breastfeeding growth chart

hi, everybody. this is stefan molyneux. thisis the truth about breastfeeding. please, please, please, make it through the presentation.this is really, really essential information. of course, if you know somebody who is bigwith child or of childbearing age, please forward it to them. this is stuff that youneed to know before you become a mother and father. let's do a little bit of background and thenwe will give you the information that will blow your mind and hopefully clinch the casefor breastfeeding at least until the first prom date. lactation, as you know, is the secretion ofmilk from the mammary gland. it also describes

the time period in which the mother lactatesto feed her young. the process occurs in all female mammals but in humans, it's generallyreferred to as nursing or breastfeeding. now, of course, exclusive breastfeeding refersto the feeding of only breast milk from the breast and no bottle feeding or other liquidsor solids with the exception of drops or syrups which have vitamins, minerals, supplementsor medicines. now, when the center for disease control andprevention, the cdc, weighs in, you might want to pay attention. they have said, "breastmilk is widely acknowledged as the most complete form of nutrition for infants with the rangeof benefits for infants' health, growth, immunity," which we'll get to in a second, "and development."the american academy of pediatrics and other

organizations such as the american medicalassociation and the american dietetic association and the world health organization all recommendbreastfeeding as best for babies. in addition, the aap recommends exclusive breastfeedingfor the first six months and encourages nursing for at least a year longer if the mother andbaby are enjoying it. now, of course, with infant formula and otheralternatives, breastfeeding is not the only option available and some women choose toforego breastfeeding altogether. now, in this presentation, we're going to have a look atthe history, functions, benefits, attitudes and prevalence of breastfeeding as well assome of the alternatives and their effectiveness. now, obviously, nutrition is the primary functionof breast milk but this is very important

because a newborn has no natural immunitiesof its own. the mother's breast milk provides not only essential nutrients but a way forthe mother to pass on her already developed immunities to her baby. this is what keepsthe germs at bay. the immune benefits in breast milk come froma substance called secretory immunoglobulin a (iga). it's present in large amounts inthe first milk a mother's body produces for her baby called colostrum. this is the good-to-keep-you-safejuice that goes straight into the baby and start building the immune system. it's stillpresent in mature breast milk but in lower concentrations. a woman's breast milk is very specificallytailored to her baby in a way that formula

obviously can't be. her body response to theviruses and bacteria that she is exposed to and in turn, her body creates this iga that'sspecific to those pathogens. this protection is then passed on to the baby through breastfeeding. this is important. one of the things thatdoctors have talked about is the superbug, these superbugs that are resistant to antibioticsand one of the reasons that this is happening is -- we've got a presentation coming up calledthe truth about daycare about the degree to which particularly having infants in daycarecauses mass illnesses that require this sort of airstrikes of antibiotics which raisesresistance of these bugs. but this is also when you have less breastfeeding, then youhave babies more susceptible to infections

which means more antibiotics, which meansbreading more superbugs. it's really, really quite important for the overall health ofthe community to focus on providing these kinds of safeties to your baby. iga forms a protective layer on the mucusmembranes in the baby's intestines, nose and throat, protecting the baby against invadinggerms. what happens in the future? well, bonding of course is an important function of breastfeedingas well. babies that don't experience eye contact, soft voices, skin on skin contactsoften have what is called the failure to thrive which means that they just kind of get sickand sometimes even die without that kind of contact. we need it as much as we need oxygenjust in a slightly different timeframe. skin

to skin contact is important for the releaseof hormones such as oxytocin and vasopressin linked to emotional and social bonding. thebeginning of empathy training, of sensitivity to others, of the capacity to focus on win-winnegotiations and be a good friend, a future good husband and lover is all rooted in skinon skin contact and one of the most beautiful ways to achieve that of course is througheye contact and breastfeeding. many children who have not had ample physicaland emotional attention have higher risk for behavioral, emotional and social problemsas they grow up. you may feel, "f your mom. i don't have time to breastfeed. i got toget things done. i got to get back to work or whatever. so much of life is pay me anhour or pay me later. if you really don't

want to have as many troubles with your teenager,the important thing is to set the bond, set the contact right up front. of course, improvethe quality of their infancy if they're getting sick less because you're breastfeeding themthen their experience of the world is much better. as we've talked about it in anotherpresentation that i hope you would check out, the truth about circumcision. if you havea boy, let's say, don't let the doctors remove half of his penis skin. at 2013, a study at brown university usingmri brain imaging shows breastfeeding improves brain development in infants. breastfeedingimprove brain development in infants. this hasn't been measured as far as i know to aspecific iq gain but i imagine there is one.

