How to – The Wean and Breastfeeding Myths Revealed
When you finally decide to stop breastfeeding, do you intend to tell the whole world about it? If so, well, good luck. Chances are, your joy will be met by either happiness (for you and your baby) or harsh criticism. For most moms, it would be the latter one, especially if their babies are past the year old mark.
There are several myths in breastfeeding and weaning that is worth mentioning. Let’s discuss some of them:
If Mommy is sick and on medication, she must wean. Logic and reason will tell us that illness and medicine transference may occur when a sick, breastfeeding mum feeds her baby. According to some doctors though, illness can be passed through proximity and contact, not necessarily through breastfeeding transference. In fact, the mother makes antibodies for the illness when she is sick; in giving her baby breast milk, it’s like giving him a vaccine, and immunity to help protect him from her sickness. The same goes for medication. There may be some medicine though that needs to be approved by a doctor first as it may not suit pregnant and nursing women, but there will definitely be an alternative medicine for that, so no worries.
Weaning should be done because the baby isn’t gaining enough weight. The reason for this isn’t because your breast milk isn’t enough; it’s possible that there’s something medically wrong. For this one, you need to ask your doctor for an opinion and have the baby checked out for any underlying medical conditions not present in the initial checkups. Also, have someone check if you’re nursing him properly. Once you’ve gotten it all figured out and he still loses weight, supplement with formula milk but never with water or juice, especially in the first 4 or 5 weeks of life.
Baby is sick, so it’s best to wean. Since infections and sickness can usually be transferred to via touch, the baby can infect the mother. However, the mother may be able to make antibodies for the illness and transfer those antibodies back to baby via breast milk. Also, if your child has an upset stomach, breast milk can easily be taken since it is easily digestible compared to formula. And breast milk destroys the bacteria that causes diarrhea, so you’d be at ease that your baby is in good hands.
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