The first liquid the mother produces after the birth of a child is called colostrum and is high in carbohydrates, proteins and antibodies. It actually works as a vaccine and is full of immune factors.
Colostrum is so good that everyone can benefit from it and colustrum is one of the ingredients in a glyconutritional product that one can now buy for adults and older children.
After a few days the mother begins to produce milk and it also contains antibodies and is still the best immunizer for babies...
Breast milk is a complete meal for babies and is the best meal for all the above reasons -
On top of all the good stuff in breast milk, breast feeding gives the mother and baby a chance to get to know each other in a most personal way and for overall psychological development that too is a great thing - call it bonding or attachment or whatever- it's a basis for a person to person relationship.
Some argue against breast feeding as it is seen as an impediment to either working or for having the father involved. I'm lost at the father aspect - can't he sit and hold the baby for an equal amount of time? And why should a baby not get all the immunity possible just to keep some sort of "equal" sharing happening? Seems to me that when you use that argument as one against breast feeding- oops- there another issue going on in that family...
And working - nowadays some companies allow babies at work or have an onsite nursery so the mothers can go feed the babies - and most mothers take off some amount of time after the birth. But if one needs to go to work, there are breast pumps so that you can express the milk and store it for bottle use by others - the dads or the sitters or care takers...
Monday, October 03, 2005
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Eat well when pregnant
Ok so why eat well when you are pregnant - and even before you are pregnant? As I mentioned in the last entry - poor fetal nourishment creates all sorts of problems..
Babies get off to a better start when they are full-term and of "normal" weight.... Babies under 5 lbs are considered at risk as are many babies born before term - which is around 40 weeks. Yes there are many babies who "make it" who are early and under weight.. and modern medicine will increase most babies chances of surviving... and many will be fine in the long run.. but my usual question is "how much different would their lives be if they were of weight and full term?" Of course we'll never know - but please think about it..A lot of how your baby starts life is in your choices when you are pregnant...Anything that leads to a premature birth and/or low weight birth has the potential to be harmful to the baby for no other reason that the baby is early and/or underweight.
So now you have a newborn.. Congratulations and now what do you feed the baby? That's not a trick question. You feed a baby breast milk - your breast milk is the ideal food for your baby.. Forget what the TV and stores tell you about the wonderful stuff in powder and liquid forms - "just like mother's milk" - right - and as we used to say when I was a kid "There's a bridge in Brooklyn you might be interested in." Nothing is like mother's milk - mother's milk is filled with all sorts of wonderful food substances that are great for growing bodies...especially new bodies : ) I know some women say they can't breast feed- but unless you have some physical ailment that keeps you from breast feeding - do it!
Actually I am not sure why all women do not breast feed- It's the easiest way to feed a baby. No bottles to wash, no formulas to "get ready," and absolutely nothing to prepare. As a tired parent - breast feeding can be relaxing, and is less stressful and time consuming than all the other options.
What's in breast milk that makes it so good? that's the next topic....
Babies get off to a better start when they are full-term and of "normal" weight.... Babies under 5 lbs are considered at risk as are many babies born before term - which is around 40 weeks. Yes there are many babies who "make it" who are early and under weight.. and modern medicine will increase most babies chances of surviving... and many will be fine in the long run.. but my usual question is "how much different would their lives be if they were of weight and full term?" Of course we'll never know - but please think about it..A lot of how your baby starts life is in your choices when you are pregnant...Anything that leads to a premature birth and/or low weight birth has the potential to be harmful to the baby for no other reason that the baby is early and/or underweight.
So now you have a newborn.. Congratulations and now what do you feed the baby? That's not a trick question. You feed a baby breast milk - your breast milk is the ideal food for your baby.. Forget what the TV and stores tell you about the wonderful stuff in powder and liquid forms - "just like mother's milk" - right - and as we used to say when I was a kid "There's a bridge in Brooklyn you might be interested in." Nothing is like mother's milk - mother's milk is filled with all sorts of wonderful food substances that are great for growing bodies...especially new bodies : ) I know some women say they can't breast feed- but unless you have some physical ailment that keeps you from breast feeding - do it!
Actually I am not sure why all women do not breast feed- It's the easiest way to feed a baby. No bottles to wash, no formulas to "get ready," and absolutely nothing to prepare. As a tired parent - breast feeding can be relaxing, and is less stressful and time consuming than all the other options.
What's in breast milk that makes it so good? that's the next topic....
Monday, August 29, 2005
Prenatal nourishment
The best time to start eating well is BEFORE you even consider getting pregnant. Opps- what happens if you did not? well as soon as you think you are pregnant start getting good nutrition then...Immediately.
