Congratulations on choosing to breastfeed your baby!
Breastfeeding provides numerous benefits to mothers, infants, the environment and the communities of Missouri. You are doing a great job!
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services promotes, supports and protects breastfeeding as the perfect food for your baby, having all the essential nutrients and sufficient calories to meet your infant’s needs. Accordingly, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months after birth, and the continuation of breastfeeding through the first two years of life and beyond.
Resources for breastfeeding mothers
The world is full of advice for breastfeeding mothers and it can be hard to know what advice to trust. A few great resources are listed below to help you with your journey. You’ll find links to local lactation providers, as well as Missouri hospitals, businesses and child care providers that support breastfeeding. You’ll also find reliable information about how to breastfeed, why it’s good for moms and babies, what your legal rights are and what to do if you need help. Always talk to a lactation specialist if you are having trouble, as they are trained to help you and your baby get the most out of this time!
- Find a lactation specialist near you with the Missouri Breastfeeding Coalition resources map or ZipMilk.
- Explore the stages of breastfeeding and a variety of breastfeeding topics on the USDA Breastfeeding Support website.
- Search the US Breastfeeding Committee resource page designed for expecting and new parents seeking information about breastfeeding and human milk, returning to work, access to lactation supplies and how medical issues affect breastfeeding.
- Try the Ready, Set, Baby free online breastfeeding class for parents.
- If you are a participant of the Missouri WIC program, explore all the extra breastfeeding resources for you on the Breastfeeding and WIC page.
- Locate a Missouri Show-Me 5 hospital. These hospitals:
- Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within the first hour of birth.
- Practice “rooming in”, allowing infants to stay in the same room as their mothers.
- Give infants no food or drink other than breast milk, unless medically indicated.
- Do not give pacifiers or artificial nipples to breastfeeding infants.
- Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to them on discharge.
- Locate a Breastfeeding Friendly Worksite in Missouri. These businesses were recognized for providing good support for their breastfeeding employees.
- Locate a breastfeeding friendly child care facility.
- Discover if you are eligible for WIC and additional breastfeeding resources provided by WIC.
- Feel comfortable breastfeeding in your community! See the list of Missouri businesses that have taken the Breastfeeding Welcome Here pledge.
Benefits of breastfeeding
Good for mothers
- Saves money in formula and health care costs.
- Saves time with no bottles to prepare.
- Burns calories, which helps mothers return to pre-pregnancy weight faster.
- Releases hormones that promote relaxation and bonding.
- Makes traveling easier.
- Reduces diaper odor.
- Reduces the mother’s risk for cancer, diabetes and osteoporosis.
- Helps the mother’s uterus return to its pre-pregnancy state.
- Helps prevent excessive bleeding following birth.
- Provides a special gift to baby that only their mother can provide.
Good for babies
- Made by nature to meet babies’ nutritional needs.
- Lowers incidence of infections, diarrhea and hospitalizations.
- Reduces risk of allergic reactions and asthma.
- Reduces risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
- Reduces risk of childhood cancers.
- Provides baby with the most easily digested food and reduces constipation.
- Promotes healthy growth and development.
- Reduces risk of obesity and diabetes.
- Promotes oral development.
- Transmits mother’s immunities to baby.
These are just a few of the most important benefits of breastfeeding. Read more about the benefits of human milk and breastfeeding on the Office of Women’s Health: Why Breastfeeding is Important page.
Preparing to Breastfeed in Emergency Situations
Each year, Missourians are affected by disasters such as tornadoes, fires, floods and power outages. Missouri’s infants become increasingly more vulnerable to disease and death during these types of events. Breastfeeding plays a vital role in protecting infants during an emergency and can be life-saving. Breast milk is a safe and secure food for infants that is readily available. Risks emerge during emergencies with the use of formula due to the possibility of an unsafe water supply, lack of water and refrigeration and inability to sanitize bottles and nipples.
In an emergency situation, detailed preparation is key. The following items should be part of a breastfeeding mother’s emergency supply kit:
- Water. Enough for a mother to drink one gallon per day for three days.
- Food. Nonperishable food (e.g., peanut butter and protein bars). Be sure to include a manual can opener if needed.
- Manual breast pump.
- Bottle with disposable liners.
- Nursing bras and disposable bra pads.
- Disposable wipes.
- Extra changes of clothes for mother and baby.
- Diapers.
The basics of breastfeeding during an emergency are much the same as they are in more stable times. Continuing to breastfeed whenever the baby seems hungry maintains a mother’s milk supply and provides comfort. Measures that keep a mother safe, well-nourished and free from illness will help protect her baby and her milk supply.
Babies breastfeed for more than just food. If a baby has just nursed and wants more, that is fine and is to be encouraged. The release of hormones while a mother is breastfeeding relieves stress and anxiety and is calming to both mother and baby. Babies' lives are saved every day by mothers who breastfeed them in spite of natural disasters.
If a mother has not recently given birth, but it is up to six months postpartum, she can attempt to relactate (i.e., produce milk again, even if she never nursed her baby before) by putting the baby to the breast or expressing the breast every two hours. Initially, she may produce only a few drops per day. In general, the more milk that is removed from a mother's breasts one day, the more she will make the next day. Individual women have different experiences with the length of the process. With younger babies, the milk supply increases more quickly. However, there have been reports of older babies and toddlers who have also returned to nursing. The only way to find out how much milk you will make is to try it.