Breastfeeding myths dispelled

Many people think that breastfeeding rates dropped once women began entering the workplace more in the 20th century. In fact, the rates of women working outside the home and for breastfeeding have been rising alongside each other since the ’70s. It’s just one of the myths that the Washington Post counters in a recent article about the misconceptions around nursing. Learn more in the piece, including info on the formula versus nursing debate and the racial disparties in breastfeeding.

Don’t forget to check out the Voices call to action on breastfeeding. From the page:

Children should have the best, healthiest start to life. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and continued breastfeeding for at least the first year of a child’s life. Studies show that any amount of breastfeeding, though, is beneficial and results in greater protection from illness, a reduced incidence of obesity as well as many other benefits for baby—and mother, too—including a reduction in baby’s risk of SIDS and mother’s postpartum depression. Yet, according to the Surgeon General of the United States fewer than one in six mothers are exclusively breastfeeding their babies at the end of six months.