NORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Breastfeeding is best for baby. Great for mom, too. A new report shows more moms are breastfeeding.
The report from the Centers for Disease Control found that more than three-quarters of new moms at least tried to breastfeed. And half of new moms were still breastfeeding at six months. That’s up significantly over a decade.
The CDC says that’s one factor in the rate of obesity in young children dropping a little. Kay Miller, a lactation nurse at North Kansas City Hospital, explains the link.
“It’s because when moms breastfeed their babies, the moms are basically following the babies’ cues. And the babies are eating when they’re hungry and they’re stopping when they’re full. Versus if we are feeding them formula via a bottle, we have a tendency to watch the numbers on the bottle and tend to basically quote unquote forcefeed the baby and give them a little bit too much than what their tiny bellies can handle,” says Miller.
Miller adds that the breastfeeding rates could be much better. However, she says she doesn’t try to make women feel bad if they decide to formula feed.
“That’s perfectly fine. That’s the best choice for them in their situation. But I do feel we need to be honest with moms. We don’t need to tell them it’s all going to be — go perfectly,” Miller says.
She encourages women to turn to support groups such as the LaLeche League and to seek help from board-certified lactation consultants.
In the new report, Missouri is at the national average for moms who start breastfeeding while Kansas is behind. Both Missouri and Kansas are far behind in the percentage of women who are still breastfeeding at six months.
