Today I am proud of my state. As of last month, Rhode Island is the first in the nation to end the practice of giving free formula to new mothers in the hospital. The purpose is to promote breastfeeding, which studies show is far healthier for moms and babies. It’s also one of the most eco-friendly choices I can imagine. A sweet, warm beverage chock full of vitamins that requires no wasteful packaging or oil to transport, and it’s completely free!
I was gung-ho from the first moment of my pregnancy. My mantra: “A drug-free natural birth and breastfeeding all the way!” The reality: Fibroids prevented me from using the ABC (alternative birth care) hospital room, and three hours into labor, I was begging for all sorts of drugs. But I was still determined to never open a can of formula. Some of that was financially motivated. We were on a budget; why buy something that I manufactured for free? But mostly it was sheer stubbornness toward a lifestyle choice that I wholeheartedly supported.
Then my newborn daughter started to nurse, and the pain was excruciating. I was sure she’d been born with teeth! The coordination required to align this engorged basketball with her puny mouth eluded me. And Sofie was a hungry one. She clamped down for dear life. The pain made me long to be in labor again. At least labor was a one-time thing. Breastfeeding reoccurred every 2-3 hours for a thirty-minute period. That’s searing pain twelve times a day.
“If it’s painful, you’re doing it wrong,” the nurses informed me. I already knew that; my swollen and bruised left breast looked like it had been on the losing end of a dogfight. So I went to a lactation class for help. Amid a group of anxious new moms I was bombarded with information about the football hold versus the cradle hold; how to open baby’s mouth wider and how to position myself with pillows to attain some level of comfort. Various nurses manhandled my breasts to demonstrate the process. I thought I was catching on. Sofie latched on a few times without pain. Apparently, she was just showing off for the class.
We arrived home from the hospital and fell right back to square one. Sofie clamped on painfully. I cried. My husband hovered, rearranging pillows in search of the perfect position. My daughter screamed in hunger as I kept removing her latch to find comfort. I began to dread feeding her, but I still refused to buy formula. Women had been breastfeeding since the beginning of time! It was nature’s medicine. It had to be easier than this.
Fortunately, Women and Infants Hospital offered a private lactation consultant, and my insurance covered it. Less than a week after Sofie’s birth, we returned to the hospital. An encouraging, gentle nurse guided me through my despair. She patiently took me through the steps again, offering some new tips, and my desperation melted away. During that session, something clicked for both of us; Sofie began to consistently latch on pain-free. It wasn’t much longer until I began to feel those soothing hormonal sensations associated with breastfeeding.
As Sofie grew, we nursed any time, any place. It was easy with an unlimited supply and no landfill-clogging accessories to worry about. I pumped regularly so that my husband could sometimes feed her. She never enjoyed it as much as the breast, but it did provide a break for me and offered father-daughter bonding.
Once Sofie incorporated solid foods and cow milk into her diet, we still nursed frequently. To reconnect after a day apart. To fall asleep peacefully. To comfort her through boo-boos, vaccinations or tantrums. Breastfeeding was the panacea. It just seemed the natural thing to do.
While I experienced a rocky start, determination paid off. I enjoyed three beautiful years of breastfeeding, which I believe laid the groundwork for a deep bond with my daughter. The way she gazed at me with wonder and love as she nursed is a look engraved on my heart. As the sole source of nourishment for the first six months of my daughter’s life, I felt the momentousness of my role. It was my milk that surged through her little body, building muscles and bones, developing brain connections, warding off disease (she was sick just once in her first year). The thought still amazes me.
So I applaud Rhode Island hospitals for saying “no more free formula.” It’s an important step in a global effort to encourage the value and bliss of breastfeeding.
Benefits of Breastfeeding:
- Establishes bonding. Skin-to-skin contact boosts oxytocin levels and promotes bonding between mother and baby. This unique interaction gives baby his first sensations of love and security.
- Nutritionally superior to formula. Breast milk contains all the nutrients and antibodies your baby needs, adjusting as she grows. Breast milk is easier to digest, safeguards against food allergies, promotes proper jaw development and encourages normal weight gain for baby (as well as quicker weight loss for mom).
- Fights Disease. The hormones and antibodies in breast milk protect baby against infection and illness. It can also reduce the risk of SIDS, leukemia and Type 1 diabetes. For the mother, breastfeeding decreases the risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer and osteoporosis.
- Higher IQ. The nutrients in breast milk enhance baby’s brain development.
- Savings of time, money and the earth. A mother’s supply of breast milk is unlimited and free. There is no trash and plastic waste adding to the landfills.
Want to Learn More?
http://www.llli.org/nb/nbbenefits.html
http://www.nrdc.org/breastmilk/benefits.asp
http://www.womenshealth.gov/breastfeeding/
