Essay On Breastfeeding

Most professionals highly recommend that mother’s breast-feed for the first year of their child’s life. This is because breast milk is the best source of nutrition as it contains the right amount of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, also providing the right amount of digestive enzymes, minerals, vitamins, and hormones that infants require. Breast milk contains antibodies provided from the mother that can help protect the baby against various infections, and ailments. (Breast Feeding vs. Bottle Feeding, n.d) Breast milk is something that was made naturally, so why try and buy something artificial when you have the real thing right at your fingertips. Breastfeeding is better than bottle-feeding a baby as breastfeeding has many benefits not only for the baby, but for the mother as well. The nutrients found in breast milk will help the infant strive to be the best it can be, and also the healthiest.

Studies have shown that breastfeeding has numerous benefits for mother and baby, including reducing the risk of common childhood infection such as ear, respiratory and urinary tract infections in infants. The protective antibodies found in breast milk helps to combat common infections that often leads to missed days at work and translates into lost productivity. In addition, breastfeeding has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of obesity in breastfed children verse children that were not breastfed. Breastfeeding also helps to reduce the risk of certain types of cancers and osteoporosis in women that breastfeed. The current recommendation from the American Academy of

As you get ready to welcome your baby and introduce her to this world, you are flooded with thoughts of how to take care of your little one in the best possible way. You find that motherhood is not only about loving and caring, it is also about making a few conscious decisions to help your child grow in a healthy manner. One such decision is whether to breastfeed your baby or to offer her formula nutrition.

Since the beginning of time women have breast fed their infants. Although modern science has developed infant formula, doctors and nurses still recommend women feed their infants breast milk. Breastfeeding increases bonding time between mother and baby and decreases cancer in women. It is hypothesized that breast milk significantly improves babies health and cognitive functioning. Breast feeding is frequently researched and there are multiple sources that cite its benefits.

A lot of mothers are not being told how wonderful breastfeeding is for their health. Whether out of inexperience or due to the impact of the artificial baby milk industry, many health care providers fail to let mothers know of the facts. As other new mothers find out about these facts, more mothers will not merely choose to breastfeed for a short period of time to provide early disease control for their baby, but will continue to breastfeed, providing the best results both for their child and for

Breastfeeding protects babies against Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), as well as sepsis in pre-term babies. Breast milk contains antibodies that help babies fight off infections like otitis media and respiratory problems like meningitis and bronchitis. It has been found to reduce the incidence and intensity of atopic diseases. Babies who breastfeed tend to suffer from colds less frequently and have fewer incidents of colic. (Davis)

In this article, “The Ideal and the Real of Breast-Feeding” by Jane E. Brody, Brody brings some good points to light. The campaign to exclusively breastfeed for the first six months in today’s society is becoming increasingly prevalent by health care providers, lactation consultants, and other organizations. Brody’s notable outlook on breastfeeding stems from her own personal experiences with her twin boys. The ever increasing numbers of reasons one should breastfeed and how important it is for the health of the child to continue to grow. As the textbook, “How Children Develop” by Robert Siegler, shows it is a natural life source. Mammals use breast milk as a source of nutrition for their young. Humans have become more reliant on formula feeding.

Dr Lawrence (2010) 1 said “ instead of promoting the tremendous benefits of breastfeeding to this population, the risks of formula feeding and the costs to health and the community of not breastfeeding will have to incorporated into persuading these women to do the best for their infants and themselves”.

Breast-feeding is nutritionally, emotionally and physically superior for a mother and her child. “Human breast milk is not standard nor is it interchangeable with cow’s milk. It is a dynamic fluid that changes in composition to meet the needs of the baby as it grows” (“Giving your Baby... Diet.” par. #10). Breast milk contains growth factors and antibodies which stimulate the growing baby and protect it from illness such as diarrhea, ear infections, rashes, allergies, asthma, skin problems, pneumonia, respiratory illness and other serious illnesses. Breast-feeding also improves a baby’s chance of remaining healthy. These antibodies are not found in formula. They can not be sustained. Breast-fed babies are also neurodevelopmentally more

According to World Health Organization (WHO, 2016), Breastfeeding is the standard and natural method of delivering young infants with the adequate nutrients that is needed and required for healthy growth and development. Breast milk is the best and optimal nutrition for infants, in which there are health benefits for both the infants, mothers, families and communities as whole. According to Rockville the (2011), most women in the United States are aware that, breastfeeding is the optimum source of nutrition for most infants, but lack of adequate knowledge and information about its detailed benefits and the risks associated with not breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding provides many nutrients that the child needs in order to grow. Breast milk has many more nutrients to help a child’s immune system more effectively than formula milk (www.nrdc.org, 2005). It has been proven that breastfeeding can help an infant from coming in contact with diseases later on in life, helps the mother lose weight, and is also a cheaper way to feed the child (www.nrdc.org, 2005). This can be very vital information to know because this can help a lot more mothers become educated in breastfeeding their children rather than using formula. In recent findings on breastfeeding it was found that children who are breastfed longer as an infant were less likely to become obese in the future (Carling and Feldman-Winter, 2014). It was believed that breastfeeding allowed the child to discover proper eating habits due to microscopic substances in the breast milk the helped regulate metabolism, in which the child can then learn how to control the food intake as they got older (Carling and Feldman-Winter, 2014). This is very important because mothers can help prevent their child from becoming overweight or obese. It’s recommended that mother’s breastfed for more than four months, while this can be challenging between mothers who work or mothers who are not educated about breastfeeding, support groups and help are available for these mothers (Carling and

There are many difficult choices new mothers face in the world whether it's pre-birth or post-birth. Mothers tend to struggle with choosing the way they want to feed their newborn baby. The biggest discussion is whether or not to breastfeed your newborn or formula feed. Formula feeding feeds the infant while also providing needed nutrition. Breastfeeding helps create a bond between mother and child, has multiple health benefits as well as providing the best nutrition for children; therefore, I believe it is better for the mother and child.

Is breastfeeding better than formula feeding? There comes a point in which a mother has to make a critical decision,whether she should breastfeed or give formula to her infant. These two nurturing ways do have advantages and disadvantages. Depending on what the mother decides to take is what will decide how the infant will develop. This nurturing choices affect the development of the brain and the immune system. Any changes in the baby 's nutrient will have an affect on the infant 's life. What is the best choice and how is it different from the other? If there is a health risk that can be avoided would someone take that chance?

An infant who is breastfed receives added health benefits compared to a child who is formula fed. In the first few days after birth, the breast milk is comprised of protein, vitamins A and E, and antibodies which help protect the infant from infection. After the first few days, the mature breast milk contains fats and cholesterol, which are essential for the growth and development of the infant’s nervous system, eyes, and brain. It also contains micronutrients calcium and magnesium, which are beneficial to the infant’s growth (Thompson et al., 2010).

The National Center for Biotechnology Information, says that women who are knowledgeable about the benefits of breastfeeding are more likely to do so. Breastfeeding provides advantages for the child and mother, that cannot be given by any other form of feeding. These benefits begin right after child birth and last a life time afterward. The chemical make up of breast milk is the exact blind of protein, sugar, and fat that a baby needs to grow. Breastfeeding also provides many immune benefits. Antibodies, immune factors, enzymes and white blood cells are pasted from mother to child through breastfeeding. These help build and support a growing baby’s immune system to fight various kinds of diseases and infections during childhood and beyond.