Why Should I Nurse My Baby? by Pamela K. Wiggins. Library section 8H: Life Skills: Birth.
For future mothers and fathers, this short overview book explains the benefits and advantages of breastfeeding for baby, mother and father. Mothers who nurse may choose another more detailed book to keep at home, but this is a perfect overview for a newly pregnant couple. Future moms and dads should all read this book and I will explain why in a bit.
The importance of breastfeeding is compelling – for mothers, it can help them recover from birth faster, loose extra weight, and cut down on the incidence of breast cancer later in life. It can also lower the incidence of cancer decades in the future in those nursed children. That’s amazing and parents should reflect on that value.
Other advantages: breastmilk is the perfect nutritional food for babies, easy to digest, portable, clean, always ready at the proper temperature, and gives your baby immunity to disease, better vision, stronger teeth, fewer allergies, better brain development with higher IQ, less spitting up, and less smelly diapers. It is cheaper than formula and bottles and creates less trash. Just as importantly, that skin to skin bonding, cuddling and rocking that comes with breastfeeding gives both mother and baby intense emotional bonding that bottle feeding just can’t match.
That said, breastfeeding doesn’t always come naturally. It takes a month or two of practice as mother and baby form a team. Some women, even with professional help, do not enjoy it, find it cumbersome, feel trapped, or cannot continue for some reason. In that case, no regrets. Go to plan B: use formula, or a human milk bank in case of extreme infant allergies to formula.
This book explains how a mother can return to work and still nurse. You can adjust the information to your own specific needs, and read further in more detailed nursing guides.
Some couples complain that breastfeeding leaves fathers or partners little role in their newborn’s care. There is so much for them to do! The more Dad or the partner knows about the advantages of breastfeeding and the greater his approval, the greater are mother’s chances of success. If she has a problem, or things don’t seem to be working, he can help and encourage her to contact her lactation consultant or doctor. This is what mature dads and partners do for their wives, partners and children.
Other things the spouse can do: hold Mom while she nurses baby, burp baby after feeding, cuddle and rock, change diapers (sorry, you can’t get out of this job and still consider yourself a “got the tee shirt” hands-on father or partner!!), and bathe and dress baby. Not to mention painting the nursery, repainting or refinishing furniture bought second hand, assembling new furniture, doing the grocery shopping, and so on. There are multiple roles for everyone in the family to play when a newborn comes home. ( )