The Contented Vegan by Peggy Brusseau

Author:Peggy Brusseau [Brusseau, Peggy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781838934705
Publisher: Head of Zeus

THE FIRST MEAL

Imagine there was one thing you could do that would begin to protect your infant from illness and allergy within hours of their birth, and then for the whole of their life. This same act would help to prevent obesity, dental cavities, viral and bacterial infections, gastric disorders and possibly type 2 diabetes. It would help your child to develop speech because of its effect on jaw, teeth and facial development, and would gift them with emotional and physical security. Imagine this act would also reduce your risks of suffering cancers of the breast, ovaries, uterus or cervix. That it helped you to lose your pregnancy weight and transformed stress to create a calm connection with your baby and a loving atmosphere in the home. Well, it’s not a dream. It’s called breastfeeding and it is credited with all of those benefits, and more besides.

The World Health Organization gives clear guidance, advising that: ‘Infants should be breastfed exclusively during the first six months of life [and] ... continuously until 2 years of age and beyond.’ It also states that breastfeeding ‘fosters healthy growth and improves cognitive development’. Government and health organizations from member countries echo this guidance, confirming that breast milk is sufficient and the ‘ideal source of nutrition for the infant’. One study suggests that a ‘scaling up of breastfeeding to a near universal level could prevent 823,000 annual deaths in children younger than 5 years and 20,000 annual deaths from breast cancer’.

From the middle term of your pregnancy and in the hours and days following birth, your body produces colostrum, a highly concentrated sort of milk that is rich in nutrients and immunity-enhancing substances. When you put your baby to the breast a short time after birth, this first meal will fill their stomach and instantly begin to protect them against germs that populate your immediate environment. The baby’s suckling will signal to your body that other natural processes should begin, including the continued production of milk. Over the next few days, the colostrum is gradually replaced by a thinner milk, and as the weeks pass this milk changes slightly in composition, depending on what the baby needs. It will continue to provide all the nutrition your baby needs for the first six months of life.

In addition to its health benefits, breastfeeding is often the easiest option. Breast milk is available at the right temperature, anywhere and at any time. There is no fuss with mixing and warming formula, sterilizing bottles or packing supplies. Plus, it’s free. It also helps mothers to deepen their bond and to learn to read their baby’s signals and expressions months before they are able to speak.

If you decide to breastfeed, a few practical adjustments are necessary.

* You will have to be available to your infant 24/7 for the first few months.

* That doesn’t mean that you can’t have breaks – they will just need to be carefully arranged.

* It doesn’t mean that you won’t sleep, but sometimes you will fall asleep with your baby sleeping beside you.

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