August is Breastfeeding Awareness Month and the Anson County Health Department offers assistance to WIC clients, priding a Breastfeeding Peer Counselor.

Wall assists WIC clients to overcome difficulties and successfully establish breastfeeding.

“She provides support and encouragement to breastfeeding mothers,” said Dinikia Savage, public health educator.

The Anson County Health Department also provides rental breast pumps free of charge to WIC clients who meet specific requirements.

The Anson County Health Department encourages and supports breastfeeding because it benefits a mother and her child.

“Breast milk is human milk for human babies; and a mother’s milk supply is personalized and changes over time to meet a baby’s needs,” she said. “Research shows that breastfed babies are healthier and get sick less often.”

According to Savage, breast milk has hundreds more ingredients than formula that help babies grow and protect them from allergies and illnesses. Breastfed babies have a lower risk of stomach problems, ear infections, respiratory infections, the common cold, the flu, and being hospitalized for pneumonia and meningitis.

Breast milk supports a growing baby starting the day they are born. In the first days of breastfeeding, a mother releases a small amount of colostrum before the milk supply arrives. Colostrum is a thick milk that often has a yellow color. Sometimes it is referred to as “liquid gold” because of the color and its value to a baby.

“From two weeks until a year, breast milk benefits include protein which makes it easier for a baby to digest, the reduction of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, diarrhea, and childhood cancer,” she added. “Breast milk also helps a baby’s brain development, muscles, and structure.”

The benefits of breastfeeding last far after breastfeeding has stopped. Breast milk helps protect against childhood leukemia as well as diabetes, obesity, and hypertension later on in life.

​​Breastfeeding is beneficial for a mother as well as her baby. Mothers who breastfeed recover from childbirth more quickly and easily.

“The hormone oxytocin, released during breastfeeding, returns the uterus to its regular size more quickly and can reduce postpartum bleeding,” Savage said. “Studies show that women who have breastfed, experience reduced rates of breast and ovarian cancer later in life.”

Breastfeeding delays the return of the mother’s menstrual period, which can help extend the time between pregnancies.

There are also added bonuses.

“Breastfeeding promotes a strong sense of love and attachment between a mother and her child,” she said.

Human milk is also much less expensive than formula. During nursing you will need, at most, an extra 400 to 500 calories daily to produce sufficient milk for your baby, while formula can cost between $4 and $10 per day.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breast milk as the main source of nutrition for your baby for about 6 months and can be continued for as long as both mother and baby desire it.

For information about breastfeeding please contact our WIC Clerk and Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Hilary Wall at 704-994-3350.

The Health Department is located at 110 Ashe St. in Wadesboro.

For further information or concerns, contact Dinikia Savage at the Anson County Health Department at 704-994-3342.

The Anson Record