From NewYork-Presbyterian’s Health Matters
As an obstetric nurse, Mary Lou Mulholland sees a lot of new moms worried about breastfeeding.
“I’m not making enough milk, I’m going to starve my baby, and my anatomy isn’t right are common concerns,” says Mulholland, RNC-OB, C-EFM, CLC, a staff nurse and lactation counselor in the postpartum unit at the NewYork-Presbyterian Alexandra Cohen Hospital for Women and Newborns.
In most cases, these new moms end up breastfeeding successfully after receiving support from the hospital’s nurses and lactation experts.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that breastfeeding continue for at least 12 months, including exclusively for the first six months after birth. After all, breastfeeding is healthy for both baby and mother. For a child, it can lower the risk of asthma, obesity, diabetes, ear and respiratory infections, and sudden infant death syndrome. For the mother, it can reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and ovarian and breast cancers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Mulholland debunks some common myths about breastfeeding.
Read more: Debunking Breastfeeding | Bronx Free Press
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