Opinion: Yes, our breasts have a purpose

If the experts are right, it’s no wonder my kids are skinny and brilliant!

A Harvard University study, along with recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics, touts the health benefits of breastfeeding.

The study was published last July in the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics. Researchers found that the longer babies are nursed, the greater their intelligence. Each additional month a child was nursed resulted in better language skills at age 3 and intelligence at age 7, compared to babies who weren’t breastfed.

The AAP recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life and continued nursing with the addition of food up to at least age 1. This helps prevent obesity for a number of reasons. One possibility is breast-fed babies do a better job of self-regulating their intake.

I breastfed my two boys well beyond the first 12 months. Nursing them is one of the more pleasant memories I have of their childhood. That isn’t nearly as creepy as it sounds, trust me. Nursing a toddler is vastly different than nursing an infant. Toddlers look for comfort or reassurance, while infants need nutrition.

Seriously though, the benefits of breastfeeding can’t be emphasized enough, and a woman who chooses to nurse needs all the support we can give her. This is especially important in the workplace, where so many women are now the sole—or significant—source of income for their families.

The logistics of finding a place to express milk and store it can be a hassle for nursing moms. But like a domino effect, when employers provide privacy and time for women to express milk, they help their business in the long run.

Healthier infants means less employee absence, which leads to reduced lost productivity. A less stressful mom is more focused on her job. Supporting a nursing mom increases employee loyalty and that means less cost to hire and train new employees.

When you figure how much time is wasted on (disease-promoting) employee smoke breaks, there’s no excuse not to allow a breastfeeding woman to take her own needed break.