we certainly know that there's a three tofive-point iq drop for children who are spanked. so if you breastfeed and don't spank, yourkid is going to -- think of it as a massive investment in saving money because boy, they'resure to get some sort of scholarship rather than having you cough up 25 large year forthem to go to college. exclusive breastfeeding for at least threemonths produce better brain development than a combination of breastfeeding and formulawhich itself produce better development than formula alone. this nature's milk grows yourbaby's brain and there's no substitute for it. to deny your baby breast milk if you areall physically capable of providing it is to harm the baby's brain development, it'sto harm the baby's immunosuppressants and

immune system early on in life. it interfereswith the quality of the baby's emotional development and so to me, it seems like a no-brainer andit certainly was the case with my wife and i but we want to make the case scientificallyand not just from my opinion. this extra growth in the brain was most pronouncedin the parts of the brain associated with language, emotional function and cognition.if there are three things that you want your baby's brain to do well, it is not to juggleor do tricks or be a fire swallower. what you want your baby's brain is to develop languagebecause as soon as the baby develops language you can learn to negotiate which means thatyou can find win-win situations to conflicts, so solutions to conflicts, emotional functioningyou want so the kid is not having tantrums

and hitting things and cognition. the moreintelligent your child is the easier job you're going to have as a parent. in another study, infants who were breastfedfor at least six months scored higher on math, reading and spelling test at age ten thanthose breastfed for less than six months. i'm not a huge fan of public schools to saythe least but one of the reasons that certain poorest sections of society may have problemsin school, the kids may have problems in school is because of lack of empathy, lack of emotionaldevelopment, cognitive development, language development and brain functioning. we'll talkabout that in a few minutes. what's good for the mom. oh, the baby vampirediet is what we're going to talk about here.

suckling of the baby in the hours and daysafter birth releases oxytocin in the mother as well. therefore, she does not have to snortit off the baby's head. this hormone signals the breast to release milk to the baby aswell as producing contracting of the uterus to prevent postpartum bleeding and begin returningthe uterus to a pre-pregnancy state, internal surgery of some kind. the return of menstrualperiod is delayed as long as the mother breastfeeds exclusively. we'll mix it up there. this isimportant in the conservation of iron in the mother's body and often provides natural spacingof pregnancies. production of milk can use between 200 and500 calories a day on average. breastfeeding mothers tend to lose weight more easily afterchild birth so you don't end up with that

little post-baby pooch. studies have confirmedthat non-breastfeeding mothers lose less weight and don't keep it off as well as breastfeedingmoms. a 2002 study published in the british medicaljournal, the lancet, analyzed individual data from 47 studies in 30 countries including50,302 women with breast cancer and almost 100,000 without the disease. the study foundthat a woman's risk for breast cancer decrease by 4.3% for every 12 months she breastfedduring her lifetime. the risk also decreased seven percent for every child born. to repeatthat, this is so important, a woman's risk for breast cancer decrease by over four percentfor every 12 months she breastfed during her lifetime and seven percent for every childborn. this is a chilling case of use it or

lose it. a 2002 study published in the american journalof epitome ideology analyzed 12 case-controlled studies and showed that women who breastfedhad a 20% lower risk of developing ovarian cancer than those who did not. just think,i mean we stop smoking. we put sunscreen on because we want to reduce our risk of cancer.this is a 20% drop in the risk of contracting ovarian cancer. why have the kids if you'renot going to do everything you can to be around as long as possible? mothers who develop gestational diabetes andbreastfeed have lower blood sugars after birth than those non-breastfeeding mothers.

now what are the concerns? there are timeswhen a woman should not breastfeed. what are those? of course, if you're hiv-positive,the virus can be passed to the infant through breast milk. if the mother has active, untreatedtuberculosis, in other words if she's fallen out of the pages of a dickens novel, whenthe mother is receiving chemotherapy for cancer, when the mother is using illegal drugs suchas heroin, cocaine or marijuana, when the mother is taking certain prescription medications,drugs for migraine headaches, parkinson's disease or arthritis. i guess the latter twowill be kind of a christmas miracle. when the baby has one of a few rare genetic conditionsin which they cannot digest either the sugars or the proteins in breast milk. these areobviously pretty rare.

