For breastfeeding working moms, co-workers support is key
The support of co-workers is crucial for new mothers who want to continue breast-feeding after returning to work, a new study finds. Study author Joanne Goldbort, an assistant professor at Michigan State University College of Nursing, said co-worker support is critical for several reasons. In the workplace, a breast-feeding woman has to work collegially with co-workers, gain their support to assist with the times shes away from her desk, and ultimately try to lessen the you get a break and I dont stigma, Goldbort said in a university news release.
If women know that co-workers and supervisors will support them in their breast-feeding efforts, it can make a big difference, Goldbort added. It really takes a village to breast-feed a baby. The study included more than 330 new mothers who continued breast-feeding after going back to their jobs. Of those, more than half stopped breast-feeding within six months.
The study didnt examine why they stopped breast-feeding, but did ask the women about co-worker support. Overall, it appeared that simply returning to work was a major factor in a womans decision to stop breast-feeding, but co-worker support was important for those who continued to nurse their babies.
The study also found that more than one-quarter of mothers who tried to continue breast-feeding after returning to work did so because their workplace offered a supportive environment, such as providing a place to pump breast milk.
About 15 percent said they kept breast-feeding because they had co-workers or supervisors who encouraged them to do so, according to the report.
The findings suggest that co-worker support is equal to or even more important than support from family and close friends.
Reduced ear infections? Check. Lower risk for asthma? Yup. Bump in IQ? Sure. Breastfeeding your baby brings all these benefitsplus a whole lot more.
The incidences of pneumonia, colds and viruses are reduced among breastfed babies, says infant-nutrition expert Ruth A. Lawrence, MD, a professor of pediatrics and OB-GYN at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in Rochester, NY, and the author of Breastfeeding: A Guide for the Medical Profession (Elsevier-Mosby). Gastrointestinal infections like diarrheawhich can be devastating, especially in developing countriesare also less common.
Breastfeed your baby and you reduce his risk of developing chronic conditions, such as type I diabetes, celiac disease and Crohns disease.
According to Lawrence, women who breastfeed have a lower risk of postmenopausal osteoporosis. When a woman is pregnant and lactating, her body absorbs calcium much more efficiently, she explains. So while some bones, particularly those in the spine and hips, may be a bit less dense at weaning, six months later, they are more dense than before pregnancy.
Breastfeeding lowers your babys risk of sudden infant death syndrome by about half. Its more likely that neither of you will become obese if you breastfeed him. You may have heard that nursing burns up to 500 calories a day. And thats almost right. Breast milk contains 20 calories per ounce, Lawrence explains. If you feed your baby 20 ounces a day, thats 400 calories youve swept out of your body.
Dairy cows, which are raised in part to make infant formula, are a significant contributor to global warming: Their belching, manure and flatulence (really!) spew enormous amounts of methane, a harmful greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. The oxytocin released when your baby nurses helps your uterus contract, reducing postdelivery blood loss. Plus, breastfeeding will help your uterus return to its normal size more quicklyat about six weeks postpartum, compared with 10 weeks if you dont breastfeed.
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