Breastfeeding in Modern America
Over the past 40 years the number of women who breastfeed their children had been decreasing (1). It has become a social norm to start your baby out on formula and not even try breastfeeding, or what a lot of women do is breastfeed in the hospital and as soon as they get home they put their children on the bottle. We need to remember, not only as women, but as men and women together that breastfeeding is a natural and healthy way to feed our children and that if we are able, it is always the better choice. Breastfeeding is a wonderful gift we have been given and that there are many pros to doing it. Just a few of them would be that it is extremely healthy for the baby, even more so that formula, next that it help the mother burn fat and loose weight that many have been gained during the pregnancy and lastly that it is a way for the child and mother to bond.
When my older sister had just given birth her son, my mom and I flew out to Utah to be with her and her new son, Gavin. I remember my sister talking about how much pain she was in when she was first trying to breastfeed and how uncomfortable it was for her, but she stuck to it and breastfed my nephew until he was 9 months old. I chose the topic of breastfeeding because it is something that has always intrigued me. I think it is amazing the things that our body can do and that we were given these gifts for a reason. Breastfeeding not only benefits the baby, and is much more healthy, but it also benefits the mother and helps her to loose some of the weight that might have been gained during pregnancy. I feel so blessed that I have the opportunity to have children naturally and want to embrace what my body was made to do and breastfeed my future children if able. I really just chose this topic because I wanted to learn more about my body, and also because I am very excited to try breastfeeding one day.
When I started writhing this essay I called my sister and mother to see...