Formula and c-sections

This is pure and simple rant.  First about formula companies..

Did you know the Enfamil (one of the evil formula companies that try and sabotage breastfeeding mothers) has now put out a formula for your toddler so that he or she can become hooked on chocolate?  Oh yes, it’s true…

http://enfamil.com/app/iwp/enfamil/productDetail.do?dm=enf&id=/Consumer_Home2/Enf_Products/ForToddlers/EnfagrowChocolate&cm_mmc=paid%20search-_-EnfagrowChocolate-_-Google-_-Expert2054

Now, I’m not a mom who says that all sweets are bad.  First off though, children under 2 years aren’t supposed to have chocolate.  Secondly, I don’t think it’s wise to offer such a sweet treat to a child so young.  As a parent, we should be teaching our little ones what a healthy diet is.  I admit, my diet currently isn’t the best, but I will do my best to make sure Tristan learns how to eat well and stay fit.  I don’t want him following the path Chris and I have.  We are both over weight, and have a bad sweet tooth.  I would rather encourage parents to find creative ways to make healthy eating fun for kids.  Make it silly if you have to.  But don’t encourage your child to be hooked so early! I will also admit that I think a child who hasn’t weaned themselves, should continue to receive breastmilk for the first two years of life…and I’m not alone in that.

http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/feb05breastfeeding.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/faq/

Although I know so doctors guilt mothers into not breastfeeding… I think that almost all women are at least somewhat capable of feeding their babies.  It’s natural… and if it didn’t work… how the HELL did we become so prosperous before formula existed?

I have heard many moms say – well my baby was formula fed and they turn out all right.  Well perhaps so, but imagine how much better things could have been if he or she was breastfed.  Science has proven many, many benefits to breastfeed, not just for baby, but for moms as well.

It is the best thing for brain development in babies first of all, it has immune factors that help children be sick less often and with less severity, children develop less ear infections then children formula fed. From the AAP: “Studies on infants provide evidence that breastfeeding can decrease the incidence or severity of conditions such as diarrhea, ear infections and bacterial meningitis. Some studies also suggest that breastfeeding may offer protection against sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), diabetes, obesity and asthma among others.”

Who doesn’t want the healthiest baby possible?

And let’s not leave out moms here.  Moms can expect have stronger bones, and reduced risks of several types of cancer…. not to mention help loosing the baby weight – at least for some.  I donno about you, but that sounds like a pretty sweet deal.

I won’t lie though, establishing breastfeeding was hard.  And yes, there were some nights that I was exhausted, nipples cracked and bleeding… and that bottle of formula seemed like the easiest thing to do.  But you know what?  Once we got that latch right (and I have to say that I think all women should see a lactation consultant after birth), things were far better, and now I barely can think about how hard it was to start.  It seems like second nature.  It’s well worth the effort for baby, mom, and the bank account.

Now, before I get any nasty comments.  I do understand that there are rare cases of women unable to physically breastfeed.  It does happen, but it is rare.  More often, women are told they cannot.. and this is a terrible travesty.  Women are led to believe everyday that they cannot give birth on their own, without the help of a doctor to deliver them, and then they are told their bodies will not work to feed their children. Apparently we, womenkind, have malfunctioning bodies always.  Let me assure you though, that is false.  We do work.

This brings me to my next rant.  C-sections.

I cannot stand watching most of those “Baby story” shows because well over half of them end up with a doctor performing a c-section and “saving the day”.  You know what… only maybe 5% of women need c-sections.  We have a whole lot of failures in the medical community that deals with our babies though.  We have doctors that want to be home for dinner – a nice thought, but not at the expense of a woman’s body, we also have doctors that are so afraid a natural birth will go wrong and they’ll be sued.  Never mind the fact that surgery is higher risk.  We also seem to have this concept that doctors deliver babies… not women.  We have hospitals that won’t allow VBAC, and have hospitals that stupid rules in place to keep women from truly being heard and listened to.  It certainly doesn’t help that doctors are not taught what a normal, natural birth looks like.  They see problems where there are none.  I am not saying they are evil, they often mean well.  However, birth happens naturally.  It’s not always an event that WILL go bad.  I just hate that women are led to believe that they are or will be dysfunctional.  It’s a self-for-filling prophesy.  When you believe you can’t do it… you probably can’t.  But thank god for C-section right?   Maybe I’m just lucky, and I am made to give birth… but in truth… I think most women are too.  It just irks me to see it propagated through the media that so many women need C-sections.  And it always it the doctor coming to the rescue.  *sigh* Are women all so weak?  Surely I’m not a rare breed of capable woman.  Surely not.