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Spreading the truth about breast-feeding

A lactation consultant says it's important for moms to do it at least for babies' first year.

By CHANDRA BROADWATER
Published August 4, 2006

BROOKSVILLE - When she left the hospital after giving birth to her first child in 1977, Mary Becker was handed a bottle.

Then the nurse told Becker, who now works for the Hernando County Health Department as a certified lactation consultant, that the new mom should get her breast milk tested before feeding it to her baby because it could cause brain damage.

With that experience in mind, Becker now makes it a daily goal to pass along the right information to her clients at the Health Department. During consultations, she constantly tells mothers, or those about to become mothers, of the importance of feeding their children breast milk, especially for the first year of life. She helps families come up with plans to make sure that happens.

And with August as World Breastfeeding Month and this week's recognition of World Breastfeeding Week, Becker and others at the Health Department want to remind residents that breast-feeding is an essential part of an infant's good health for life.

"People don't see it as a health issue," Becker said. "It's seen as something that some mothers do. But it is a health issue and a way to prevent disease."

The county campaign to promote breast-feeding is part of a global movement in which more than 120 countries are involved. This year's theme targets the marketing of infant foods and the protection needed for breast-feeding.

In Hernando County, health officials want to focus on getting families to breast-feed their infants for at least one year, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. They also want to create a network for mothers in need of more information about breast-feeding, with the ultimate goal of getting more people - mothers, fathers, physicians and others - to understand, accept and promote the benefits.

"Research has shown that it plays a role in preventing diabetes, heart disease, obesity, eczema, lymphomas, SIDS sudden infant death syndrome and a whole lot of other things," Becker said. "We are acutely aware that it's a health issue. But as a nation and here in Florida, we have yet to recognize that."

According to Women, Infants and Children program data, 18.9 percent of WIC infants in Hernando are currently breast-fed, compared to 24.9 percent in the state. Statistics also show that about 58 percent of mothers in the county have breast-fed at least once before leaving the hospital, while an average 68 percent of women statewide have done so.

In some states, like Idaho, where Becker previously worked in a similar capacity, close to 90 percent of women leave hospitals having breast-fed. She also pointed out that in Hernando County there is only one private business that leases breast pumps and other equipment to nursing mothers. And that business opened just within the past year.

The county Health Department provides free breast-feeding classes, support groups, peer counselors, lactation support and an infant feeding phone line. But according to county senior public health nutritionist and breast-feeding coordinator Cindy Sims, the services are underused.

"We are really looking to build the program here," Sims said. "I've taught (breast-feeding) classes here in Hernando for 18 years, and the interest seems to go in waves. It always depends on what everyone else is doing at the time. When movie stars like Brooke Shields are breast-feeding, we see more people come in here."

Sims and Becker want to make sure families understand that breast-feeding exists for a reason and that it can be easier to do than many might think. State law also protects a woman's right to breast-feed in public.

She added that many parents, including those in the county's large retiree population, tend to pass on incorrect information to their children. What they did 50 years ago isn't necessarily what is done now.

"A lot of women don't realize that it can help them lose weight they've gained during pregnancy," Sims said. "Breast milk is already sterile, is the right temperature and travels well. There are so many benefits."

But those benefits come with a little work. And many mothers get frustrated when they can't breast-feed right away. Becker said she's always quick to remind them that it is a learning process for both the mother and the baby.

"With my second child, I even admit to having cracked, bleeding nipples by Day 3," she said. "It's all about a little fine-tuning. Sometimes it just takes tucking little knees up for everything to fit into place, or about moving a little nose over a bit. Here, we want to empower mothers to be mothers."

Chandra Broadwater can be reached at cbroadwater@sptimes.com or (352) 848-1432.

[Last modified August 3, 2006, 23:14:39]