Like you needed another reason to breastfeed! A study in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry has found that mothers who breastfeed exclusively have a stronger bond with their child for the first few months of the baby’s life.
How was the study conducted? Scientists used MRIs to study the neurological responses of breastfeeding moms and formula moms to their baby’s cry. Breastfeeding moms showed greater activity in brain regions related to care-giving behavior and empathy than formula moms.
Great news for breastfeeding moms! But it’s important to note that this study only covered the first few months of life, and measured very specific neurological responses. Moms who can’t breastfeed or who supplement with formula can, of course, bond with their baby in other ways.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Increasing Your Milk Supply
“How can I increase my breast milk supply?” It’s a question we hear from breastfeeding moms all the time.
You may feel like you’re not producing enough, ever. Or your baby may be going through a growth spurt and suddenly seem hungrier than usual. Or you might be concerned about the drop in supply that can be triggered by a return to the workplace.
Don’t worry! Once you’ve taken the obvious steps—resting enough and eating well, talking to your doctor—there are a couple of clever ways you can coax your body into producing more milk:
And finally – relax! A rested and relaxed mind and body will produce a healthier milk supply for your baby.
You may feel like you’re not producing enough, ever. Or your baby may be going through a growth spurt and suddenly seem hungrier than usual. Or you might be concerned about the drop in supply that can be triggered by a return to the workplace.
Don’t worry! Once you’ve taken the obvious steps—resting enough and eating well, talking to your doctor—there are a couple of clever ways you can coax your body into producing more milk:
- Take Fenugreek. Fenugreek, a key ingredient in Mamatini, and has been shown to increase breast milk production by as much as 900%
- Switch your birth control. Contraceptives containing estrogen—like birth-control pills and vaginal rings—can decrease milk production.
- Milk production sometimes dips right before your period starts. Taking a calcium and magnesium supplement for those few days can help.
- Use a good breast pump! Cheaper pumps can lose their effectiveness over time.
- Pump or nurse at least every three hours, if possible.
- When possible, pump immediately after nursing your baby. The added demand on your breasts will eventually lead to a greater milk supply.
And finally – relax! A rested and relaxed mind and body will produce a healthier milk supply for your baby.
Tina Fey Was “Depressed” Over Using Formula
If you’ve had trouble producing enough milk, you’re not alone! Tina Fey has revealed in her new memoir, Bossypants, that she sunk into a “deep depression” in 2005 after giving up breastfeeding, and feeding formula to her daughter, Alice.
She says: “I chose to pump every two hours while watching the HBO series 'Entourage'. I was able to do this for seven weeks before running out of episodes and sinking into a deep depression.”
And after switching to formula, she says, “The baby was thriving. I was no longer feeling trapped, spending 30 out of every 90 minutes attached to a Williams-Sonoma Tit Juicer. But I still had an overwhelming feeling of disappointment. I had failed at something that was supposed to be natural.”
Fey says she also grew jealous of friends who succeeded at breastfeeding: “At a party where a friend was successfully nursing her little boy, I watched her husband produce a bottle of breast milk the size of a Big Gulp. It was more milk than I had produced in my whole seven weeks - I blame 'Entourage'.”
Fey makes it sound funny—who wouldn’t get depressed watching seven weeks of Entourage? But many mothers feel this sense of failure when faced with some of the challenges of breastfeeding. And while breast milk is best, it’s important to remember it isn’t the only option—as Fey points out, you can raise a healthy, “thriving” baby with formula, too. And if breastfeeding for longer is a priority for you, do your research and get the help you need to make it happen.
Have you felt frustrated by milk supply issues, or envied mothers who seemed “better” at breastfeeding? How did you deal with it? Let us know in the comments.
She says: “I chose to pump every two hours while watching the HBO series 'Entourage'. I was able to do this for seven weeks before running out of episodes and sinking into a deep depression.”
And after switching to formula, she says, “The baby was thriving. I was no longer feeling trapped, spending 30 out of every 90 minutes attached to a Williams-Sonoma Tit Juicer. But I still had an overwhelming feeling of disappointment. I had failed at something that was supposed to be natural.”
Fey says she also grew jealous of friends who succeeded at breastfeeding: “At a party where a friend was successfully nursing her little boy, I watched her husband produce a bottle of breast milk the size of a Big Gulp. It was more milk than I had produced in my whole seven weeks - I blame 'Entourage'.”
Fey makes it sound funny—who wouldn’t get depressed watching seven weeks of Entourage? But many mothers feel this sense of failure when faced with some of the challenges of breastfeeding. And while breast milk is best, it’s important to remember it isn’t the only option—as Fey points out, you can raise a healthy, “thriving” baby with formula, too. And if breastfeeding for longer is a priority for you, do your research and get the help you need to make it happen.
Have you felt frustrated by milk supply issues, or envied mothers who seemed “better” at breastfeeding? How did you deal with it? Let us know in the comments.
Would You Sell Your Breast Milk Online?
Selling your breast milk on the internet sounds odd. But there are moms doing it! Sites like Only The Breast are like Craigslist for breast milk: moms put up listings categorized by the age of their baby (0-2 months, 2-6 months, 6-12 months), and either ship their milk to buyers or meet locally. Prices range from $1 to $2.50 per ounce, and at least one mom, interviewed by Wired, has been able to pay her bills by selling her milk. Most buyers are moms who need more milk for their babies, but there are also some adult male buyers (there is a special section on the site for moms “willing to sell breast milk to men”).
There are also donation-based sites, like Human Milk 4 Human Babies and Eats on Feets, that connect moms with an oversupply of breast milk to moms in need.
Donating your breast milk to one of these sites may seem less ethically questionable than selling it, but according to the FDA, neither option is medically safe: “When human milk is obtained directly from individuals or through the Internet, the donor is unlikely to have been adequately screened for infectious disease or contamination risk. In addition, it is not likely that the human milk has been collected, processed, tested, or stored in a way that reduces possible safety risks to the baby.”
The best option is donating to or buying from an established milk bank, like HMBANA.
Tell us: would you sell your breast milk?
There are also donation-based sites, like Human Milk 4 Human Babies and Eats on Feets, that connect moms with an oversupply of breast milk to moms in need.
Donating your breast milk to one of these sites may seem less ethically questionable than selling it, but according to the FDA, neither option is medically safe: “When human milk is obtained directly from individuals or through the Internet, the donor is unlikely to have been adequately screened for infectious disease or contamination risk. In addition, it is not likely that the human milk has been collected, processed, tested, or stored in a way that reduces possible safety risks to the baby.”
The best option is donating to or buying from an established milk bank, like HMBANA.
Tell us: would you sell your breast milk?
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