Labor of Love
Nursing is a profession and an act between mother and child. When I first learned to nurse my first-born, I was blessed to have a great nurse who taught me how to be patient with my newborn and taught me how to properly latch-on and not kill my virgin nipples. I loved this young nurse because she taught me how to nurse whilst laying down. God bless the woman who knows the importance of laying down while nursing a baby. [Anyone who has breastfed a baby knows there is this crazy thing that happens that I call Nursing Narcolepsy.]
When Jeanette Guy of Hunt Valley has her third baby next spring, the 38-year-old mother intends to do what she did with the first two - bring the child into bed for nursing, then back in a nearby bassinet. But Guy said that sometimes, it's hard for mother and baby to keep from falling asleep together in the bed
during breastfeeding - even if it's only for an hour or so. Bethany Beecher-Thomas of Roland Park, 28, said she never intended to sleep with her baby, "but my son would not sleep any other way."
Hormones, Prolactin and Oxytoxin, are responsible for the production and the release (let-down) of milk-supply.
Prolactin has many effects:
- The most important of which is to stimulate the mammary glands to produce milk (lactation). Increased serum concentrations of prolactin during pregnancy cause enlargement of the mammary glands of the breasts and increases the production of milk. However, the high levels of progesterone during pregnancy act directly on the breasts to stop ejection of milk. It is only when the levels of this hormone fall after childbirth that milk ejection is possible. Sometimes, newborn babies (males as well as females) secrete a milky substance from their nipples. This substance is commonly known as Witch's milk. This is caused by the fetus being affected by prolactin circulating in the mother just before birth, and usually stops soon after birth.
- Another effect, recently discovered by the University of Paisley and the ETH Zürich, is to provide the body with sexual gratification after sexual acts. The hormone represses the effect of dopamine, which is responsible for sexual arousal, thus causing the male's refractory period.[2] The amount of prolactin can be an indicator for the amount of sexual satisfaction and relaxation. Unusually high amounts are suspected to be responsible for impotence and loss of libido (see Hyperprolactinemia Symptoms).
- Prolactin has been found to stimulate proliferation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells. These cells differentiate into oligodendrocytes, the cells responsible for the formation of myelin coatings on axons in the central nervous system.[3]
- Other possible functions of prolactin include the surfactant synthesis of the fetal lungs at the end of the pregnancy and immune tolerance of the fetus by the maternal organism during pregnancy.
Oxytocin (Greek: "quick birth") is a mammalian hormone that also acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain. In women, it is released in large amounts after distension of the cervix and vagina during labor, and after stimulation of the nipples, facilitating birth and breastfeeding, respectively. Oxytocin is released during orgasm in both sexes. In the brain, oxytocin is involved in social recognition and bonding, and might be involved in the formation of trust between people. lso, oxytocin has been known to affect the brain by regulating circadian homeostasis, such as a person's body temperature, activity level, and wakefulness.
Now imagine if a man wasn't allow to sleep after HIS hormone-supplied "release"! Talk about your serious Let-Down! [Read Why Do Men Fall Asleep After Sex?]
Bookmark/Search this post with:
- Kerry's blog
- Add new comment
- 339 reads
Comments
Charts on midwifery and breastfeeding
This chart shows the number of midwives per 1000 population.
This chart shows the percentage of women breastfeeding their babies.
Both figures are taken from the World Health Organzation's database.
These figures show no correlation between the presence of midwives and the practice of breastfeeding.
Ireland for example has the highest number of midwives, yet the lowest number of women breastfeeding, while both Sweden and Finland, have relatively high numbers of midwives and relatively high numbers of women breastfeeding.
Portugal shows the reverse of Ireland, having a high rate of breastfeeding while having low numbers of midwives.
Inconsistent Message
What I see with these figures is an inconsistent message of care and importance in terms of maternal-newborn health and bonding.
http://transitiontoparenthood.com/ttp/parented/Benefits.htm
Now... why do you suppose "Industrialized Nations" would not encourage midwifery AND breastfeeding, YET encourage adoption?
What's the force behind the bottle, work?
Moms Too Quick to Reach for Baby Bottle
By MIKE STOBBE>
The Associated Press>
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/94-08022007-1387241.html
ATLANTA - Nearly three-quarters of new mothers in the United States are breast-feeding their babies, but they are quitting too soon and resorting to infant formula too often, federal health officials said Thursday.
A government survey found that only about 30 percent of new moms are feeding their babies breast milk alone three months after birth. At six months, only 11 percent are breast-feeding exclusively.
Formula isn't as good at protecting babies against diseases, eczema and childhood obesity. Ideally, nearly all mothers should breast-feed their babies for six months or more, said Dr. David Paige, a Johns Hopkins University reproductive health expert.
But many do not because of their jobs, the inconvenience, and perhaps because of convincing advertising for baby formula.
What's wrong with giving a baby a bottle every once in a while? Not much, except it can begin a pattern as a child sucks at the breast less, causing less stimulation needed to produce milk, Paige said.
"It creates a downward spiral," he said, adding that often, a woman then moves away from breast-feeding altogether.
The annual random-digit-dial survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that the percentage of women who start breast-feeding rose slightly from 2000 to 2004, from 71 percent to 74 percent. That's a new high, CDC officials said, and is based on nearly 17,000 responses.
A previous survey suggested a higher percentage breast-fed exclusively , 39 percent at three months and 14 percent at six months. However, researchers think there may have been confusion in that earlier survey that led to the higher percentage.
The new results are being called the best national data to date on "exclusive breast-feeding," in which mothers give their infants nothing but breast milk except for vitamin drops.
The CDC study found that rates of exclusive breast-feeding were lowest among black women and among those who are unmarried, poor, rural, younger than 20, and have a high school education or less. Those findings are consistent with earlier studies.
This year, the government announced goals for 2010: getting 60 percent of women to breast-feed exclusively for the first three months and 25 percent through six months.