lack of milk production is also a concernfor new mothers. while breastfeeding is natural, it does not necessarily come naturally. well,amen to that. patience and learning good technique are key factors. some mothers with low milkproduction may be able to solve the problem with the right support. currently, there isa growing profession devoted exclusively to helping with breastfeeding issues called lactationconsulting. fair warning it is not the boy in his early teens next door no matter whathe says. transfer of chemicals through breast milkis definitely a growing concern as well due to the higher number of new medications onthe market. household chemicals that the mother is exposed to may show up in breast milk.there are more and more studies being conducted

on chemicals showing up in harmful levelsfor the baby. this list is frequently being revised. talking to a pediatrician or lactationconsultant is the best way to alleviate fears and especially by your breastfeeding is goodidea in general, especially when you're breastfeeding, you try and live as natural as possible. shoparound the edges of the supermarket and try a few packaged goods as possible. infant formula. they're first developed byhenri nestlã©. in the 1860s, infant formula did not become popular until much later becauseyou have boobs. during the post world war ii baby boom, the nestlã© company launcheda massive ad campaign to promote their baby formula. advertisements often implied thatbabies needed more than just breast milk for

optimal health and nourishment. they emphasizedhow closely formula approximated breast milk's chemical composition. this, just a very brief aside, this is somethingthat drives me a little bit nuts about advertising and advertisers, and not just advertising.remember this thing where it's like you got to drink eight glasses of water a day, turnedout to be a complete nonsense. your body will say, "hey, i'm thirsty," when it wants somethingto drink. there's always this argument that you have to do something to get to go, goand get some sort of cleanse by putting tentacles up your butt or something and you don't needto cleanse. your body has already developed its capacity to clean its innards and it doesn'tactually need to be that clean. you need a

bacteria in there anyway. this idea that somehow we need plus, we needsomething else, we need something that billions of years of evolution has left us shy off,be very skeptical of those kinds of claims. formula and bottles became quite popular atthat time because women needed to be able to leave their babies behind to help in thewar efforts. don't the endless benefits of war just leave you agog? the baby boomer generationis the first generation to have been bottle-fed on a large scale. this may have somethingto do with disco and polyester studies are still underway. due to metabolic stress experienced, infantformula feeding appears to contribute to the

development of several common childhood illnessesincluding atrophy, hyperallergy, diabetes, childhood obesity, and other conditions inadult life. today, some women choose to use formula so another person can take of theirchild, a family member or childcare provider typically so the mother can return to worksooner. okay. if you want to have a baby, please tryand stay home with the baby. if you cannot stay home with the baby, postpone having thebaby until you can stay home with the baby. that's it. so improvements to infant formulacontinue to be made. no true replacement for breast milk exists. don't think i'm part ofthe patriarchy. i'm a stay at home dad. although i'm all taps and no plumbing, my boobs comewith no milk but with floss. anyway, formula

sales have decreased after world war ii dueto lower birthrates and education initiatives that highlighted the benefits of breastfeeding.to counter this loss in sales, nestlã© and other such companies began focusing theirmarketing campaigns in developing countries. in the mid-1970s nestlã©'s dubious, to sayas nicely as possible, formula marketing practices in south africa came to light. it was foundthat they were sending so-called milk nurses into hospitals' clinics and private homesto instruct poor women on the use of formula for their babies. these were women dressedin nurses' uniforms but very few of them were actually nurses or healthcare professionals. these south african mothers rarely had accessto clean running water and mixing the formula

with contaminated water often led to diarrheaand sometimes, the infant's death. overtime of course, when you're formula-feeding a baby,the mother's breast milk dries up leaving her no other option but formula. but due tothe high cost, some mothers were watering it down to make it last longer which led tomalnutrition. in july of 1977, the infant formula actioncoalition launched a nationwide boycott of nestlã© in the us. this boycott soon spreadto australia, canada, new zealand and europe. in 1979, the international baby food actionnetwork was formed to raise awareness of such detrimental practices of supplementary feedingof new babies with formula and the inappropriate promotion of baby formula and to help changeattitudes that discouraged or inhibit mothers

