, but you get the point.

I love all my girls and totally back up my decision to breastfeed. I do encourage it because the benefits are amazing. I bounced back body wise each time and contribute that to breastfeeding. My kids rarely got sick or even now rarely get sick. Their healthy and happy. Now they have support groups for breastfeeding moms and I have seen the friendships established and that is great. I did not have that at any time during the time I was breastfeeding my children. Would have been nice to talk with other women or get help if I needed it in the area. But again, this movement has made progress.

Breastfeeding in other countries is just as important to our country as it is in other parts of the world. Norway, for example has the highest rate of breastfeeding with a 99% of new moms attempt it at the hospital. I think it is that way because breastfeeding in public is not as taboo there as it is in other places.

France on the other hand has a low rate of breastfeeding they feel as though it is an act of slavery. The French see boobs as more for the husbands and not the babies. Totally different mindset in France than the rest of the world.

Brazil has a very supportive breastfeeding culture. Interesting to me since they have a beauty minded culture. However, they have milk banks available there. It is in support to mom’s who can’t.

I also found information that says that in the predominantly Muslim cultures they support breastfeeding because it is seen as a part of their religious duty. It is referred to in the Qu’ran. They would have relatives or neighbors with babies sharing the nursing duties if need be.

Lastly, in Mongolia, breast milk is considered healthy and appetizing, not only for babies but for adults too. It is often given to the elderly for medical purposes.

All this information has been interesting. I does not change my thoughts on breastfeeding but in my line of work I will encourage the attachments and bonds that are created in support of. I will also try to encourage those that do decide to breast feed their infants to join a breastfeeding support group. I love the idea and have gone to one for support and to see what they do. It was interesting and gave me ideas that I will continue to push and support. We all need support or confirmation that the decisions we make for our kids is the right one.

 

Mecking, O. (2016, March 09). Breastfeeding Around the World. Retrieved January 20, 2017, from http://www.europeanmama.com/breastfeeding-around-the-world/

 

Is Breastfeeding the Same Around the World? (n.d.). Retrieved January 20, 2017, from https://www.bupaglobal.com/en/your-wellbeing/pregnancy-and-motherhood/breastfeeding-around-the-world

 

My Childbirth and Around the World

When my husband and I decided to have kids, I told him that I wanted to have all my kids by the time I was 30. I decided that we would have 3. Ironically, I was 31 when I gave birth to my youngest in Aviano, Italy. My husband was in the Air Force and we were living in Italy. I loved it. I was being seen on base which serviced American Military doctors. It was pretty routine compared to my other early childbirths if that in fact that can happen. Just because we were living in Italy, the whole situation was being treated like a regular American situation in comparison. Now if there were any complications I was told I would have to go off base, and did not want that to happen because their facilities were different from ours. This was just word of mouth from other mom's who had the pleasure of having their babies in an Italian hospital. Moving on to my birthing experience, my daughter was actually not like my other 2 births. She was not early like they were so I was quite mad about that. However, just like all the others, my husband was not around during the pregnancy part, he however, was able to be sent home for the delivery. She came on my due date which I was not really happy about in more ways than one. The first being that when I was told I was pregnant and her date was October 7, 2009, I was not happy. Because I like my mother in law just fine I did not want a baby on her birthday, however. Of course I called her and told her I was having the baby on her birthday but not to hold her breath because I had NO intentions of being pregnant that long. Little did I know this little girl had other plans.
 Fast forward to October 7, 2009. Finally, my husband was home and on this day I was particularly unhappy, because I was still pregnant and did all that I could to have this kid already. I walked a lot, did the due, I even had my membrane striped TWICE, and still not kid. However, it so happens that at 9:30am I had a doctors appointment. My husband and I went in the doctor checked my cervix an told me that I was about 4 centimeters dilated but now he helped me and now I was 5. This bit of news put me over the moon because I knew that meant I was going to have a baby. He asked me if I wanted to have this kid today. I told him HECK YEAH and that I would race him upstairs to labor and delivery. I did the moon walk out the room. My husband just laughed and followed. Did I mention that my oldest daughter was 10 at this time and did not go to school because I wanted her to witness childbirth, kind of a life lesson for future behavior. (It worked by the way, no kids from her, yet and she is almost 18). Going into this I already knew that I was going to have an epidural. When it came time to get it put in, I should have won an academy award for my performance, remember my daughter was in the room and I had her over my shoulder watching the whole thing. Her presence was was allowed. I know that there was a time when this was not allowed but on this particular day it was ok.  Many might think I am crazy for having her in the room, but I am a mom. I have been working with kids for several years at this time and knew how kids can be. Afterall, I was once one too, not that I had a teenage pregnancy or judge those who do but I know how things go.
Anyhow, on this day we had a beautiful healthy baby girl. Nothing major or of any concerns for me. Oh yeah, did I mention, that not only did I have my daughter and husband in the room I also had like 6 other staff members in the room. They wanted to witness a childbirth. I was over 30, not shy, over being pregnant and just did not care. It was in the name of medical science after all.
The interesting part came of giving birth to a baby in another country came a few days later. I had to go down to the town's city hall and fill out additional paperwork for giving birth. It has something to do with our SOFA status agreement with the Italian government. Anyhow, I had to fill out her name in this humongous (not kidding on the size) book. I also had to fill out a paper saying that she would never change her name. I then looked at her and told her, hope you like it, sorry if you don't but according to this your stuck kid.
Over all my birthing experience was fine. One we definitely tell stories about. Just recently, one of the extra people I had in the room, I ran into at another base hospital and we laughed and talked. She has a child of her own. I showed her pictures of how my daughter looks now. It was a pretty cool moment, not going to lie.


Since I shared my birthing experience in Italy, I want to share what I learned about giving birth in Italy. From my own experience and knowledge, women tend to be older when giving birth in Italy. We know that babies are at a higher risk for things when parents are older. However, in Italy it seemed like the norm for moms to be older. Although, when they do decide to have kids they tend to be back to back if more than one kid is planned. In Italy, the country is very family oriented and honestly cost of living is expensive so it is normal for the kids to live close to the parents. In many cases they live on the same property but in their own home. The facility that I am familiar with is in the Pordenone province of Italy. I heard the environment is very sterile and not very home like, like our facilities. The staff appeared not to be as friendly either. I wonder if that had something to do with the language barrier that they encountered. Doing some research on the internet. I see they use Doulas and midwives, similar to our American society. They utilize the baby room similar to how things were done in our older days. That kind of environment is quite normal. Today, in our country we have an area where the baby is taken for measurements and things but no primarily the baby is kept near the mother at all times for bonding. At least that is what I experienced, and have experienced since my last childbirth.