Does Breastfeeding Make You Lose Weight?

Earlier this month, I read an article on motherhood in the newspaper that was written by a professional breastfeeding consultant. She stated that breastfeeding after birth makes you shed weight. She didn't stop there, unfortunately.

Summary of today's article: Does breastfeeding really make you lose weight? It caused some interest and some curiosity. This was no doubt a subject for all breastfeeding women, myself included. Many women wondered if the weight loss gained would be permanent.

The author contends that the weight lost is most likely only temporary since breastfeeding mothers will usually regain the weight they have lost in a couple of months. And they will need to regain it again because the nursing mother's body needs nourishment just as much as the infants. It can only work because the babies do not consume the calories they take in, or because they cannot digest the calories. Either way, the result is a lot of extra calories that the mother must burn up.

Does breastfeeding make you lose weight? The author bases her answer to this question on the results of her own research. She found that many nursing mothers (who were not on H.P.A. formulas) reported gaining weight when they stopped breastfeeding. That may be due to the fact that they could not digest the calories from formula and were more likely to gain weight than other women who still breastfeed. Nursing to term does not cause one to lose weight.

Does breastfeeding make you lose weight? The author believes that breastfeeding is not the sole cause of weight loss. She attributes her findings to the fact that many women who breastfeed also smoke, have a low fiber diet, are under a lot of stress at work, and eat a high fat diet. All of these factors add up to more calories being consumed than what is burned up during the normal process of digestion, which leads to weight loss.

Does breastfeeding make you lose weight? The author concludes that the answer to the question does breastfeeding make you lose weight depends entirely on the mother and the infant. If both mother and child are healthy, then breastfeeding may help the baby and the mother. But if either the mother or the child is unhealthy, then breastfeeding will most likely not help the infant lose weight at all.

Can breastfeeding cause you to lose weight? Regular use of breast milk is said to be healthy for the baby, but researchers claim there is no scientific evidence that breast milk has any effect on weight loss for adult women. But using formula may be more convenient, especially if the family is struggling with money. This convenience means that more mothers are resorting to bottle feeding, and this may be contributing to the rise in obesity.

Is breastfeeding worth the extra calories and the extra stress? The author does believe that breastfeeding can lead to weight loss for some women, but if it does not happen very fast and steadily, it will not be enough to counteract the effects of many other lifestyle factors that contribute to weight loss. In addition to the difficulties in gaining and losing weight, carrying around a bottle full of formula is very time consuming. Many new mothers complain of sore nipples and other symptoms of lactose intolerance when they first try to breastfeed their babies. Bottled drinks, overpriced or not, cannot always make up for the time lost to prepare a meal, and many feel that these drinks can make breastfeeding more difficult.

Other women may choose not to bottle feed because they feel that giving their child formula will give them a substitute for motherhood. This is a reasonable argument, but giving a child a close, loving parent like your own biological mother does have its advantages. Even if the formula is convenient, it may not be ideal for everyone. Some women may not be able to handle the additional responsibility of taking care of a child while breastfeeding, or they may not be able to overcome the psychological barrier to breastfeeding that some think comes along with it.

One final argument against breastfeeding is that weight loss should not occur during the first few months of life. Most health professionals recommend starting a weight loss program as soon as possible after birth, but there are many reasons why it may be better to wait until a baby has been weaned completely. First, many illnesses are treated better at an earlier age, and second, breastfeeding provides important nutrients that help babies build a strong immune system and develop their proper intestinal flora. For most women, these benefits outweigh the loss of convenience.

No matter what you personally think, breastfeeding is a wonderful choice for many new mothers. It is easy, comfortable, and most of all healthy. Just remember, if you choose not to bottle feed, you are doing yourself and your baby a favor!