For a new mother, the choice to breastfeed is very personal. Some women have a very easy time with milk production, while others struggle with helping their babies to latch on or simply can't breastfeed for medical reasons. If nursing is a viable option for you, it can be a great way to speed up your weight-loss process after you have your child. For me, breastfeeding helped me to get my post-baby body back quickly.
Milk Production
When you have a baby, your body produces milk through glandular tissue. Milk begins at the milk cells in your breast, moves through milk ducts and collects into milk sinuses. When you begin breastfeeding, the milk comes out through 15 to 20 tiny openings in your nipples. Milk production operates through a supply--and-demand process. The more milk your baby needs and tries to get from your breasts, the more milk your body creates. Each woman creates a different amount of milk depending on her child's unique needs.
Burning Calories
Forty to 50 percent of the calories in breast milk come from a mother's fat stores or fat that she consumes. Producing breast milk can cause a woman to burn up to 600 calories per day if she doesn't supplement with formula. According to Gale Pryor, author of "Nursing Mother, Working Mother," mothers who breastfeed tend to lose more fat around their hips than non-breastfeeding mothers and are more likely to return to their pre-baby weight when their children are 3 months old.
Uterine Effects
When your baby drinks your milk from your breasts, it causes oxytocin to release into your body. Oxytocin causes your uterus to shrink back to roughly its pre-baby size. That's why a breastfeeding woman seems to get thinner faster than a non-breastfeeding woman. In addition to burning more calories throughout the day, the nursing woman's collective organ size is also smaller because her uterus has shrunk much quicker, causing her to have a smaller waist.
Other Benefits
According to William Sears, M.D., women who have breastfeed are statistically less likely to develop breast cancer. A correlation has been shown between breastfeeding and a reduced chance of developing other cancers, including uterine, cervical, ovarian and endometrial cancer. Diabetic women tend to become less insulin-dependent when they are nursing. In addition, some studies have shown that breastfeeding also reduces a woman's chance of getting urinary tract infections when they consume an appropriate amount of fluids.
Positioning
To get the best start possible with breastfeeding, La Leche International recommends that you begin by positioning your baby correctly at your breast. To do so, find a comfortable position with good back support. Bring the baby close to you with his hips flexed and his mouth and nose facing toward your nipple. Support the bottom portion of your breast with one hand as you guide your baby's mouth toward your nipple. Before he latches on, make sure that his mouth is open wide and covers the bottom part of your areola. His nose should be touching your breast, and you should not feel pain. If you feel pain, detach and try again.
References
- "Nursing Mother, Working Mother"; Gale Pryor; 1997
- "The Baby Book"; William Sears, M.D.; 2003
- La Leche International: How Do I Position My Baby to Breastfeed?
