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Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Yes, I am VERY Pro-Breastfeeding


Hello All! I found this article recently in a magazine and wanted to share it with you all. I am so impressed by the breastfeeding women of Marquette, MI. Read the article about them and little baby Moses. I know some of you will be uncomfortable with this, but I am so glad to see these women band together for a child's life and his deceased mother's wishes.

Hope is eighteen months as I write this and she is still nursing regularly. She was exclusively breastfed for 6 months of life, meaning she did not eat any other solid food. Here is what the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends.


Exclusive breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is an unequalled way of providing ideal food for the healthy growth and development of infants; it is also an integral part of the reproductive process with important implications for the health of mothers. A recent review of evidence has shown that, on a population basis, exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months is the optimal way of feeding infants. Thereafter infants should receive complementary foods with continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of age or beyond.


To enable mothers to establish and sustain exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, WHO and UNICEF recommend:
Initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour of life
Exclusive breastfeeding – that is the infant only receives breast milk without any additional food or drink, not even water
Breastfeeding on demand – that is as often as the child wants, day and night
No use of bottles, teats or pacifiers
*Taken from the WHO website at www.who.int

I am not one to be hard on other women who have chosen to feed their children another way. You will get no "Mommy Guilt" from me. In turn we should not be judgemental of this father providing for his infant son in the way he thinks is best. I applaud these women and their sacrifice for this little guy!!