Breastfeeding is increasing in popularity in the United States, however many mothers choose to stop breastfeeding their children when they are only a few months old. A few moms actually make it to the recommended year mark while even fewer still are moms who breastfeed through toddler hood. Regardless, breastfeeding shouldn’t be looked at as just a health issue and what’s best for the child.

Everyone knows breast is best and breastfeeding is the very best option a parent has to give their child the very best start in life. However, breastfeeding should also be looked upon as an economical issue. The reason why is that breastfeeding is free! There is no additional cost involved, which is really important when you have just added a new child to the family. Diapers, medicine, crèmes, lotions, clothing, and the like are all necessities for your new baby. Formula is not! There is no reason for a mom to go out and buy bottles, nipples, formula, and the like when she can breastfeed. Sure, there are some mothers who cannot breastfeed for medical or other reasons. Those that can, though, should, especially if they are on a tight budget. Especially when the average of formula in a year is close to $2,000 and that doesn’t include the bottles, nipples, sterilizers, and other necessities.

When you consider how much it costs to raise a child, on average $11,000 for their first year of life, then you will see where saving $2000 plus by breastfeeding is truly a big decision economically speaking. Not only will it give your child the very best start in life, but it will also save the family much needed money. When your family is struggling financially and trying to start a family then it just makes sense to breastfeed. Not only will you be able to spend that money in other areas, like on daycare if you must return to work, but you can also be sure that your child is getting the perfect food for her growing body.

The next time you think about having a child and formula feeding ask yourself if it’s worth $2,000+ and the health of your child to breastfeed for a year. More than likely you will find the sacrifice is worth it and that it actually creates an amazing relationship between baby and mom that cannot be severed.

Breastfeeding as your exclusive form of birth control does bring with it the chance of becoming pregnant. Breastfeeding does not guarantee that you are not fertile, or that you will not become pregnant again while breastfeeding. Many women who have tried to rely on exclusively breastfeeding have found themselves caring for two infants.

Breastfeeding is not a completely ineffective method of birth control, however. To increase your chances of successfully using breastfeeding to keep from getting pregnant, there are some important factors to look at.

Three major factors will help to determine whether or not breastfeeding can be a useful method of birth control for you. The first factor is your baby being less than six months old. Second, your menstrual period should not have returned. Finally, your baby should be exclusively feeding on breast milk, and not being supplemented by other foods or formula, and not taking a pacifier. If you meet all of these criteria, breastfeeding reduces your chances of getting pregnant to about 2%.

Once any one of the three factors mentioned above changes, breastfeeding becomes less effective at preventing pregnancy. The timing of the return to being fertile will vary greatly from one woman to the next, and it will also depend greatly on the nursing pattern of your infant. In addition, your body’s sensitivity to the hormones that respond to lactation will determine whether you are going to become fertile sooner.

There are some things that you can do to increase the chances of breastfeeding as birth control being effective. You should breastfeed around the clock. You should use breastfeeding to help your baby be comforted. You should avoid pacifiers and bottles. You should breastfeed when lying down at naptime and at nighttime.

Once your baby is taking other foods, your period has returned, or your baby is more than six months old, your chances of getting pregnant while exclusively breastfeeding rapidly increase. You should, at this point, pursue other forms of birth control if you do not want to become pregnant.

Many new moms start out with good intentions when it comes to breast feeding. However, there are certain problems that can arise fairly rapidly after you have begun breast feeding. Knowing what the problems are and how to fix them ahead of time will increase your chances of success at continuing to breast feed. Some of the most common breast feeding problems include:

- Inadequate milk supply. Frequent feedings, adequate rest, good nutrition, and adequate fluid intake can all help maintain you milk supply.

- Nipple soreness caused by incomplete suction release. To help your baby learn to release, at the end of feeding you can gently insert a finger into the side of your baby’s mouth to break the suction.

- Nipple soreness caused by excessively dry or excessively moist skin. If your skin is moist, try changing to a bra not made of a synthetic fabric which increases sweating and hinders evaporation. Dry skin can be caused by using soaps or solutions that remove natural skin oils; lanolin may be useful if your nipples are dry.

- Nipple soreness caused by chewing or biting. When your baby is teething, this can be a real difficulty. To comfort baby and help reduce baby’s desire to bite on your breast, give him something cold and wet that he can chew on for a few moments prior to feeding.