from breastfeeding their babies. there's profit for evil capitalists in thepromotion of this stuff and this is frankly profit in governments to get women into theworkforce. i mean, if a woman is staying at home, you cannot tax the woman. if the womangoes to work, well, you get to tax the baby formula that is sold. you get to tax the womanwho's gone back to work. you get to often tax the childcare providers that she's payingto take care of her child. yay for governments, nay for babies and the future of the species. in 1981, the 34th world health assembly adoptedresolution wha 34.22 which includes the international code of marketing of breast milk substitutes.the code dictates who could advice parents

on the use of breast milk substitutes, limitswho manufacturing companies can distribute information to and sets forth labeling requirements.the usa was the only member state to vote against it, only endorsing it in 1994. nestlã© is still in and out of the news andthe courts due to violations of the code in various countries around the world. they havebeen fined for violating certain aspects of the code but have not been held directly responsiblefor any infant deaths to be fair. i'm sure lots of people have tried. in fact, nestlã©boycott is ongoing. similar to attitude of the 1500, by the 1950sthe predominant attitude to breastfeeding was that it was something practiced by theuneducated and the lower classes. breastfeeding

was discouraged by medical practitioners andmedia of the time and was considered old-fashioned and a little disgusting for those who couldafford infant formula. this is the way the society reorganizes itself.if the higher classes are a little bit more intelligent, then people target them, appealto their vanity and then they don't breastfeed their kids which makes their kids less intelligent.the young are breastfeeding their kids. the poor are breastfeeding their kids making themmore intelligent. this is the cycle of life and intelligence. the smarter women are the ones who want togo out to work more which means that their babies get less cognitive development whichmeans that it's the shirt's sleeves to -- bowties

the shirt's sleeves in three generations.letters and editorials to canadian women's lifestyle magazine chatelaine from 1945 toas late as 1995 regarded breastfeeding -- those letters regarding breastfeeding were predominantlynegative. i think the technical term was like, "ew." however, since the middle 1960s there hasalso been a study researching some of the practice of breastfeeding in canada and theus especially among more educated and affluent women. this is -- some thinkers have said,it's the great rediscovery. like, "hey, let's live in a commune and not shower." "hey, we'vegot licensed scabies." it's just stuff we kind of have to keep relearning over and overand over again. like, "hey. charity should

be taken care of by judges and local institutionsand people who actually care." "no, let's give it to the government." oh, let's bringit back to local charities and institutions because it's just a great learning we keephaving to do over and over again until we get it right. breastfeeding trends have seen ups and downsover the last five centuries but in general breastfeeding has been on the rise since themid-1970s. the cdc collects a comprehensive set of breastfeeding data via the nationalimmunization survey in the us. the survey covers three years of children's lives. themost recent data is for the birth year 2010. these surveys show that for babies born in2010, 77% of new mothers started breastfeeding

at birth. this included all women who havebreastfed any amount and for any length of time, could be a flyby, could be a bungeejump, days, weeks or months. for the birth year 2000, that number was 71%.yay moms! keep it going! these data also track breastfeeding duration and showed that ofthe initial number 49% who are breastfeeding at six months, sadly, about only 27% was stillbreastfeeding up to 12 months. when only looking at women who breastfed exclusively,that number declined significantly. of course, if you are pumping breast milk, hopefullynot in an executive level cubicle but at home and then the baby gets, the nutritional valueof course, gets the immunosuppressant value but not quite as much of this sort of skinto skin value.

only 38% of new mothers breastfed exclusivelyfor the first three months which dropped to 16% for the first six months. of those whodid not breastfed exclusively, 24% supplemented infant formula before the baby was two daysold, before the baby was two days old. i know it's a struggle. that was a struggle for usbut it is worth sticking it through. of course, you start supplementing infant formula andyour breast say, "oh. i guess baby didn't make it or what. i really start to dry upa little." so 24% supplemented infant formula beforetwo days old. 36% for three months old and 43% before six months old, resist, resist,resist, i won't argue. oh, i think the science and data argues.

