Breast is Best: Why Breastfeeding is an Integral Part of Childcare and Development

From the first moment we discussed having children a few years ago, my husband and I have been in a breastfeeding battle. When the time came for us to be parents, I really wanted to breastfeed our children and my husband was strongly opposed to the idea. Prior to this course, my only argument was that breastfeeding created a closer bond between mother and child and my husband’s argument was that he did not want my breasts to become saggy. After reading Katherine Dettwyler’s Dancing Skeletons: Live and Death in West Africa, I learned there are many more benefits of breastfeeding than I realized and I felt I had received the fuel needed to give myself the upper-hand in our ongoing battle. Because breastfeeding is extremely healthy for the child, I wanted to know more about the benefits and/or consequences of the decision and also what influences the decision to breastfeed. How do race, religion, employment, education, self-confidence, and/or a woman’s social influences affect the decision to breastfeed?

When making the decision to breastfeed, the World Breastfeeding Week Celebration of 2000’s slogan states simply “Breast is Best” (Forste et al, 2). In addition to the bond between mother and child created during the feeding process, there are a number of benefits of breast milk as opposed to formulas. Breast milk changes its consistency to provide for a growing infant’s needs. During the first 2-3 days after delivery, the breasts produce colustrum, rich in protein, which enables the newborn to properly develop its digestive system (Chescheir et al, 216). It has also been found that some newborns’ digestive systems cannot handle the proteins in cow’s milk unless it has already been processed because they lack the enzyme necessary to digest the protein (lactase deficiency) (Gallagher, 1).

For the next 3-6 days, the breasts produce transitional milk–mature breast milk plus extra protein (Fackler, 1). The remainder of the milk produced is mature breast milk, which contains the right proportions of nutritional needs: “50% fat calories, 45% carbohydrate calories and 5% protein calories. Most of the carbohydrate is milk sugar (lactose), which helps babies absorb calcium,” an essential ingredient in proper bone growth (Fackler, 1). In addition, the mother’s milk is particularly helpful for the “rapid growth of the brain during the first few years of life” (Dettwyler, 79). These nutritional benefits of breast milk are not the only benefits of breastfeeding for children.

Dettwyler’s studies in West Africa, where malnutrition is common even amongst adults, revealed that children, “still fully breastfed, are usually fat and healthy and happy” because “malnutrition and disease have not yet taken their toll” (Dettwyler, 79). What is it in breast milk that keeps a child protected from he same ailments and diseases which take the lives of so many children in these areas? Breast milk is more than just food for a child–it also provides antibodies to help “fight off sickness” and has even been proven to lower the risk of asthma, allergies, colic, and even SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) (Chescheir et al, 216) and a “whole host of bacterial and viral infections” (Dettwyler, 79). How is it that a woman’s body is able to produce such an efficient food/medical supplement for her child’s needs? The answer is simple–evolution.

Our bodies have developed into what they are today through millions of years of evolution. Our primate ancestors provided milk for their young just as we do today. Through the years of our becoming homo sapiens, our bodies developed further still; however, the need for a mother’s milk has not changed. According to Dettwyler, the “composition of human milk is the result of millions of years of evolution and it provides all the necessary nutrients, in just the right mixture to support growth” and our children “have evolved to expect breastfeeding for the first several years of their lives” (Detttwyler, 79). Should a woman choose to ignore this evolutional development regarding breastfeeding, what are the consequences for her children?

According to the article, “Stone Agers in the Fast Lane: Chronic Degenerative Diseases in Evolutionary Perspective,” the actions of modern people create a “discordance between our genes and contemporary patterns of diet” (Eaton et al, 21). Basically our genes have not had a chance to evolve since our species became civilized around 10,000 years ago. Our species has greatly evolved in our lifestyle patterns over the last couple centuries, let alone millennia. The result of this cultural change, with diet the main concern for breastfeeding, without the necessary biological (genetic) change has resulted in what the article describes as “diseases of civilization” which include diabetes mellitus, obesity, hypertension, and many cancers (Eaton et al, 21). Although the article does not directly address the issue of breastfeeding, it is still an essential part of the dieting pattern of a human being, particularly for the child, but also for the mother, because the child is not the only one benefiting from the breastfeeding experience.

