Caring for an infant is as challenging as it is rewarding. New parents are bombarded with advice all while getting to know their new, tiny human. Recommendations and guidelines for taking care of an infant can change over time, especially as new information comes to light.

Despite being a natural process, breast/chestfeeding may be difficult for some and may feel confusing and overwhelming. Plus, breast/chestfeeding is hard work. Thankfully, there is now greater awareness of the well-known health benefits:

  • Protecting infants from short and long-term illnesses through antibodies in human milk.
  • Lowering the infant’s risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and later development of asthma, obesity and type 2 diabetes.
  • The ability of human milk to adjust to the needs of a growing infant, starting with thick colostrum, which promotes cell growth and develops into mature milk to keep baby nourished and hydrated.
  • Human milk can change month-to-month, day-to-day and even throughout a single feeding to meet the baby’s nutritional demands.
  • Decreasing the lactating parent’s risk of breast and ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.
  • Boosting prolactin and oxytocin, feel-good hormones.

For some new parents, breast/chestfeeding as a sole source of their child’s nutrition may not be possible due to medical conditions or delivery circumstances. For the parents who can feed their child solely with human milk, the cost of formula is avoided, but there are other expenses to consider. Breast/chestfeeding may take time away from professional opportunities, add stress to parents at home or limit moments of self-care.

Recipes for nutrient dense snacks

Additionally, producing human milk takes energy. Lactating people should eat about 500 additional calories every day in the first six months.  However, calorie needs for nursing depends on the extent of breast/chestfeeding. This could mean $10 to $25 extra dollars spent on groceries each week.

To satisfy your hunger and additional calorie needs, consider these nutrient dense snacks:

There are many considerations when deciding how to feed a baby. Often, it’s a process of trial and error. If breast/chestfeeding is possible, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends infants be exclusively fed human milk until six months of age. If mutually desired by the lactating parent and infant, the WHO encourages continuation of human milk feeding for two years or longer.

Every family will find what works best for them. Breast/chestfeeding and pumping human milk are among the options available. Families should work with their care teams to determine the best options for them and their baby.

For more information about healthy eating while lactating or any other nutrition concerns, please contact your local VA Registered Dietitian. Many VA facilities also offer lactation services and programs.

Contact your local VA to inquire about VA resources to help you with breast/chestfeeding supplies, education, and support.

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13 Comments

  1. Derek Nelson September 13, 2024 at 17:40

    Well, it’s kind of a redundant statement on account of the breasts being attached to the chest.

  2. Gene Howe September 13, 2024 at 16:49

    Chest feeding?? WTF is chest feeding?

  3. Elizabeth Cook September 7, 2024 at 10:41

    Like everyone else in the comments, I am disgusted by the use of the “trans-friendly” term “chestfeeding”. NO. Just stop. Breastfeeding is an innate capability of women (the real, biological ones) and the VA pretending otherwise here is gross, insulting, and completely anti-science. Just stop.

  4. Steven E. Klobe September 7, 2024 at 08:50

    The woke nonsensical terms used throughout this article are ridiculous. Who edits and approves this stuff? Only MOTHERS, females, breast feed at their option. When did mother slip from common use and breastfeeding need a /chest to ruin an article? It makes a reader question the rest of the article’s content.

  5. James Barrett September 6, 2024 at 11:01

    Chestfeeding!!! You people are sick!

  6. Cat September 6, 2024 at 07:32

    Shame on you, VA! How dare you insult mothers by publishing an article with a clear political agenda!

  7. Denise Peoples September 6, 2024 at 00:31

    As a mother who has breastfed my babies as nature intended us to, your chest feeding statements are abhorrent and demeaning to women! Men cannot breastfeed a baby from his chest! A woman can breastfeed a baby from her breasts as God intended. The author of this article should keep his liberal ideology to themselves and keep any further discussion factual instead of fantasy.

  8. WJH September 5, 2024 at 22:16

    Wow – glad to see literally all the initial comments are pointing out the absurdity of the VA using the invented and completely inaccurate words in the title. Science is science and women have breasts and feed the children they birth.

  9. Jeremiah September 5, 2024 at 11:14

    This article and the forces behind this “subtle” language change
    are abhorrent to motherhood.
    Women give birth, women breastfeed their babies. Mothers are women.
    Shame on the writer of this article.

  10. A. Ellis September 5, 2024 at 10:09

    As a mother who has successfully breastfed both of my children, it’s disheartening to see certain ideologies influencing institutions like the VA. Breastfeeding is a uniquely biological ability of women, and redefining it as “chest feeding” feels like a step toward undermining traditional family values.

  11. CM Bell September 4, 2024 at 23:16

    There is no such thing as “chest feeding.” Breast milk comes from breast’s only. Please be factual or else you lose all credibility.

  12. Jerald Akers September 4, 2024 at 18:53

    There’s no such thing as “chest feeding”. Men have chests and they can’t feed a baby with their chest.

  13. Ron September 4, 2024 at 18:35

    The utilization of the term CHEST instead of BREAST feeding by the VA is yet another example of the Democratic party to politicize every fabric of society, now even coming in-between a MOTHER and CHILD. The VA should concentrate it resources, strategy and marketing to impact successful outcomes of patients, not this intentionally divisive campaign of false ideology that marginalizes FEMALES and MIRICLE OF MOTHERHOOD – MEN WITH CHESTS can not BREAST FEED, ONLY MOTHERS CAN.

Comments are closed.

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