Breastfeeding

Q: Hello, I am looking for information about breastfeeding.  I am  trying to get pregnant now.  I breastfed my first child for 6 months but my milk dried up and I don't want that to happen again.  I was aiming to breastfeed for 2 years. A: Thank you for your question. I would like to direct you to an article that Raymond wrote on breastfeeding. “Women who don’t breastfeed are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. A study in the September issue of the American Journal of Medicine concluded that mothers who did not breastfeed their children have significantly higher rates, twice the risk, of type 2 diabetes later in life than mothers who breastfed. This study is just one more argument for breastfeeding. Another problem is when women are not breastfeeding; they are feeding inappropriate food to the infant, causing obesity in the children. A recent study in American Journal of Medicine concluded that mothers who did not breastfeed their children have significantly higher rates, twice the risk, of type 2 diabetes later in life than mothers who breastfed. This study is just one more argument for breastfeeding. Another problem is when women are not breastfeeding; they are feeding inappropriate food to the infant, causing obesity in the children. A recent study in Nutrition & Dietetics found that mothers were feeding infants as young as four weeks old inappropriate foods such as bread, ice-cream, and sodas. Almost one in four mothers had introduced such foods before six months of age. Such children are more likely to be overweight as they age.”