Whether many women realize it or not, there are benefits for the mother in providing her child with the best nutrition available. As far as physiological needs are concerned, breastfeeding provides the mother with a number of benefits. First, breastfeeding releases oxytocin, a hormone which causes the uterus to contract, which, in turn, allows the uterus to become its original size faster and lowers the amount of bleeding after birth. Second, breastfeeding reduces a mother’s risk of osteoporosis and certain types of breast and ovarian cancers. Thirdly, breastfeeding helps a mother’s body to burn calories which will help her lose the weight gained during pregnancy more quickly than bottle feeding. Finally breastfeeding is more convenient and cost effective than bottle feeding (Chescheir et al, 216). A mother does not have to buy, prepare, or heat up bottles to feed her child, she can simply provide her child with a more nutritional food evolutionally designed to fit her child’s needs. Although the benefits of breastfeeding are exceptional, in order to make an accurate decision on whether or not to breastfeed, a mother must know the possible consequences of the decision.

Thy physical consequences of breastfeeding on a mother are few and treatable if they do occur. When breasts first fill with milk, they can become engorged, which can be painful, but should dissipate to a normal size for the remainder of the breastfeeding duration in approximately a week. Sore nipples, often the result of improper breastfeeding techniques (the reason my 15 year old mother only breastfed me for two days) can be corrected with proper education and aided through the use of creams. A blocked milk duct can occur, but can be corrected on its own, through massaging techniques, and if those fail, a trip to the doctor may be in order. Perhaps the worst of the possible consequences is mastitis, an infection of the breast which can result in swollen, painful, red-streaked, or higher-temped breast which should be treated immediately (Chesheir et al, 238). Despite these possible consequences, the benefits of breastfeeding far outweigh the consequences. Given this information, why would a woman choose not to give her child, and herself, the benefits of breastfeeding?

A study done through Brigham Young University in 2001 surveyed a number of women in the U.S. about their breastfeeding practices. When the research was over and the results tabulated, several factors emerged as strong influences on the decision to breastfeed. Of the women who chose to breastfeed, 57% had been breastfed as children; however, when racial lines are introduced, the gap is much more noticeable. 65% of white women had chosen to breastfeed after having previously breastfed while only 30 % of the black women interviewed had the same experience, although there is a rather large difference in the more than 800 white women versus the just over 250 black women surveyed. Although race does seem to have an influence when considering whether or not the women had been breastfed, another racial influence is a woman’s race in general (Forste et al, Table 1). Black women were less likely than any other race to breastfeed their children (Forste et al, 1), while Hispanic women were the most likely to breastfeed their children (Forste et al, 2). Another factor influencing the decision to breastfeed seemed to be religion.

There were a higher percentage of Protestant women (54%) who chose to breastfeed over Catholic women (33%). What is more intriguing is the fact that of the Protestants interviewed, race is an even bigger division than race on its own because 79% of black Protestants chose to breastfeed versus only 46% of white Protestants (Forste et al, Table 1). Another factor which race seemed to influence was whether or not the mother was employed. 90% of the white women interviewed who chose to breastfeed were employed while only 77% of the black women were employed (Forste et al, Table 1). While I am unsure as to how being married factors into the employment issue, 78% of the white women surveyed were married while 57% of black women were single moms (Forste et al, Table 1). This leads to the image that more white women had supportive husbands than black women. This could account for the fact that more white women chose to breastfeed than black women, because according to Chescheir, “support of your partner is key to breastfeeding success (Chesheir et al, 217). Another influence where race seems to be a factor is education.

For the white women who chose to breastfed their child, the higher the level of education attained, the higher the percentage of women who chose to breastfeed; whereas, for the black women surveyed, the percentage only goes higher up to graduation from high school while the college educated black women dropped to below the percentage of women who did not graduate from high school (Forste et al, Tale 1). Although education does seem to be a factor, income levels could be closer to the problem with mothers opting out of breastfeeding.