- Breast engorgement. When blood vessels in the breast become congested, this is called engorgement. To avoid engorgement, nurse frequently, around every 4 hours for at least 15 minutes. You can relieve breast engorgement by expressing milk manually or with a breast pump. Warm showers or cold compresses may also help relieve the discomfort. Some moms believe that cabbage leaves seem to help decrease the engorgement more rapidly than ice packs or other treatments. Crush the cabbage leaves with a rolling pin if the leaves do not accommodate to the shape of your breast. Wrap the cabbage leaves around the breast and leave on for about 20 minutes. Twice daily is enough. It is usual to use the cabbage leaf treatment two or three times or less.

- Breast infection. A mastitis or breast infection can produced symptoms such as fever, aching muscles, and a hot, reddish, tender area on the breast. Breast infections often occur in moms who do not get enough rest, are stressed, have cracked nipples, or have breast engorgement or plugged milk ducts. The attention of a physician is necessary to get rid of the infection.

- Plugged milk duct. Your milk duct can become plugged if your baby doesn’t feed well, if you skip a feeding, or if you wear a constricting bra. If you have a plugged milk duct, you will often experience tenderness, head and redness in one area of the breast, or a lump on the breast close to the skin. Sometimes, you will be able to see a tiny white dot at the top of the nipple. Massaging the area gently and applying some pressure will help remove the plug.

- The Letdown reflex. This is a normal and necessary part of breastfeeding. The hormones prolactin and oxytocin control the reflex and allow milk produced in the milk glands to be released into the milk ducts. Factors such as pain, stress, and anxiety can interfere with the reflex. This causes the milk to stay within the milk glands which can cause additional pain and anxiety.

- Thrush. A woman who is breastfeeding may pass a common yeast infection, known as thrush, to her baby during breastfeeding. The yeast infection thrives in warm, moist areas. A yeast infection can be difficult to cure, but fortunately, this is uncommon. Yeast infections frequently occur during or after antibiotic treatments. Contact your physician to get a prescription for an appropriate anti-fungal medication.

Like many other nutrients, Omega-3 fatty acids pass through breast milk. For this reason, it is important that a nursing mother get enough Omega-3 fatty acids in her diet, both for her and for her baby. In fact, one of the best things a nursing mother can do for her baby is to increase her Omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are an important component of both brain development and eye development. In addition, Omega-3 fatty acids may be able to help reduce the risk of postpartum depression.

There are, essentially, three different ways a woman can get enough Omega-3 fatty acids, and make sure her baby gets them via her breast milk. For starters, a woman can get Omega-3 fatty acids by eating more fish. However, you need to take care here. When it comes to eating fish to get your Omega-3 fatty acids, you need to be concerned about heavy metals or other toxins. Sometimes, these harmful elements are present in high levels in fish, and can also be passed from a nursing mother on to her baby.

Another way that a nursimg mother can increase her omega-3 fatty acids is to take an Omega-3 supplement. An Omega-3 fatty acid supplement will pass through your breast milk on to your baby. Supplments are often necessary because most women just don’t get enough Omega-3 fatty acids, especially the DHA type of Omega-3 fatty acids.

Beyond those two options, however, there is another way to get enough Omega-3 fatty acids into your breast milk. In addition to supplements or eating more fish, you can increase your Omega-3 fatty acids by taking certain prenatal supplements. Many prenatal supplements contain Omega-3 fatty acids, and many health care providers recommend that you take prenatal vitamins through the entire time that you are nursing.

As with any supplement, check with your healt care provider before starting on an Omega-3 supplement or prenatal supplement, as the ingredients can be passed to your baby through your breast milk.

One of the best things a nursing mother can do for her baby is to increase her Omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are an important component of both brain development and eye development.

One of the ways a nursimg mother can increase her omega-3 fatty acids is to take an Omega-3 supplement. An Omega-3 fatty acid supplement will pass through your breast milk on to your baby. Supplments are often necessary because most women just don’t get enough Omega-3 fatty acids, especially the DHA type of Omega-3 fatty acids.

