Breastfeeding is a common, but sometimes misunderstood, part of motherhood. The process itself is nature’s magic – your body produces all the nutrition a baby needs – but can still be a tiring, painful process that feels anything but positive.
The most important thing to remember is that every single body is different, and so is every person’s breastfeeding journey (whether or not you choose to do so), which is why it’s essential to dispel shame with information.
Below, we break down some common misconceptions about breastfeeding.
Let’s Break Down Some Common Misconceptions
FACT: Breastfeeding helps you bond with your baby.
Breastfeeding helps you bond with your body in two main ways: the hormones your body produces and skin to skin contact. When you breastfeed, your body produces hormones called prolactin and oxytocin. Often referred to as the “love hormone,” oxytocin promotes trust and bonding and heightens a sense of love and attachment between mother and child. It also helps nursing mothers relax and focus on their child while feeding.
Since you need to hold your baby close when breastfeeding, the extended skin-to-skin contact helps your baby learn and recognize your specific scent. The voice bond that you’ve built while the baby is still in your womb can also be strengthened through speaking to the baby softly while speaking. For mothers who are unable to breastfeed, these benefits can still be stimulated through regular cuddling and speaking to the baby.
FICTION: Bigger breasts mean more milk.
Breast size is not correlated with the amount of milk you produce. The size of a breast depends on the amount of fatty tissue in the breast, and fatty tissue is not involved in milk production. Milk production is determined by glandular tissue, which increases throughout pregnancy and lactation.
How much your breasts increase during pregnancy signals how much the glandular tissue is developing, and is a better indicator of how much milk you’ll be able to produce than pre-pregnancy breast size.
FACT: Breastfeeding can help you sleep.
New mothers are often nervous about how much sleep they’ll be able to get when breastfeeding. While sleep may be hard to come by with a crying baby, research shows that breastfeeding mothers actually get more sleep on average, which may be due to the relaxing hormones produced through breastfeeding.
By pumping your milk ahead of time and establishing a schedule, you won’t have to go into the kitchen in the middle of the night to prepare a bottle.
FICTION: Smokers can’t breastfeed.
Smoking is extremely detrimental to your health and the health of your baby when pregnant, but it doesn’t pass through to breast milk to the point that it is worse than formula, meaning that a smoker’s breast milk will still pass on immune benefits to the baby.
The best idea is to quit smoking altogether, but if you do smoke, you can still breastfeed as long as you never smoke with the baby in the vicinity and don’t smoke before a feeding.
FACT: You can breastfeed when you’re sick.
This may come as a surprise, but you can continue to breastfeed through certain illnesses like flu or stomach problems. The germs in your system that are making you sick won’t pass through your breastmilk, but the antibodies your body is producing to fight the disease will.
In fact, breastfeeding when sick is like a natural vaccine – your baby is strengthening their immune system with the antibodies in your breastmilk. However, you should consult with your doctor before taking any medications and continuing breastfeeding.
FICTION: It’s either breast or bottle.
If, for whatever reason, you decide to add formula to your baby’s diet, it doesn’t mean that you have to stop breastfeeding altogether. Breastfeeding may be affected as your body’s production may change, but your baby can still get the benefits of breastfeeding if they occasionally need to use formula.
If you do choose this path, you should introduce formula gradually to allow your body and your baby to adjust. Consult with a specialized medical provider to decide how much formula and breastmilk your baby will need through their first year.
FACT: Breastfeeding lowers your risk of breast cancer.
Research has shown that mothers who breastfeed for a minimum of six months have a lower risk of developing breast cancer pre- and post-menopause. This is due to the hormonal changes during lactation that reduces a woman’s total exposure to hormones like estrogen, which can increase the likelihood of breast cancer cell growth.
Moreover, breast tissue is shed throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding, which can help to get rid of cells that have potential DNA damage. In the same manner as reducing estrogen production, breastfeeding also reduces the risk of ovarian cancer through preventing ovulation.
The statistics for women who breastfeed longer than six months are even more positive; researchers found that the risk of breast cancer dropped by 4.3% for every 12 months a woman breastfed, and one study showed that women who breastfed for more than 13 months are 63% less likely to develop ovarian cancer compared to women who breastfed for less than seven months.
