To Nurse or Not to Nurse?

The more medical researchers learn about the benefits of mother's milk, the more wondrous a substance it seems. It helps protect the baby from such assorted ills as colic, diaper rash, gastrointestinal disorders, allergies and the common cold. Breast feeding, say some doctors, even wards off emotional disturbances later in life. And there are valuable side effects for the mother too.

Her baby's sucking action stimulates the release of the hormone, oxytocin, from her pituitary gland, which causes the womb to contract and hastens recovery from childbirth. Even more important, women who have nursed are less likely to develop breast cancer. Yet for all these advantages, only two out of every five U.S. mothers give their babies the opportunity to breast feed.

Happy Ignorance. The blame, says Dr. Elmer Grossman of the University of California department of pediatrics, can be placed squarely on the nation's physicians. In the current issue of GP, the publication of the American Academy of General Practitioners, Pediatrician Grossman complains that too many doctors are "happy to ignore the subject" and let the mother indulge her prejudices against breast feeding.

"But I will lose my figure," is the most common argument, and it is simply not true. If a woman is flat-chested before pregnancy, chances are that nursing will make her breasts grow fuller. If she is well endowed, breast feeding does not make her flabby.

Medical evidence of the benefits of mother's milk has been steadily piling up, says Dr. Benjamin Kagan of Los Angeles' Cedars of Lebanon Hospital, and "there's a definite resurgence of interest in breast feeding. .Now more than 50% of pregnant patients ask about it." But even though they ask, most mothers have doubts. Some fear that they are incapable of providing sufficient nourishment for their infants, although 90% of all women are physically capable of breast feeding their babies.

Secret of Success. The absence of milk during the first few days after childbirth may be due to nothing more than fear, worry, tension. "The arrival of a mother-in-law can dry up milk within hours. Physical strain, especially lack of sleep, is equally harmful," says Dr. Grossman in GP. Yet "the greatest enemies of naps are the mother's guilty awareness of unwashed floors and dirty dishes and her friends who want to see the new baby." The secret of successful nursing is simply to nurse the baby often; the process stimulates the breasts to produce more milk. A proper diet, high in fat and protein, with a stein of beer or ale twice a day, will increase the mother's milk supply almost without fail. Such simple facts, essential to successful breast feeding, should be explained to the expectant mother by her physician, says Dr. Grossman.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.