Breastfeeding Barriers

The immediate and long-term benefits of breastfeeding have been demonstrated. Mothers are encouraged to begin breastfeeding immediately after delivery, however mothers choosing to breastfeed find numerous challenges once returning to work. There are not appropriate accommodations to support nursing mothers in the workplace. Although there are law in place to support accommodations in the workplace these laws are not enforced and therefore it is virtually impossible for mothers to continue to breastfeed as a result of the significant barriers they face to effectively find suitable accommodations in their workplace. There needs to be a standard for enforcing these policies if the goal is to move toward encouraging all mothers to breastfeed throughout the first 6 months of life.

The immediate and long-term benefits of breastfeeding have been demonstrated. Mothers are encouraged to begin breastfeeding immediately after delivery, however mothers choosing to breastfeed find numerous challenges once returning to work. There are not appropriate accommodations to support nursing mothers in the workplace. Although there are laws in place to support accommodations in the workplace these laws are not enforced and therefore it is virtually impossible for mothers to continue to breastfeed as a result of the significant barriers they face to effectively find suitable accommodations in the workplace. There needs to be a standard for enforcing these policies if the goal is to move toward encouraging all mothers to breastfeed throughout the first six months of life.

As I indicated earlier, women have been victimized for breastfeeding in public places. They have, therefore, been forced to resort to an alternative way of feeding their infants because the public would not have it. It has become harder for women to breastfeed although history has shown it that is something that has been practiced for a long time. On one hand, women want to be allowed to breastfeed whenever the child is hungry no matter the place; whereas, the public is not very accepting of this public display of care and affection between mother and infant. The medical community has indicated that it is important to breastfeed while the public wants the women not to do it where they can see it. They argue that exposing of the breasts is

The World Health Organization suggests that mothers solely breastfeed for the first six months of life, and continue to use breast milk to supplement the child’s diet for up to two years and beyond. Despite this being encouraged all around the world, the percentage of mothers who actually follow this advice is only high in developing countries. In these countries, over 99% of mothers typically begin breastfeeding newborns, and many children continue to be breastfed through their second year (Brown, 2015). In developed countries, the percentage drops drastically. In the UK, and similarly in America, Australia, and much of Europe, the percentage of mothers who begin breastfeeding is high, 81%, but the percentage drops to just 55% at six weeks. Norway experienced similar percentages in the 1970s, but there has been a culture change that has led to 98% of mothers breastfeeding at

Instead many mothers decide to breastfeed based on the benefits to the baby. Breastfeeding in the relation of a bottle feeding group tends to realize it as difficult and uncomfortable.

In todays society there are so many books and online sources that can be found on the “how-to” of raising a child. The question is though, which one of the sources should be trusted enough to follow through and to implement techniques on children. For one of the most important decisions that a mother and family can make is the option of breast milk or formula. In a growing society where mothers are given dirty looks for nursing in public, or media outlets rage in disapproval to mothers that share nursing stories, it almost seems crazy not to pick up a bottle and feed a child. Our society has made formula feeding a “norm” and had turned its back to mothers that ponder the choice of breast-feeding. This is a complete shame;

     If one chooses to have a child, shouldn’t he or she be obligated to do what is best for that child? There are many important choices to make for that child, and some may be more difficult than others. Hospital or home birth? Pampers or Huggies? Crib or family bed? But when it comes to feeding, the choice is clear. Breast-feeding is the best choice that mothers can make for themselves and their child.

Mother’s breastfeeding in public should be universally accepted because it would allow mothers to feed their infants without fear, allow mothers to provide the most complete form of nutrition to their babies, and desexualize the act of breastfeeding.

“Breast feeding rates in developed countries such as the UK, Australia and the US are typically lower than World Health Organisation goals” Parkinson (2010) 3. From a study carried out by Queensland university stressed the importance of not only the delivery of literature on how effective breastfeeding is for your babies health but that what was also needed to increase the number of breast feeders was to give personal support and explains social and environmental benefits also. When they looked at the UK in particular, Parkinson (2010) 3 stated “women already understood that breastfeeding was good for their baby, and what they needed were the tools to help them to breastfeed longer. From this it is clear that although effective and sufficient information around the benefits of the child is being addressed, there is no sufficient information or skills being given direct to the parents in order for them to carry this out for any length of time. Another piece of research was carried out in 2010 on ways to change the paradigm of breastfeeding, from encouraging promotion of breast feeding within the employment setting.

The practice of breastfeeding has become a very controversial topic over the years due to the creation of alternatives to breast milk, increase in working mothers, and other reasons. Much research shows that due to a variety of cultural, ethical, and economic reasons women should be encouraged to breastfeed for a specific duration of time, while others believe that this is unnecessary. Based on these three societal sectors, should women be encouraged to breastfeed? If so, for how long should they breastfeed?

Breastfeeding is a healthy, natural ability of every woman, and should therefore be socially acceptable and supported by everyone. For some reason this is not the case in our society, in fact breastfeeding continues to be a controversial issue that must be addressed by women’s rights activist groups. Breastfeeding is a feminist issue because the natural act has been medicalized and devalued by major companies because of their interests in profits in bottle feeding. According to Penny Van Esterik a coordinator in the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), women should never have to choose between their duties as a mother and their duties as a responsible, hard working employee. Our society pressures, exploits and oppresses women

There has been a trend developing that moves women away from breastfeeding their children despite the benefits of immunity and nutrients for optimal growth for infants. According to the article, “Breastfeeding and Culture,” the three main forces that work together for this movement is the change in economies that now focus more on money and having the wife be a husband's social partner, a belief that science will provide better for a child then a mother's own body, and commercialism that makes women feel as if breastfeeding is primitive, shameful, or unhealthy. These factors play a huge role in many different cultures for women when deciding if they should breastfeed their child or not. Particularly from Western influence and the effect of media, educated upper class women of many

Breast feeding has been in practice for a very long time, as early as 2000 BC. Before the invention of formula, bottles, and pumps this was the safest most common way for a mother to feed their infants. In fact, for 99% of human history breast milk was the sole source of nutrition for children until the age of two. In today’s society there are many different and opposing personal stand points on where or not a mother should breast feed their children. It is a very controversial topic with many variables. In breast feeding there are several benefits, reasons, and cultural effects that go into making the decision to engage or stay away from breast feeding. There is also historical causes and cultural differences that lead influence a mothers

Breastfeeding in public is one of the most controversial issues in society today. Breastfeeding has been around since before the 15th century. It is a bond shared between a mother and a child. Research shows that breastfeeding is the best choice over formula because breastfeeding provides the infant with essential nutrients, helps with recovery from childbirth, and protects the infant against a number of chronic conditions. Breastfeeding is abnormal, healthy, natural and need not be disguised, explained, or apologized. You should be able to breastfeed your baby wherever or whenever your child is hungry. Breastfeeding is not a choice it’s a responsibility. It may not be the right choice for some parents, but it’s the best choice for every baby.

In completing post-class questionnaires, participants scored significantly higher for breastfeeding knowledge, rated breastfeeding as significantly more important, and cited significantly higher confidence levels in breastfeeding than in pre-class questionnaires. In the 6-week postpartum interview, 70 of the original 153 mothers were interviewed. 91% were