Bun in the Oven: Breast is Best

*The views expressed in Bun in the Oven are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole.* -The Editors

As my belly grows and grows, I've learned that there's not one, not two, but about a jillion incredibly sensitive, pregnancy-related subjects that most mamas will hold forth on, ad infinitum. Lifelong friendships and familial relations have been severed in grudge-matches about these powderkeg issues. It's like nothing I've ever encountered. Thought your high school debates about abortion and the death penalty were fun? Ain't nothing compared to the crap you can stir up by dropping a few of these topical bombshells into a conversation among women with kids. And yet the issues are seemingly innocuous: nutrition, exercise, labor & delivery, breastfeeding, circumcision, diapers, sleeping arrangements...just to name a few I've discovered, and I'm only halfway through my pregnancy.

The one that's been on my mind lately is breastfeeding. After all, August is World Breastfeeding Month, with a series of local events taking place all month long to promote and support this year's theme, It's Perfectly Natural. Indeed, several recent news stories have touted a variety of studies proving the benefits of breastfeeding. Current US culture is pro breast milk to the extreme, including a recent suggestion that legislation be passed to require warning labels on formula "similar to the those on cigarettes," and a TV ad this spring "showing a pregnant woman clutching her belly as she was thrown off a mechanical bull during ladies' night at a bar -- and [comparing] the behavior to failing to breast-feed." [Source: NY Times 6/13/06.] Yikes.

Extremism aside, however, all signs point to breastfeeding being the way to go, and Austin mamas take no exception to this rule. Earlier this week, Fox 7 - News in the Morning featured a story about Austin's smashing success at getting and keeping babies on the breast. With a list of local breastfeeding organization as long as your arm, it isn't any wonder we're really good at it. Plus if Hippie Hollow, Barton Springs, and so forth are any indication, we're an au naturel kinda town, which has got to make a woman feel less intimidated about having to whip it out when the need arises (inevitably unexpectedly). Think breastfeeding in public is so easy in the big D? Doubtful. All that aside, I find it astounding and darn near miraculous that my body can produce something vastly superior to the best that modern science has to offer. There are so many well-established benefits to breastfeeding that there's just no argument against it being the optimal choice.

So I've always assumed I'd breastfeed, but the more I learn about it, the more I wonder what my fate will be. From what I can tell, everything boils down to convenience and ability, with many women weighing in heavily on one side or the other.

In the convenience corner, you can get yourself into some serious trouble with the so-called La Leche Nazis (a term I've heard from multiple mamas). Some women have no plans to breastfeed from the get-go because they just plain don't want the hassle. Breastfeeding takes patience and planning -- and for women returning to fulltime work, as many Austin mothers surely must do, it a can be a complicated bargain. Still, choosing to not even try is a tough stance to take, especially with pressure from all sides to adhere to the "gold standard for infant feeding". Ten months of defending such a choice would make anyone grouchy, and I can't even imagine the abuse an unsuspecting lactation consultant must receive when she unwittingly enters the hospital room of a formula mama, hours after labor and delivery. Can't be pretty.

To be fair, though, the good women at the La Leche League of Austin are just in the business of helping new mothers learn to breastfeed. LLL strives, among other things, to reduce the number of women who give up on breastfeeding out of frustration or lack of education. They're a supplement to the top-flight lactation consultants already available at most local hospitals. Why all the focus in such a specialized area? First of all, breastfeeding can be painful. Heard of engorgement? Exactly what it sounds like. As for education, well, I thought ya just took a baby, gave it a breast, and let nature take its course. Nope. Takes more than that. So the fleet of La Leche women have an admirable endeavor, and they're credited with helping thousands of women worldwide. Nevertheless, I've got a copy of the LLL bible, The Motherly Art of Breastfeeding, and to me it's very black & white on the breast milk vs. formula debate. To be blunt, the book left me feeling like I'd be a bad -- not just inadequate, but practically abusive -- mother if I gave up on breastfeeding and switched my baby to formula.

And that's where things can get really touchy. The ability factor. In the most severe cases, critically ill or very premature babies need breast milk but their mothers aren't in any condition to provide it. Austin has Mother's Milk Bank, which collects breast milk from kind and giving local mothers, pasteurizes it, and dispenses it by prescription primarily to babies in the hospital. If I end up being a pro at the pump, you can bet I'll be calling them up. However, what if I'm one of those women who can't breastfeed? Some women simply don't produce enough milk and their babies either fail to gain or even lose weight until they're forced to supplement with formula. I have a friend who, weeks after her baby was born, found herself at the grocery staring at cans and bottles of formula -- many of which included labeling stating the superiority of breastfeeding -- and feeling a sense of absolute failure. At least there are organic options; just this week Earth's Best (a brand available at Whole Foods, Wheatsville, Fresh Plus, and more) announced that it will be adding infant formula to its organic babyfood line of products. This is a step in the right direction for women who want to give their babies the best, but just can't.

