Breastfeeding

Moms who breastfeed have a free ticket to eat extra calories every day! Learn how to best cash in those calories and get the best nutrition for you and your baby.

by Julie Snyder

Are you wondering if you should be on a special diet while you're breastfeeding? Do you need to avoid certain foods? Find out how to eat for two with our breastfeeding nutrition checklist.

Which celebrities are in the breastfeeding spotlight? These famous moms are nursing their babies, proud of it, and are helping to spread positive perceptions and information about breastfeeding to the masses.

What does the CDC's 2012 "Breastfeeding Report Card" reveal? Breastfeeding rates continue to climb across the United States with nearly 77 percent of new moms initiating breastfeeding. While this is encouraging news, there's still lots of work to break down breastfeeding barriers, according to Lamaze International.

Non-human female mammals have been known to show high levels of aggression when defending their young. You don't want to mess with a momma bear. It turns out you might not want to mess with a nursing mom, either.

Do you support breastfeeding? How can we advocate and help break down our society's breastfeeding barriers so all families and babies can reap the rewards from the health and economic benefits of breastfeeding?

Breast milk gives your baby the optimal amount of nutrients and antibodies. Immunity isn't the only thing that makes it into your breast milk. Components of the food that you eat do, too. If your child has celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, wheat and some other grains in your diet can adversely affect your baby.

A growing body of research reveals profound connections between a woman's birth experience and her ability to get breastfeeding off to a good start. But if you think of putting your baby to your breast as the fourth stage of labor it can help you visualize this connection.

Breastfeeding is the natural, physiologic way of feeding infants and young children, and human milk is the milk made specifically for human infants. Breastfeeding should be easy and trouble free for most mothers. A good start helps to ensure breastfeeding is a happy experience for both mother and baby.

My newborn has a lot of spit ups. When should I worry?

It is important to give your baby the best start in life and breast milk is one of the very best things you can do for your baby. Your nipple piercings should not prevent you from breastfeeding.

For a nursing mother, making the decision to take medicine to treat this depression is tricky. We know some medicines are not safe to take when nursing; others are okay. For most medicines, there is not enough known to do better than make an educated guess. Most of the antidepressants fall into this last category.

With your breasts gaining up to an extra pound each during pregnancy, it's time to tuck your regular bra away for the next 9 1/2 months and get comfortable.