Breast is Best

I am in a wonderful Womens Health class this semester taught by Stephanie Fugal! She is such an amazing teacher filled with so much passion! On Thursday we were discussing Breastfeeding! Seeing as three of my friends became new Mommy's (or for the 3rd time!) and I have quite a few pregnant ones still out there, I found this interesting and important.

There are many reasons why people don't and can't breastfeed and I understand that however I found this lecture enlightening and made me a little less fearful for breastfeeding my children (once I have them!)

"By breastfeeding your babies, you will give them the very best that money cannot buy."
Breastfeeding is however under attack in our nation. People see a breastfeeding mother and can feel uncomfortable and at times may question her or ask her to stop or leave. Something our professor asked us was "Is breastfeeding a Right or a Choice?" Do breastfeeding mothers have rights? Well they do! Currently, 25 states have laws protecting the right to breastfeed in public (including Utah). No one has the right to tell a mother how to feed or where to feed her child!

Another problem mothers are being faced with is "the bag" that they are often given at the hospital upon leaving... the one thats full of formula to last them a few weeks! Breast milk is the best because it offers your baby immunity that they won't otherwise receive. Hospitals honestly feel like they are doing new mom's a favor by giving them these bags but with the high cost of formula, even just doing a few supplemental feedings can cost hundreds if not thousands in a year. There is a new program called Ban the Bag, they found that in Utah 97% of the hospitals are giving out these bags!

Our class is trying to create nursing stations on BYU's campus so that nursing mothers can feed their babies and store milk if needed for husbands to come pick up and feed babies between classes. Utah County is the baby center of the United States and BYU does not have nursing stations. Utah State has upwards to 6 or 7 nursing stations! We are trying to fix this problem!

Breast is best! I also had no idea that giving a baby cows milk within the first year can help them develop allergies to milk! I am so not ready to have a baby, I have lots to learn!