according to the cdc's most recent breakdownof socio-demographic data before the birth year 2007, neither birth order nor sex showeda pronounced effect on the right of breastfeeding. race is probably the most significant factorin the choice to breastfeed. asians are breastfeeding at 86%, hispanics or latinos at 81%, whitesat 78%, american-indian or alaskan natives at 74%, native hawaiians and others 73% andblack or african-americans at 60%. boy, if you want to help give your kids a leg up inlife, it would be great if we could get all those numbers into the asian level. women who receive government assistance areless likely to breastfeed than those who do not. what can i say? those who receive wicare 68% eligible but not receiving 78%, not

receiving 85%. the reasons for that, i mean,we could speculate but those were the facts. women who are 20 years old or younger are19% less likely to breastfeed than women who are 30 years of age and older. one of thethings that is true is when you're young, you think you know everything, right? i thinkit was mark twain who had this old saying about, "i left home when i was 17 and i cameback three years later, i was amazed at how much my old man had learned in three yearsthat i had been away." when you're young you think you know a lot and when you're olderyou realize like socrates did that you're pretty ignorant about most things and so yougo and find things out. this is what parenting should always be about.we have greater cell phones, and our computers

and our cars, we should continually striveto upgrade our parenting particularly from how we were parented. i mean we wouldn't acceptour parents' old computer and try and use one of those massive brick light point atthe satellites cell phones from 1982. we constantly need to look at the science to upgrade ourparenting self for the younger people. don't assume that you know. always got to look itup. married women are 21% more likely to breastfeedthan unmarried women. yet another example of how marriage is beneficial to children. education seems to play a big role as well.so if you are not a high school graduate, you're at 67%. if you are a high school graduate,you are 67%. if you have some college, you

are at 77% of breastfeeding. college graduate,88% and so on. new moms living in the city outskirts and suburbs come in at three percentabove the national percentage while those living in rural areas are 11% below the nationalpercentage for breastfeeding. what are the common objections to breastfeeding?some of the most common reasons for not breastfeeding are discomfort, time issues, latching difficulties,and lack of support. i don't think mentioned here is the husband wanting to get back in. it is estimated that more than 95% of womenare physically capable of breastfeeding since infant genetic abnormalities and physicalabnormalities in the mother occur only in one to four percent of cases. the three mostcommon reasons for not continuing nursing

are, "my baby had difficulty nursing," says31% of women. "it was too hard to get breastfeeding going," 23% of women. "formula was more convenience,"23% of women and there is some lack of support from everyone around the mothers includingdoctors, partners, family and friends. of course, if you had a mother who formulafed like most of these mistakes tend to photocopy and you may feel not too comfortable sayingto your mother, "well, the formula feeding was bad so i'm going to breastfeed," and themother says, "oh, the formula is fine. that's what i did. there's something wrong with it,"and so can be a bit conflict-y but the star we guide our parenting by is the scientificbenefit and best practices for the mental, physical and emotional health of our children.previous generations are upsets. frankly be

damned, you just do what is best for yourkid. the science and knowledge has advanced. it is difficult. my wife had significant difficulties.she with my encouragement just power through and it worked out fine. many breastfeeding advocates suggest thatlack of support is the greatest contributor to women not initiating or continuing breastfeeding.and what do i know? i'm not an expert in this but i think it's also the woman's choice.it's also the amount of knowledge you get and the amount of commitment that you haveto the best interest of your child. and so, it's not just the lack of support that's thereas well but i would also argue that willing can make that better decision.

why, what's the problem with breastfeeding?the breastfeeding rate may seem high at 77%. but if you consider that 24% of those womenstart introducing formula before the infant is two days old, then the percentage of womenwho actually initiated and breastfeed for three days or more drops to 59%. three daysafter the baby's born, we're down to 59%. it's not good. i got to grow old in a worldpopulated by these people. childbirth connection's listening to mothers iii survey for 2012 foundthat women on average appear to be aware of national breastfeeding recommendations. buta gap exists between national standards for hospital breastfeeding support and the hospitalpractices women experience after birth. the aap has two policies which provide guidanceto hospitals to implement practices that support

breastfeeding and avoid destructive ones.contrary to these guidelines, survey participants who intended to exclusively breastfeed experiencethe following: 49% were given free formula samples or offers. 47% were not told aboutbreastfeeding resources in their communities. 37% of their babies were given pacifiers bythe staff. 36% were not shown how to position the baby to limit nipple soreness. 35% ofbabies do not room in with their mothers while in the hospital. that was true here. canadahas this socialized healthcare system and we had to pay significantly extra for a privateroom where we could all sleep together. i mean, we did because that's what we wantedbut it feels a bit of a farm factory otherwise. 31% were not encouraged to breastfeed on demand.29% were given formula or watered supplement,