For the women surveyed, who opted to answer the question on total income, race seems to have its effect on income. Of the white women surveyed, the highest percentage (35%) of mothers who chose to breastfeed had a total income that fell between $30,000 and $59,999 with those making under $16,000 following closely at just a 2% difference; however, for the black women, those whose incomes fell under $16,000 had the highest percentage (52%) of mothers who chose to breastfeed (Forste et al, Table 1). Perhaps, unsurprisingly those with an income greater than $60,000 had the lowest percentage (Forste et al, Table 1), probably due to the fact that a majority of women do not make it to that level of income. Although this study does seem to have revealed important data on what influences mothers to decide to breastfeed, the reasons behind the influences effects are not addressed.

Why does race seem to be an issue? Is it simply that black women in the United States do no like to breastfeed as much, or is it something a little more complicated and much more difficult for collecting data. For example, since the married women had a higher percentage of breastfeeding white mothers while the majority of black women were single, were the married women happily married with supportive husbands and were the single women involved in a supportive relation with the baby’s father or father figure? If not, then did the mothers have support from friends, family, community, and/or support groups?

A large influence in American culture is society and this study simply doe not address the issue. For example, why is it that black women in the lowest income make up the majority of breastfeeding mothers when the article had stated that black women were less likely to breastfeed their child? Were the authors going simply by the number of women per category, because there were more than 500 less black women interviewed than white women and it is the less educated who are the least likely to breastfeed while the majority of black women breastfeeding were at an income level suggestive of little education or is their entire interpretation of data simply based on the women as numbers rather than as people with multiple influences (Forste et al, Table 1). For example, since the married women had a higher percentage of breastfeeding white mothers while the majority of black women were single, were the married women happily married with supportive husbands and were the single women involved in a supportive relationship with the baby’s father or father figure? If not, then did the mothers have support from friends, family, community and/or support groups? According to Chesheir, the “support of your partner is key to your breastfeeding success. …If your loved ones don’t offer this support, find it elsewhere” (Chesheir et al, 217).

Another question not addressed is the woman’s self-confidence. With all the images bombarding today’s society of tiny actresses and models applauded for losing six sizes in six months, many women get discouraged about their bodies because they cannot obtain the “ideal” bony-hipped “diva” image, especially younger women. For those women, whose goal is to put themselves in this impossible boxed-up image, sometimes the desire to keep the figure thy have will have a detrimental effect on the decision to breastfeed, because women with a positive self-image, and, therefore, self-confidence, are more likely to choose to breastfeed their children (Forste et al, 2). Many of these women, like my husband, feel that breastfeeding will lead to saggy breasts, something our society has a tendency to look down upon; however, breastfeeding alone does not cause the sagging, it is mainly age, but a GOOD support bra will help (Chesheir et al, 220).

What I am hoping is that society’s negative opinion on breastfeeding is due to ignorance. If our society were better educated, my husband included, on the importance of breastfeeding a child, then women would be more likely to breastfeed. Perhaps what this country needs is to pay a little more attention to the biological, cultural, and evolution-theory based anthropologists and implement a program, not unlike Dettwyler’s attempts at nutritional education in West Africa, to properly educate men and women, young and old, and of all different backgrounds about the importance of breastfeeding.

Works Cited

Chescheir, Nancy et al. “The Benefits of Breastfeeding.” Planning Your Pregnancy and Birth Third Edition. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. 2000. P215-240.

Dettwyler, Katherine. Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa. Waveland Press. Long Grove, IL. 1994.

Eaton, S., M. Konner and M. Shostak. “Stone Agers in the Fast Lane: Chronic Degenerative Diseases in Evolutionary Perspective.”

Fackler, Amy. Breast Feeding. Healthwise Incorporated. Boise, Idaho. Copyright 2005.

Accessed September 22, 2005. Yahoo: Breast Feeding

Forste, Renata, E. Lippincott and J. Weiss. “The Decision to Breastfeed in the United States: Does Race Matter?” Pediatrics. 2001; 108 :291 –296.

Gallagher, Kathe. Weaning the Breast-fed Baby. Healthwise Incorporated. Boise, Idaho.

Copyright 2005. Accessed September 22, 2005.

Yahoo: Weaning the Breast-Fed Baby