Ottawa Moms More Likely to Breastfeed

I read an article posted in the Ottawa Sun at the end of August that said that Ottawa moms were more likely to breastfeed compared to other moms in cities around the province. The article said, “Over 70% of Ottawa mothers non-exclusively breastfed their babes for at least six months in 2009-2010, the report found. In Ontario, that number was just over 45%.”

To this I say, “Woohoo!”

As a breastfeeding mother of a 21-month old (presently), I love reading stats like this one. It tells me that breastfeeding is becoming more and more commonplace, which makes me super excited.

When I was growing up, I never saw anyone breastfeed a baby (that I can remember) and I didn’t spend much time around babies. So, when it came time for me to have a baby, my thought process was, “Buy bottles, get formula, feed baby.” Breastfeeding never entered the equation. It wasn’t until I started watching pregnancy and new momma vlogs on YouTube that I started to see many other moms choosing to breastfeed and do it exclusively and do it on an extended basis.

As the birth of my daughter neared, I remember becoming more and more knowledgeable about breastfeeding and I knew that it was what I wanted to do. I knew that it was best for my baby and the health benefits for me would be amazing. I also knew that it would create a bond between my daughter and I and provide us with lots of mommy and baby moments, especially in the early days when we had so many visitors. I knew that no matter what, no matter how challenging, I was going to breastfeed my daughter.

The breastfeeding journey is not an easy one. Along with choosing to breastfeed comes all sorts of things that make it a more difficult choice. However, there are also so, so, so many benefits that simply make the choice to breastfeed worth it. I am excited to see that other Ottawa mommas are stepping up to the plate to make breastfeeding something that we do often and something we stick to.

It probably also helps that we have so many amazing resources available for the breastfeeding mom. For this, Fleur Bickford of Nurtured Child is going to put together a post on breastfeeding resources. I will make sure it is shared whenever it is posted.

If you breastfeed and live in the Ottawa or Ottawa Valley area, how proud does this statistic make you? Leave your response in the comments below!