Essay On Breastfeeding

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 audience intended for this paper are mothers that have a desire to breastfeed, employers, clinicians, breastfeeding advocacy groups and federal and state legislators involved in policy change.

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

AHRQ. (2009). Breastfeeding, Maternal & Infant Health Outcomes. Retrieved January 22, 2015, from Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: http://archive.ahrq.gov/clinic/tp/brfouttp.htm

Very few experts disagree with the fact that breastfeeding is the optimal choice for the infant. However, decreasing breastfeeding rates raise many questions as to why mothers are not choosing the best nutritional choice for their children. Despite breast milk being the obvious choice for infant feeding due to the health, psychological, and economic benefits, many mothers still decide to feed their infants formula due to lack of knowledge and support, difficulties with breastfeeding, and social embarrassment. Changes need to be made with formula companies, medical professionals, and the public opinion of breastfeeding in order to give nursing mothers the support they deserve.

Every year, approximately 4 million babies are born in the United States. This means that every year, approximately 8 million breasts are swollen with Mother Nature's own ambrosia, ready to start our children down the path to a healthy and well-adjusted life. Having a child is the most natural thing in the world to most women. Breast feeding is the the most healthy food for a newborn child. It prevents a wide range of illnesses as well as helps the mother feel better after birth. So why not breastfeed your new born? Although many people believe that breast feeding puts undue stress on a new mother, ultimately, as a mother, you will be responsible for every single feeding that your child experiences. Sure, it is true that you can pump the

Breastfeeding is a great way to ensure babies have a healthy head start to life! For optimal growth and development, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that babies be breastfed exclusively for the first six months of life and with complementary foods until age two or until both mother and baby are ready to wean (1).

Title of source: Factors Associated With Exclusive Breastfeeding Among Infants Under Six Months of Age in Peninsula

The following databases were searched for published literature, PubMed, Medline, Cochrane Library, EMBASE and WHO. These databases were searched for files that discuss the effects of interventions to promote breastfeeding rates: exclusive, predominant, partial, or no breastfeeding. No language or date restrictions were imposed. These search criteria and database searches gave a variety of article while concentrating on the research question.

Whether to breastfeed or to formula feed is one of the many decisions parents have to make when caring for a newborn baby. The decision may seem simple in which parents base there decision on comfort, convenience and finance but little do most parents know the decision being made can have damaging long term effects than that of the present. There is plenty of research that state the significance of breastfeeding that go far beyond the extent of bonding between mother and newborn. Although, that too is important. Breast milk is known to contain antibodies which can help the newborn in developing a strong immune system which influence all the body systems. Research has shown that breast-milk can help prevent long term diseases such as

Twenty one to one interviews were conducted with women who have had babies within one year. Half are currently breastfeeding and half are not breastfeeding at all but were at the time of birth. Ages range from 20 to 34. I will first discuss the women who are not breastfeeding. There were several motives expressed as reasons why breastfeeding was not successful, but the overwhelming underlying reason was lack of proper education. Motives listed in order of most frequent were pain associated with breastfeeding (3), lack adequate milk supply (3), infection from oversupply (1), lack of pumping time/space at work (2), wanted baby to sleep longer (1), and family members not being supportive (2). Concurrently, in literature, lack of adequate milk supply and returning to work were the two main reasons women stopped breastfeeding (Arlotti, Cottrell, Lee, & Curtin, 1998). The women that reported pain as the reason for not continuing to breastfeed never sought out a lactation consultation, and felt like their primary care provider was not well versed in lactation in general. The women who stopped breastfeeding due to inadequate milk supply all became frustrated and stopped at a common infant growth spurt phase suggesting that education on growth spurts and how the supply and demand system work may have been beneficial. The women who stopped breastfeeding due to pumping concerns at work were not educated on the state laws regarding breastfeeding and that the law mandates a reasonable

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

Throughout most of human history, breast milk has been the one food that infants have thrived on. Breastfeeding is recognized throughout the world as the preferred method of feeding infants due to its health benefits and nutritional quality. Recommendations by leading health organizations echo the importance of breastfeeding by setting forth guidelines.

A lot of these problems seen in formula feed babies are due to the fact that the particular composition of the formula doesn’t suit their digestive system. Breast milk consists of the optimum proportions of fats, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals and water. It is extremely digestible for a new-born baby because the milk is naturally refined to perfectly suit the baby’s digestive system. The milk also contains growth factors such as, epidermal growth factor (EGR) and insulin-like growth factor. The epidermal growth factor works by helping to prepare the lining of the gut to absorb the nutrients from the milk consumed. Insulin-like growth factor is believed to be one of the primary factors regulating early growth and development. Breast milk also contains essential fatty acids that are not present in most formula milk products. The two essential fatty acids present in breast milk are docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonis acid. Both of these play a vital role in optimal development of the central nervous system, intellectual and visual development in babies. Furthermore, one of the most prominent advantages associated with breast feeding over formula feeding babies is that, breast milk naturally changes composition to correspond to the stage of development of the infant. For example, colostrum is the name given to the first milk produced post-delivery. It has an abundance of white cells and antibodies, it also contains a

The American Academy of Pediatrics in New Mother 's Guide to Breastfeeding, 2nd Edition states, “Breastfeeding