In the USA we have a long history of not taking care of pregnant women. Good nutrition during pregnancy would help solve many of the problems that newborns come into the world with. Decades ago I saw a film about the high costs associated with early prenatal care of infants born to malnourished mothers. Intensive care nurseries are very expensive - yet the cost of feeding a pregnant woman with good food is minimal...and it hasn't changed much in the ensuing years except that the hospitals charge more for the intensive care - so why do we still not feed pregnant women? Answer: Politics.....
Sometimes I think that the men who run this country really dislike most women and absolutely hate pregnant women. Yes there are women in congress these days but the ones who make it up the political ladder tend to copy the behaviors of their male counterparts. And of late the situation is even worse as the current administration keeps cutting back on money for real people in order to give more and more money to corporations... But enough of politics - we have to learn to care for ourselves while we wait for those in D.C. to understand.
A growing fetus needs protein - so the mother must eat that protein or the fetus does not get it. A long held myth is that babies will take what they need from the mother's body. Not true. The mother needs to ingest the nourishment while she is pregnant or it is not there for the fetus. Long term effects of poor nutrition during pregnant are problematic births, delayed physical and cognitive growth and ongoing illnesses. This is worsened if the child continues to be malnourished after it is born. And malnourishment, while found more often in poorer homes, is not absent from homes of the wealthy.
What is good nourishment? Protein is important as is a balanced diet. Junk food is not nutritious for anyone! Diet sodas and chemically doctored food that supposedly tastes good is not nourishing....Prepackaged "stuff" [I dare not call it food] is not nourishing. Look at the labels on the food you are buying next time you in a store. You might find words there that you cannot pronounce. I tend to use the reading/saying test when buying food - if I can't read the small print or I can't even pronounce the name of the ingredient - I don't want it in my body...and I'm past child bearing age : )
stay tuned
Lynn
In the USA we have a long history of not taking care of pregnant women. Good nutrition during pregnancy would help solve many of the problems that newborns come into the world with. Decades ago I saw a film about the high costs associated with early prenatal care of infants born to malnourished mothers. Intensive care nurseries are very expensive - yet the cost of feeding a pregnant woman with good food is minimal...and it hasn't changed much in the ensuing years except that the hospitals charge more for the intensive care - so why do we still not feed pregnant women? Answer: Politics.....
Sometimes I think that the men who run this country really dislike most women and absolutely hate pregnant women. Yes there are women in congress these days but the ones who make it up the political ladder tend to copy the behaviors of their male counterparts. And of late the situation is even worse as the current administration keeps cutting back on money for real people in order to give more and more money to corporations... But enough of politics - we have to learn to care for ourselves while we wait for those in D.C. to understand.
A growing fetus needs protein - so the mother must eat that protein or the fetus does not get it. A long held myth is that babies will take what they need from the mother's body. Not true. The mother needs to ingest the nourishment while she is pregnant or it is not there for the fetus. Long term effects of poor nutrition during pregnant are problematic births, delayed physical and cognitive growth and ongoing illnesses. This is worsened if the child continues to be malnourished after it is born. And malnourishment, while found more often in poorer homes, is not absent from homes of the wealthy.
What is good nourishment? Protein is important as is a balanced diet. Junk food is not nutritious for anyone! Diet sodas and chemically doctored food that supposedly tastes good is not nourishing....Prepackaged "stuff" [I dare not call it food] is not nourishing. Look at the labels on the food you are buying next time you in a store. You might find words there that you cannot pronounce. I tend to use the reading/saying test when buying food - if I can't read the small print or I can't even pronounce the name of the ingredient - I don't want it in my body...and I'm past child bearing age : )
stay tuned
Lynn
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Growing Children
Years ago I wrote a text book titled Growing Children. I liked the name as it has many levels of meaning....and that was before I was a parent....Growing Children is about early development and though I have been an advocate of nutrition for many years, nutrition never got into the book.
I am working on a newer edition of that book and this time around will include a chapter about nutrition - for the pregnant mom-to-be and children. Why? Because if you don't get good nutrition you start off with a less than optimal environment in which to develop. Growing children actually do a lot of work - mental and physical - and they need the fuel to do the work....
coming next - what's wrong with today's foods
I am working on a newer edition of that book and this time around will include a chapter about nutrition - for the pregnant mom-to-be and children. Why? Because if you don't get good nutrition you start off with a less than optimal environment in which to develop. Growing children actually do a lot of work - mental and physical - and they need the fuel to do the work....
coming next - what's wrong with today's foods
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