Another obvious way to get Omega-3 fatty acids while nursing is to eat more fish. However, you need to take care here. When it comes to eating fish to get your Omega-3 fatty acids, you need to be concerned about heavy metals or other toxins. Sometimes, these harmful elements are present in high levels in fish, and can also be passed from a nursing mother on to her baby.

In addition to supplements or eating more fish, a nursing mother can increase her Omega-3 fatty acids by taking prenatal supplements. Many prenatal supplements contain Omega-3 fatty acids, and many health care providers recommend that a nursing mother take prenatal vitamins through the entire time that she is nursing.

As with any other sort of a supplement, you should speak with your health care provider before taking Omega-3 fatty acid supplements or taking prenatal supplements containing Omega-3 fatty acids. Your health care provider can help you to understand what the potential side effects of taking these sorts of supplements might be.

The nutritional needs of a woman are often very similar when she is breastfeeding compared to when she is pregnant, and Omega-3 fatty acids are no exception to this principle. It is important that a nursing mother get enough Omega-3 fatty acids in her diet, both for her and for her baby. In the same way, it is important that you get enough Omega-3 when you are pregnant, as well. Omega-3 fatty acids are an important component of both brain development and eye development.

There are three ways you can can get enough Omega-3 fatty acids. First of all, you can get Omega-3 fatty acids by eating more fish. However, you need to take care here. When it comes to eating fish to get your Omega-3 fatty acids, you need to be concerned about heavy metals or other toxins. Sometimes, these harmful elements are present in high levels in fish, and can also be passed from a nursing mother on to her baby, or from a pregant woman to her baby.

Another way that you can increase her omega-3 fatty acids when you are breastfeeding or when you are pregnant is to take an Omega-3 supplement. Supplments are often necessary because most women just don’t get enough Omega-3 fatty acids, especially the DHA type of Omega-3 fatty acids.

Beyond those two options, however, there is another way to get enough Omega-3 fatty acids, whether you are breastfeeding or whether you are pregnant. You can increase your Omega-3 fatty acids by taking certain prenatal supplements. Many prenatal supplements contain Omega-3 fatty acids, and many health care providers recommend that you take prenatal vitamins through the entire time that you are breastfeeding, as well as when you are pregnant.

Weaning is a process that a mother either dreads or really looks forward to, and for some mother’s the two emotions overlap. The process can be difficult because breastfeeding becomes habit for both mother and baby and it also becomes second nature for the body to keep producing milk. Therefore, even if you have planned to wean your baby and you are at peace with the idea, you may be wondering exactly how long it will take for your milk to dry up and how comfortable the whole process will be.

Milk Production and Drying After Weaning

The first few days are usually the most difficult after weaning, but if you can get through these first couple of days you will usually be just fine. How long it takes for the milk to dry up after weaning your toddler really does vary from woman to woman. Most women will find that if they are going to become engorged that it only lasts for two to four days and then the milk production will begin to decrease. Most women find that the milk is completely or just about dried up after two weeks.

Some women will continue to notice a small amount of milk production for some time. In some instances the milk production can last weeks, months, or years. If the milk production is bothersome you can talk to your doctor and he or she may be able to prescribe medications that will aide in the drying up process. Most women are not bothered by the drying up process after the first couple days, as it is just a matter of time.

To help with the drying out process you should definitely wean slowly. You should gradually decrease feedings every day for a couple weeks until you are only breastfeeding a couple times a day. This will help to signal to your body that it needs to slow down milk production. When you wean slowly in this way you will not become as engorged, if you become engorged at all, and the drying out process will usually go a lot more smoothly for most women.

Many women like to aid the drying out process by placing cabbage leaves in their bra. This is something that has been done for ages and most women swear by it. You simply place whole cabbage leaves over the breast and then put on a bra. When you leave the cabbage leaves on for a whole day or even repeat the process for a couple days it is supposed to aide in the drying out of the milk to make the whole process a lot more comfortable.

Probiotics are some of the newest and most exciting types of supplements available. Actually made up of live bacteria, probiotics can help your baby while breastfeeding in a variety of ways. Using probiotics while breastfeeding can help to boost your baby’s immune system, aid in the functioning of his digestive system, and even prevent or delay a variety of conditions such as asthma and eczema. In addition, it is considered safe and beneficial to use probiotics directly on your baby.

