INDIAN ISLAND, Maine — Breast is best. That’s the message a group of Penobscot Indian Nation mothers and grandmothers will be sharing with future mothers and tribe members as part of a training effort to reduce obesity and diabetes on the island.
How infants eat in their first months and years plays an important role in how they develop and how they eat as children and young adults, according to Andrea Mietkiewicz, an Old Town midwife who also serves as the Penobscot Nation Health Department’s maternal and child health coordinator.
Mietkiewicz said the program, which started with a session on Tuesday morning, aims to train tribal mothers and grandmothers as peer counselors, who will teach and promote breast-feeding to other parents and expecting parents within the tribe. She said there are between 12 and 20 births to Penobscot Nation mothers per year.
“It almost seems natural that breast-feeding is best because it’s how we’re designed,” said Alexandra Francis of Bangor, a tribal member who attended Tuesday’s session.
Participants in the program are encouraged to feed their infants breast milk with no supplements for their baby’s first six months.
Evelyn Conrad, a lactation counselor, taught the mothers who attended the event the proper method of breast-feeding and read through long lists of breast-feeding benefits and diseases it is believed to decrease the chances of developing later in life, including Crohn’s disease, diabetes and leukemia.
Breast-feeding also is far less expensive than feeding using formulas or supplements, she said.
When a baby is born, its stomach is about the size of a marble and grows to hold about 1 ounce of food within the first few weeks of growth.
Because of the small size of an infant’s stomach, it’s easy to overfeed.
Parents who feed their babies formula will sometimes give them more than they need.
“We have gotten used to stuffing ourselves and it’s showing in our health,” Mietkiewicz said.
Stemming that overfeeding trend should start at the earliest possible opportunity, she argued.
Mothers who breast-feed their infants tend to provide more, smaller feedings during the course of a day, according to Conrad. That sort of “grazing” diet is healthier for all ages and gets infants to the right start early in life, she said.
The breast-feeding program is funded by a $20,000 grant from the National Library of Medicine and awarded by United South and Eastern Tribes Inc.
For mothers at Tuesday’s session, one of the most important reasons for why they chose to breast-feed was because of the bond it forms between mother and child.
“It feels like it’s what I’m supposed to do with my baby,” said Naya Mitchell of Indian Island, who attended Tuesday’s meeting with her 7-week-old son, Benally. She said she looked forward to sharing advice and advocating for breast-feeding in her community.
Filmmaker Nicolle Littrell is documenting the sessions and will produce a video to be posted on several websites, including those of the National Library of Medicine, the Penobscot Nation and the Indian Health Center.
Two more breast-feeding sessions are scheduled for August. The first will be held 9-11 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 9, at the Nick Sapiel Building on Indian Island. The second is set from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 10, at the Penobscot Tribal Council Chambers conference room.
Mietkiewicz encouraged grandmothers to attend sessions as well because knowledge about breast-feeding has changed over the past 20 years.
For information, call Mietkiewicz at 817-7420.
Did I see that correctly, “lactation counselor” under one of the photos.
Wow, I give them credit for being incredibly creative in ways to spend money.
Most hospitals have one….Breastfeeding isn’t something that young women have learned from their mothers or other female relatives — too many people choose not to feed their infants in the way nature provides – which is the best way — because of that — they need to be taught how to do it well. There are many strategies that are used — depending on infant size, amount of milk produced by the mother — Counselors also teach women how to pump breast milk, and store it — in short — they earn their paychecks by encouraging and guiding young women in successfully feeding their babies.
And there are far too few of them. I really wanted to have access to the lactation consultants at EMMC when I was there for the birth of my baby, but, due to budget cuts, they were not available on the weekends.
Right, but does she work for a hospital or the tribe. I honestly had never heard of the term, “lactation counselor.” I assumed HOSPITALS had someone on staff who would speak with new mothers and go over all the stuff they need to know.
Just couldn’t hold that comment in could ya. Meanwhile, the rest of the informed world knows that hospitals across the country have lactation counselors on hand and breastfeeding moms take advantage of it at a high rate….even moms who have breast fed children previously. Save your self serving judgments for the political blogs and get informed before commenting to avoid looking like such ignoramus.
Self serving? No, I thought the term seemed odd (having never heard it before). Does this woman work for a hospital? By what was said, it seemed like she was working for the tribe which struck me as odd (didn’t think there would be enough business for a lactation counselor).
Like you said, hospitals have them. Does this counselor work for a hospital?
GOT MILK?
My baby does!
Lucky little tike.
I have two kids. Kid 1-I followed everything by the book as you often do with your first child. Great nutrition, no coffee or caffeine, low sugar..my cravings were grapefruit! Breast fed and all . He is significantly overweight, had ear infections, tubes inserted and has the worst nutritional cravings e er. He was cranky as an infant, slept little, and was a challenge…and still is. Kid 2- I gave up…ate tons of sugar-for me anyway- drank coffee- and did not breast feed because kid 1 was so over active I didn’t see how I could find the time to relax to do so. he weighed 9.8 lbs., and was a dream baby…a little overweight until age 5, ear infections and also had tubes inserted…now…he is athletic, fit, and a college athlete. Don’t go putting all the “determining factors” for weight control on breast feeding. It isn’t the sole answer, at least in my case…and I was an advocate of breast feeding.
All my children were chunky breast fed babies. Today, not one of them is overweight. Good nutrition begins with breast feeding. Glad to see the Penobscot Nation invest in a worth while program encouraging good nutrition from the very beginning. Poor nutrition is becoming a serious health issue and in the end we all pay for it. Let’s stop eating over processed fake food like baby formula.
You “were” an advocate? That’s sad. Your own personal experiences to not negate decades of medical observation and evidence.
No one milks lactating mothers for the facts better than spunky cub reporter Nick McCrea!
Im so excited the imprtance of Bresstfeeding is being spread. I wish our forumla feeding rates errent so high. We need more of this so people stop posioning their babies with unheslthy corn syrup (formula)