August is National Breastfeeding Awareness Month

Breastfeeding: Good for baby and moms

By Aspirus, for OnFocus (Wausau) – When it comes to feeding your baby, Mother Nature knows best. Breast milk has just what a baby needs to grow and thrive. Plus, breastfeeding is good for moms too!

“Breastfeeding can help moms recover from childbirth faster,” said Chris Hanke, RN, Aspirus Women’s Health Nurse Navigator. “Breast milk provides a lot of nutrients little ones need to be healthy. It also helps babies develop immunity to illnesses like colds.”

August 1 kicks off World Breastfeeding week. The week encourages breastfeeding and hopes to improve the health of babies around the world.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), breastfeeding promotes better health for mothers and children alike. Increasing breastfeeding to near-universal levels could save more than 800,000 lives every year, the majority being children under 6 months.

Aspirus is a milk depot center for The Mother’s Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes, a certified breast milk bank located near Chicago.

“Women who are breastfeeding may have an overabundance of milk and for a variety of reasons might not use all of their milk,” said Chris Hanke, RN, Aspirus Women’s Health Nurse Navigator. “Programs such as ours are a way to capture excess breast milk for sick and premature babies who could benefit from the immunological properties of breast milk.”

The WHO says breastfeeding decreases the risk of mothers developing breast cancer, ovarian cancer, type 2-diabetes, and heart disease. It is estimated that increased breastfeeding could avert 20,000 maternal deaths each year due to breast cancer.

Potential donors at Aspirus are screened for eligibility using a variety of health history questions and lifestyle questions. Donors are given lab tests to screen for any potential infections. The mother can begin donating milk once she clears the screening process.

Mothers who are interested in becoming breast milk donors can call Aspirus Women’s Health at 715-847-0454,toll free at 888-236-2483 or by emailing [email protected].

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