their mother's breast milk and 19% did notreceive -- have to stop breastfeeding when they were ready. this is all a problem. thisis definitely quite tragic. i hate to say it, ladies, but you should not be figuringout the value of breastfeeding after you've had the baby. if memory serves you have aboutnine months hopefully to prepare for this. you're probably trying to get pregnant beforehand.if you're married hopefully you've been around for a couple of years talking about this.you don't try and figure out how to drive the car while you're taking the test. youdo a bit of prep beforehand. so i think it would be great if people had more support,if women had more support. but come on, i mean you know you're going to have a babyand you know that breastfeeding is important.

that's kind of what they're for, get the guygive it to the baby. that's what they're for. so i would say that this is a shame but istill think that this is something that women can -- i don't have enough disrespect forwomen to say they cannot figure this stuff out ahead of time. as set forth in the international code ofmarketing of breast-milk substitutes, formula companies are not allowed to market directlyto consumers. instead, they enlist doctors to recommend their products and most patientstrust that the advice from their healthcare providers is given with the patient's bestinterest in mind. things like adhd meds of all kinds would lead me to have some hesitationas to trusting that everything the doctor

says has the best interest of children inmind. my particular opinion, not just my opinion, but do your research. do your research, that'sall i'm saying. formula companies often give hospitals andmedical providers free or discounted products and they use paid lunches and other incentiveprograms to encourage health workers to recommend their brands. these companies further garnerphysicians' goodwill by sponsoring scientific conference and research on infant nutrition.of course, i mean we all know this. i mean the people who want to sell you stuff, wantto sell you stuff and they're not going to particularly talk about the downside of theirproducts. every consumer knows this, from about the first time you ordered something,sea monkeys over the internet and get a bunch

of algaes. we all know this, that people whotry and sell us stuff have conflict of interest. they want to make money. they're not goingto talk about the downside. you don't see a bunch of people but no teeth. they're chortlingabout how great coca-cola is. we all know this and so do your research. do your research.do your research. a study published in the general pediatricsof 2010 showed that 78% of us hospitals routinely give formula to healthy breastfeeding infants.well, they don't if the mom says no. many proponents of breastfeeding blame higher formulause rates on the facts that many hospitals also give new moms discharge packs containingformula samples and coupons. you don't have to use them.

a study published in obstetrics & gynecologyin february 2000 stated that, "exposure to formula promotion increases significantlybreastfeeding cessation in the first two weeks. also, among women with uncertain goals orbreastfeeding goals of 12 weeks or less, exposure to formula promotion results in exclusivefull and overall breastfeeding duration being shortened. well, with these facts, that'snot going to happen anymore. i'm so excited. since 2000, many hospitals have opted to nothandout formula samples with 28% being sample free in 2010. unfortunately, there are nomore recent large scale studies on this subject. the world health organization has outlinedten steps to successful breastfeeding. these steps are the foundation of the baby-friendlyhospital initiative and summarize the maternity

practices necessary to support breastfeeding.look, i appreciate all of this stuff. somehow, we evolve from single-cell organisms withoutclusters of people in white coats telling us to put milk in our babies' mouths. i'mglad that this stuff is all there. it seems insane that it needs to be but use it if youcan but it really seems a bit of an overcomplicated thing to baby-nipple gap. have a written breastfeeding policy that isroutinely communicated to all healthcare staff. train all healthcare staff in skills necessaryto implement this policy yet inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management ofbreastfeeding. you should know before you go in but it's great to know afterwards isuppose. help mothers initiate breastfeeding

within half an hour of birth to get that colostrum,to get that immunosuppressant milk in there. show mothers how to breastfeed and how tomaintain lactation even if they should be separated from their infants. give new borninfants no food or drink other than breast milk and lattes and less medically indicated.practice rooming in. that is allowed. mothers and infants to remain together, 24 hours aday. again, i mean it just seems strange that weneed all this stuff. i'm glad it's there but -- encourage breastfeeding on demand. of course,if baby's hungry. give no artificial teeth or pacifiers, also called dummies or soothers.oh, i thought they're talking about me, to breastfeeding infants. foster the establishmentof breastfeeding support groups and refer

