A Healthy Start: My Breastfeeding Journey
By: Samantha Edelmann, Save the Children
Left: Scarlett, age 2, at The Big Latch On in Brookfield CT. Photo by Sarah Settanni for Save the Children Right: Miamouna Bagayoko, age 4, in Satiguila, Mali. Photo by Joshua Roberts for Save the Children
From the moment I found out I was expecting my entire world started to change. Like most mothers, my mind began flooding with exciting and nerve-racking questions. As I started focusing on the important and often difficult decisions, one effortless decision was breastfeeding. In my work at Save the Children and my upbringing around women who all breastfed their children, this was a no-brainer.
Two months before my son was born I purchased the Le Leche League (LLL) book “The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding”. I sought out my local LLL meeting group and began my journey as a nursing mom. After my son was born, I was often asked the same set of questions: “What’s his name?”, “How much does he sleep?”, and “Are you nursing?” Every time I was proud to announce that my little guy was healthy and benefiting from all the wonderful things breastfeeding has to offer. That, of course, is not to suggest that it wasn’t a rocky and challenging adventure. With the support of my local LLL leaders and Lactation Consultants I was able to overcome latching obstacles, supply challenges and provide the most beneficial source of nutrition and the healthiest start for my child.
Six months later my son and I are going strong and I see no end in sight. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby's life, followed by breastfeeding in combination with the introduction of foods until at least 12 months of age. The World Health Organization recommends an additional year of breastfeeding.
In this year’s State of the World’s Mothers report, Save the Children highlighted six low-cost nutrition interventions with the greatest potential to save lives and breastfeeding was among them. Not only does human milk provide all the nutrients newborns need for healthy development, it also prevents babies from ingesting contaminated water that could be mixed with infant formula. Breastfed children are at least six times more likely to survive in the early months than non-breastfed children.
To celebrate World Breastfeeding Week the LLL, moms and nursing babies around the world joined together at The Big Latch On, an event that aims to provide breastfeeding support and promotion. This past Saturday August 4th over 8,000 nursing moms gathered in over 600 locations in 23 countries to raise awareness on breastfeeding support and knowledge available in communities, help communities positively support breastfeeding in public places, and make breastfeeding a normal part of the day-to-day life at a local community level.
As this celebratory week comes to an end I am left reflecting on my journey as a nursing mom and realizing how lucky I am to be in a place where resources like the LLL are so readily available. However, I am left struggling with the concept that there are mothers and newborns in parts of the world where support is not an option and hope my son will live to experience a world where health workers reach more moms and children.
Written by:Samantha Edelmann, Save the Children. Save the Children is a member of the Frontline Health Workers Coalition, a dynamic and influential coalition of 25+ NGOs working together to urge greater and more strategic U.S. investment in frontline health workers in the developing world as the most cost-effective way to save lives and foster a healthier, safer and more prosperous world.