Debunking The Breastfeeding Myths

Like most any topic there are myths floating around about breastfeeding and sorting the truth from myth can sometimes be challenging. Myths can float around for some time and when we hear a myth over...

Like most any topic there are myths floating around about breastfeeding and sorting the truth from myth can sometimes be challenging. Myths can float around for some time and when we hear a myth over and over without it being debunked we can start to believe it. Let us lie to rest some of the more commonly heard myths about breastfeeding.

Perhaps one of the biggest myths surrounding breastfeeding is that some women just do not produce enough milk. The truth is that most women produce more milk than her baby will be able to use. The trick to getting enough milk out of the breast is to having the baby properly hatched on in the first place. In order to have a baby that can properly latch on to the offered breast.

Another myth is that breastfeeding hurts. While you may have discomfort from certain complications of pregnancy like improper baby positioning or latching on, plugged ducts or engorgement; breastfeeding should not be painful when done correctly.

Moms often fret about not having enough milk and may falsely believe that they don’t have enough milk if the baby has nursed for an hour or more and still be acting like he/she is hungry. The problem is more likely to be that the baby was not properly latched on, preventing the baby from getting the milk supply that was there all along.

It is a myth that a breastfeeding baby needs to be supplemented with a water bottle during warm weather months because breast milk contains all the water a baby needs for cool or warm weather.

It is a myth that the breast needs to be washed before each breastfeeding session. The breast need only be cleaned as you would normally clean your body with mild soap and clean water while showering or bathing. If you constantly wash the breast or nipples before each time the baby is nursed you would strip the natural oils from the breast, which could lead to nipple soreness.

Many people do not understand about pumping and are under the impression that the amount of breast milk that is able to be pumped is an indication of how much breast milk the baby is able to get from the breasts (indicating the quantity of milk supplied by the breasts). This is simply not true. The baby is much more efficient at retrieving milk from the breast, especially when properly latched on to the breast than a pump; even an electric pump could ever manage to do.

Another myth that those who push formula generate is that of breast milk not having enough iron in it. The truth is that formula has too much iron in it usually because there needs to be more iron in formula in order to insure that the baby actually is able to absorb some of it. It is difficult for a baby that is bottle fed to absorb the iron, and the baby actually poops out most of it in the diapers. Breast milk on the other hand contains just the right amount of iron and the baby easily absorbs the iron in breast milk.

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