To me, the choice is obvious. Whether or not I'll succeed...isn't. Earlier this week my OB, after asking me whether I wanted to breastfeed (good for him!), suggested I start a boob-conditioning rigmarole now, at 20 weeks, to toughen things up for future abuse. With lots of rubbing, scrubbing, and tugging, the process is a little intimidating, but I plan to give breastfeeding my best shot when the time finally arrives; so I'm on board. Heaven knows I've got the resources to do so!

Contact the author of this article or email tips@austinist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Julie Holden in Other on August 11, 2006 7:00 AM 0 Comments

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Dalton Turney

Turkmen lawmakers back caretaker as new president..

mamalara

You have to do what you can and balance your personal pros and cons. My boy couldn't latch (health problems) and I ended up pumping for 9 months, he got all he needed and the milk bank got some stock too. It got easier after a few weeks, and I feel blessed I was able to do what I could - who knew B-cups could produce for 2. But I know plenty moms who just couldn't, and there's lots of fine healthy folk raised on formula. Do what you know in your heart is best for you and yours, and blow off your critics - you'll need to get used to that - for all the mamas holding forth on pregnancy, topics multiply once bun is out of the oven.

alison

It was tough at first but after the first few months it was so easy and actually much more convenient than taking the time to pump or put a bottle together. It also helps heaps with soothing them and getting them back to sleep. Just don't give up right away and also, don't feel hopeless or guilty about supplementing if that is what you need to do to get through. A few bottles of formula won't ruin breastfeeding. My girl was a month premature and she wouldn't latch at first and I cried for days, but we made it through and I ended up nursing her for over two years. Call me weird, but it was just so easy to do and she loved it! I felt the benefits of breastfeeding were worth the difficult times, but I admit I used some back up when it got too hard (knowing full well that I wasn't giving up). Okay, that's my two cents.

Jooley Ann

Donna: Y'know, that's kind of how quickening has been for me. My mom keeps asking "doesn't it feel wonderful?" and I keep saying "no, it just feels really really weird."

Tim: Indeed! Which is why it is SO nice to live in a city where we've got an amazing resource pool and a general public vibe of support. IMO that's all related to Austin's highly educated populace, but I might be a tad biased.

Best: Sounds like a nightmare, but congrats for pushing through...without ever coming to blows with anyone. :)

I did my best

My son never got a proper latch, *hated* being at the breast, it was traumatic to both of us. So I pumped *all* his meals for 4 months. Every single one, round the clock. Pump-session, feeding him breast-milk with a bottle, cleaning the pump-parts/bottles afterward. Hardly slept at all. At 4 months my supply dwindled b/c he needed more and I had returned to work P/T at 2 months. We switched to Nature's One Organic and never looked back. After those 4 months of pumping if one mama or LLL-nazi had any problem with what I was did I would have socked them in the face.

Tim

Breast Feeding is hard. Very hard. I had no clue how much I would be involved as a husband for the first two weeks or so.

But at the same time, the more studies that come out the more it appears that using formula increases hospital visits, infant mortality, allegies, asthma, SIDS risk, possibly contributes to obesity later in life and lowers IQ. The US has pretty poor infant mortality rates cutting across all income levels. You could grow up just fine, but when you consider that parents seem to constantly fretting about freak statistcally improbably accidents ("omg my stroller could kill my baby!"), the nations love of formula seems a bit odd.

I would expect that within 50 years we will see lawsuits similar to tabbaco lawsuits. Remember, the formula fed baby generation is just now reaching middle age. It will be interesting to see how this impacts their cancer risk and longevity. I would also not describe the state of formula kids as "fine". Have you looked at the increases in every sort of childhood disease and cancer? We like to eat our organic foods and blame industry and pesticides, but industry has gotten cleaner since we were kids and our children's health has gotten worse.

Donna

Some people just don't *like* breastfeeding. As in the feeling of it is so awful that they can not do it. i remember when i had my son, it was the *worst* feeling ever, i couldn't stand it, so i switched to formula. So be it. At 10, he's not obese (far from it, actually) or has any adverse side effects. He doesn't even have allergies.

To be honest, an entire generation or two was raised on formula, and well, we seem to be doing just fine.