In case you didn’t know already, August 2011 marks National Breastfeeding Awareness Month!  I’d like to preface my post by saying that while I am a big advocate of breast feeding our infants, I completely understand that there are circumstances in which a mom is not physically capable of breast feeding, or maybe it’s 3 in the morning and your baby isn’t latching on properly and she needs to eat so you supplement with formula… sometimes there are situations that require parents to formula feed their babies and I do not believe in any way, shape or form that this makes a woman any less of a mother (and I felt the need to disclaim my opinion as there are many out there who are very vigilant in their beliefs on breastfeeding and nothing else).

Ah with that being said, breastfeeding is probably one of the most amazing things a woman can experience.  We literally have the gift of life within us.

Why is breast feeding important for our little ones?

* It’s free! * It promotes a strong immune system in your baby (for example, if you’re going to drop off your infant at daycare, spend 30 minutes in the location and then breastfeed your baby – that’s all it takes for your milk to produce and carry the right antibodies to that environment!) * It promotes bonding between you and your baby * It has all the nutrition your baby needs and is markedly different than any other milk substitute (ask formula specialists and they’ll tell you that there’s no way to exactly replicate breast milk, but boy have they tried!) * Breastfeeding reduces the likelihood of allergies or respiratory illness * It promotes brain health and a higher IQ! * It’s environmentally friendly * Research show that breastfed babies are less likely to be obsese in adulthood * Breastfeeding reduces your baby’s risk of gastro-enteritis, respiratory, unirary tract and ear infections, eczema and childhood diabetes *

There’s a ton of reasons why breast feeding is the best option for your little one and the World Health Organization has actually increased their recommendation of breast feeding up until the age of TWO.  The one thing that concerns me, and I believe is the point of National Breastfeeding Awareness Month, is the disheartening ‘disgust’ that many have for women breastfeeding our children in public or at their jobs.  And while I can make recommendations all day long about how to make  the work place or other public facilities more accommodating to breast feeding women, I think the most important thing is getting society as a whole to understand how beautiful, natural and critical it is to our babies’ health and then maybe the former will follow 🙂

Also be sure to check out HealthConnectOne for more information on the importance of breastfeeding.  HCO is a local organization here in Chicago that does work regarding health promotion for mothers, infants and families and they also run several community-based programs to promote the health of mothers and babies in low income, high-risk communities.  These programs include a breastfeeding peer counselor program, community health worker program and a community-based doula program.

(PS Thank you sooo much to a good friend for letting me tag along for a good breast feeding session in the park with my film camera, but even more so for letting me share!)