Probiotics help to restore the balance of beneficial bacteria in your body, especially in your digestive or gastrointestinal tract. The bacteria in your digestive tract serve several important purposes. First of all, they help with the digestion of food. They can aid in the absorbing of minerals, as well as other nutrients. These bacteria also help with synthesizing vitamins. When a mother uses probiotics while breastfeeding, some of these bacteria are going to be naturally passed onto her baby through her breast milk, thereby having the same sorts of positive effects for her baby. In this way, probiotics can help your baby while breastfeeding by providing a number of gastrointestinal benefits.

There is another way that probiotics can help your baby while breastfeeding. The expansion and development that the gut flora (that is, the bacterial environment inside the digestive tract) go through naturally after a baby is born is an important contributor to the development and functioning of the baby’s immune system. Probiotics during this stage can help to make sure that process progresses the way that it should, and can help the baby’s immune system to be stronger and more robust.

By helping with the gut and the immune system, probiotics can help your baby to avoid skin problems, such as eczema. In addition, there is research that suggests that probiotic use in infants may also help to avoid the onset of asthma.

In some cases, such as when a mother’s or a baby’s immune system has been weakened or compromised, it may be that probiotics while breastfeeding are not recommended. If you are concerned that you fall into this category, you should speak with your health care provider.

When planning for a baby the question of the bottle or breast will eventually arise. What are the differences between formula and breast milk, and is one more beneficial for my baby?

Most formulas on the market today are manufactured from cow’s milk. Milk from the mother and milk from a cow both contain two components; curds and whey. Curds are white and rubbery clumps that are found in milk, and whey is essentially, the liquid. When a baby consumes a product made from cow’s milk, there is generally more curd present than in the mother’s breast milk. Because of this, breast milk is easier to digest than cow’s milk and helps to prevent spit ups and gassiness.

Breast milk changes as the baby grows. Formula stays the same. Although formula may seem to be rich in nutrients, it may not be better for your child. Breast milk is specially formulated to meet the needs of your child as they change.

Breast milk contains a number of ingredients that can’t be duplicated by formulas. As stated before, the components in breast milk are more easily digested by babies, but this is not the only difference. Breast milk contains higher carbohydrate and lactose counts than cow’s milk. Lactose has been directly associated with larger and faster brain development. The minerals found in breast milk may not be as high as those found in formulas, but the minerals produced by the mother are completely absorbed by the child. When the minerals, such as iron, are not absorbed by the baby they can change the balance of bacteria in the stomach which allows harmful bacteria to grow.

The formula industry is continuing to grow and evolve. It is certainly better today than it was twenty years ago, however, studies show that breast milk is still the most beneficial for babies, especially newborns and infants.

Mastitis refers to a condition in which the breast is swollen, inflamed, red, tender, and painful. Mastitis can be caused by an infections, and can lead to more serious problems if left untreated. Mastitis can be especially troubling for women who are breastfeeding. Fortunately, there are things that you can do to treat mastitis. These can include:



- The most important treatment for mastitis is rest. Rest will help you to relieve stress and to rejuvenate you immune syndrome.

- Using cold and warm compresses, and alternating between them, can help with mastitis. The cold compresses will help to relieve pain, while the warm compresses will help to increase circulation and help your body fight infection.

- Gentle massage can also help. This increases the circulation in the massaged area, and may help to loosen any plugged ducts. Gently massage the area that is in pain.

- If you are breastfeeding, nurse frequently on the side that has mastitis. It is important to keep the milk flowing, and to empty that breast. If fluid is trapped, it may become infected and make the problem worse.

- Use pain killers to help with the pain. Tylenol and Advil are both considered safe to take while breastfeeding. As always, check with your health care provider if you have any concerns about taking an over the counter medication.

- Keep enough fluids, so that you don’t get dehydrated.

- Sleep without a bra, and don’t wear a tight bra at all.

If you have a history of frequent mastitis, if you have a fever, if you are becoming more and more sick, or if your nipples are cracked, you may need to have an antibiotic. If symptoms continue, you should contact your health care provider.



If you have an abscess area in your breast due to mastitis, it will need to be drained. Your health care provider may drain the abscess with a needle, a syringe, or with a tiny incision. If the abscess is deeper, you may need surgery to drain the abscess.