mothers to them upon discharge from the hospitalor clinic. this is good. it's good reminders. you should know this stuff beforehand. a maternity facility can be designated baby-friendlywhen it does not accept free or low cost breast milk substitutes, feeding bottles or titsand has implemented the previous ten steps to support successful breastfeeding. alsonot allowed, fire breathing lizards and nunchuckus and steak knives. because the benefits of breastfeeding arebecoming more well-known, new family-friendly facilities called birthing centers have emerged.it's a good one. unlike hospitals, birthing centers are more like home environments toallow for a more relaxed pre-imposed birth

experience. rooming in or sort of stayingtogether is considered one of the key components for bonding between baby and parents. thishelps the mother and the father learn the baby's feeding cues and establish breastfeedingpatterns. co-sleeping is often encouraged for mother and babies. well, co-sleeping isgreat. i mean if baby's hungry, you just turn and doze and the baby can feed. it's fantastic. midwives and lactation consultants are usuallyonsite to answer any questions. listen. don't get me wrong. i mean, i'm not saying, it'sas easy as falling off a log. breastfeeding can be complicated, can be difficult, canbe painful. so take the support that you need. you should have the knowledge before you goin. there's knowledge there if you don't.

take the support that you need. it can beincredibly frustrating and difficult. i had a friend. his wife is breastfeeding and shewas trying for like four or five hours. she just be in hysterics at the end and tears.it's such an emotional challenge. if you're a husband, support, support, support. if youknow, if you're a friend, you just support like crazy. if there are challenges in breastfeeding,it can turn you as a woman inside out. i don't mean to sort of be glib about it like it'salways easy and sometimes it's really, really difficult but it's so essential to stick throughit. an increasing number of births are takingplace in baby-friendly facilities but they represent now just sort of seven percent ofall us births. these are the facts. these

are the facts. we go to science to find outwhat is best for our children and what is best for our children so often is how we developas a species. breastfeeding was developed for a reason because the lactation powdertrees were often over the other side of the mountain. we go back to baby contact is essential. staywith your baby. sleep with your baby. be with your baby. they were inside you for nine months.crush them up against you for nine months more, 18 months more. i think we went to 18months for breastfeeding. but do all of that. that stuff -- it's really, really important.go to the science. don't go to history. don't go to the doctor necessarily. obviously, formedical advice absolutely but when it comes

to things like formula, unless there's a medicalreason, just go to the facts. this is what's best for your baby. this iswhat is best for your baby's development, emotional development. you want the empathy.you want those language skills. you want those cognitive skills and emotional skills to beas high as possible. it's going to make your job as a parent so much better. it is so muchfun to be a dad when you have given that kind of support to your kid. i've been there toput her to bed almost every single night of her life. i'm here every day. it just makesall the difference in the world in terms of how much fun, how much connection you couldhave as a parent. we did this video. this is the last point.sorry for lecturing. we did this video, the

truth about circumcision. i got a tons ofemails from moms who are like, "it reduces the risk of penile cancer." not true but obviouslythis is something they read. "oh, it reduces the risk of stds." not true. "it reduces therisk of hiv." not true. but this is they believed that you had to gauze the foreskin off thebaby's penis and slice half of the skin off the penis for really dubious way in the futureand contentious possible health benefits. so that's what they were willing to do forthe boy for really sketchy maybe health benefits that aren't actually even true. if this is true, if the moms are like, "well,this is what you're going to do," and the dads are, this is what i want you to do forthe health of the baby: (a) don't circumcise;

(b) this is really clear stuff. this is goingto be plus iq points probably. this is along without spanking is going to probably giveyou five to ten points extra iq. that is a huge difference. that's a difference betweendoing a ba and getting halfway through a phd for god's sakes. that's really important.this is about the best thing that you can do. take the time off. take the time off.it used to be like four years, five years. now, some psychologists are saying the firstthree years are really essential. what if you need to stay home for three years?find a way to do it. if you've got to go live in your parents' basements, if you got togo to live in a small one bedroom apartment. i mean, you made those sacrifices to go throughschool. didn't you ride four years to go through

school. this is three years your kid is goingto be and your life for 50 years. three years at the beginning to make the rest of those47 years so much better is an investment that no sane person could ever turn down. so finda way to make it happen and breastfeed if at all humanly possible. this is stefan molyneux from freedomain radio.thank you so much.