March twenty-eighth... There is a friction inside me surrounding this date; a rubbing of grief and celebration, of sadness and joy, of sorrow and thankfulness. March twenty-eighth will always be his day.
And this is where the biggest victory of our breastfeeding journey lies. I am literally carrying his immune system for him. As his doctors point out, breastmilk is the best broad range antiviral medication there is. My body makes antibodies his cannot make right now, and every time he breastfeeds, he receives a fresh load of them. Maybe I've saved him a hospital stay with these antibodies. Maybe, I'll never know, maybe there's a chance I've even saved his life.
Are we "overselling" breastfeeding? Are advocates trying to force women to breastfeed? Or are we looking for changes to a system that have only ever provided the illusion of choice?
New headlines suggest that there is no link between breastfeeding and IQ, but a closer look at the research suggests this isn't what can be said. It seems we're no further along in answering this question than before.
There is a myth out there that most people who support breastfeeding are bad, bad people out to shame you. Here I examine this in a bit more detail with women's stories and experiences as a backdrop.
"Fed is Best"... Somewhere along the line, people have decided that simply showing up and doing the very bare minimum is enough to celebrate. I say, "Fuck that."
More backlash against breastfeeding hits the news with a study looking at contaminants in breast milk. Should we really reconsider promoting breastfeeding? Could formula be superior?
Two new pieces of research highlight the intricate relationship between feeding method and sleep in infants, notably how parents perceive their child's sleep. Importantly, there are implications for the idea of building "bad habits" and sleep training.
New research is out touting the long-term "benefits" of breastfeeding so of course the Internet explodes with people complaining. I thought I'd tackle some of those comments and concerns in this particular bit of research.
World Breastfeeding Week is gone, but it managed to highlight the anger towards breastfeeding advocates by those who don't breastfeed who are calling to end the discussions of breastfeeding. But breastfeeding discussion must continue and here's why...
