Baby deserves best

Babies and breast milk are supposed to be a natural fit, but that isn’t necessarily so.

And there’s no worse experience for a new mom than trying to feed a crying, hungry baby when neither knows how to get started.

In welcomed show of support for weary mothers, the Ontario government plans to invest $2.5 million to set up a 24-hour breastfeeding help hotline and other programs that provide encouragement, health advice and practical techniques for success. Health Minister Deb Matthews should get the hotline up and running as soon as possible.

After all, babies may not come with an instruction manual, but breastfeeding certainly should.

It’s a challenge to get started, and of the 90 per cent of mothers who plan to do so, only 60 per cent succeed.

The others lose out on irreplaceable bonding time and a lifetime of rich health benefits for their child, including a significant decrease in obesity.

The benefits of breastfeeding include better cognitive development and a stronger immune system leading to reduced illness throughout life.

Its impact on obesity rates is considerable: For each month a baby is breastfed, until the eighth month, the risk of obesity is reduced by four per cent — resulting in a 32 per cent reduction in risk when a baby is breastfed for the first eight months.

In other words, breastfeeding today lessens government health spending tomorrow.

Breastfeeding guru Dr. Jack Newman says Ontario mothers have “significant” problems feeding their babies because they can’t get help early enough. There are clinics, but not every mom can get to them. The hotline — once in operation — will help fill that gap. As Matthews says, “Breast is best.” It’s a good investment.

A 24-hour breast feeding help hotline is a good investment