To Breast Feed or Not to Breastfeed

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.

DiGirolamo, A., Grummer-Strawn, L., & Fein, S. (2008). Effect of Maternity-Care Practices on Breastfeeding. Pediatrics , S43-S49.

breastfeed agree that they feel a closer bond with their children after breastfeeding and are able to better understand their child’s wants (Newman and Pitman 14). In The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that breastfeeding can reduce risk of postpartum depression, a condition that affects 13 percent of mothers, causing them to be upset and even angry at their child for crying, as well as other serious symptoms that can affect the mother’s mental state (3). They also found that a

“Some mothers have to give up breastfeeding even though they want to breastfeed. To give up breastfeeding can be a sensitive issue in a time when breastfeeding is promoted as the healthiest for mother and child” (Larsen & Kronborg, 2013, p. 848). The debate over whether breast-feeding is better than bottle-feeding or vice versa has been a debate for many years. With more and more research that is continuously being developed, the option to breast-feed or bottle-feed is ultimately up to the parents of the child. Although the decision could be based on factors such as a physical incapability or financial burdens, the end result should always be what is going to be best for the baby. As research continues to grow, there has been proven evidence of the positive and negative aspects that come with breast-feeding and bottle-feeding.

Two authors independently evaluated each article for relevant using a predefined set of criteria. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were specified and were appropriate for the review. The researchers were concerned with the effect education and support for the mothers had on the exclusive breastfeeding rates of healthy newborns. Inclusion criteria included randomized controlled trials (RCT) or quasi-experimental trails. The types of articles included are those that discussed interventions through education or support given to the mother prenatal/postnatal, or a combination. All delivery types were included. For

This is Eromosele, I love Grand Canyon University.Breastfeeding decision should be addressed prenatally to give more time for the mother to make decision before the baby is born. The nurse and the doctors should found out her preference first because most women make up their mind during pregnancy and if they receive proper education from the doctor and nurse, followed by attending breastfeeding classes, they would make the best decision and prepared for it before delivery. To address the postpartum mother reluctancy on adequate nutrition for a newborn, she should not be judged nor forced into formula or breastfeeding, rather,respect her decision, found out why she does not want to breastfeed, any concern should be addressed appropriately.

“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.

As a post-partum nurse at a facility on its journey to obtain a Baby-Friendly recognition, I completed a 24 hour of a continue education course on breastfeeding, and shadowed a lactation consultant during orientation as a requirement to work in the unit. In 1991, the World Health Organization and the United National International Children’s Emergency Found created the Baby Friendly global recognition program for hospitals and birth facilities. This recognition is awarded to facilities that promote and support breastfeeding, while complying with the “Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding” and the “International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes”. The Baby Friendly Hospital initiative assists hospitals in giving “all mothers the information,

This is a quantitative research paper whose objective is to determine the types and timing of breastfeeding support for mothers of newborn babies and the extent to which this affects breastfeeding intentions and behaviours in a region with low rates of breastfeeding initiation and duration. All the three authors are experts in Public health and Community Medicine at the Universities of NSW, Liverpool hospital and University of New South Wales, Sydney. This work specifically targeted professionals providing support services to women during the prenatal and postnatal stages, spouses and close relatives to lactating women, women who need to make breastfeeding decisions, policy makers managing maternity facilities and the general public.

According to the World Health Organization, “If every child was breastfed within an hour of birth, given only breast milk for their first six months of life, and continued breastfeeding up to the age of two years, about 800,000 child lives would be saved every year.” Breastfeeding has been shown to provide the mother and especially the newborn with many vital health benefits after birth, though even today mothers do not always use it consistently as the sole form of feeding for the first six months after birth. In order to understand attitudes surrounding breastfeeding, societal examinations should be done. Breastfeeding is the optimal form of feeding and should be done if at all possible for the first year of the newborns

Since the invention of formula mothers have had trouble deciding how best to go about feeding their children. Each mother has their own preferred feeding technique, some of whom chose to use both feeding methods depending on the situation. For some mothers breastfeeding is not a viable option for reasons such as lactation issues, busy schedules, and secondary caregivers (Health Psychology). For those mothers whom are able and willing to breastfeed their infants there is a definite benefit. Breastfeeding is shown to benefit the mother and child through its natural ability to aide in the mother’s inner peace, its health giving properties, its superior nutrient content compared to formula, and accessibility.

In studies where women were selected as the result of choosing not to breastfeed, researchers found heightened levels of expressed personal reasons that reflected negative associations with breastfeeding, including a lack of consistent education by hospital staff (Ogbuanu et al., 2009; Shaker et al., 2004; Wirihana & Barnard, 2011). Education in mixed method feedings was lacking at all levels of intention to breastfeed, Geraghty et al. (2013) noted, even in a population study that was based on respondents who wanted to breastfeed, and sought professional help for problems while breastfeeding.

Therefore, the World Health Organization and other organizations are focusing education efforts on healthcare providers and facilities providing maternity care (WHO, 2012). Patients consistently identified nurses as preferred sources of information and guidance on breastfeeding. Therefore, nurses need to demonstrate competency in supporting lactation and breastfeeding (CDC, 2012). Breastfeeding: Nursing’s Role in Promotion and Support is intended for healthcare providers working within the clinical setting of Maternal Child Health. Participation in the course is open to all Maternal/Child Health clinical staff with more than one (1) year of experience working with Pregnant, Laboring, or Post-Partum

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

Breastfeeding is an experience that is foreign for most people until they actually experience it. I had limited knowledge of breastfeeding until I interviewed my friend who currently has two children. Before she had her first child, she read a lot of books and watched a lot of videos, but they still didn’t quite capture the experience. She is a nurse and with her healthcare background, she felt confident about the importance of breastfeeding her children, especially in the first 6 -12 months. Before her baby, she was worried about the physical process and what it would feel like. After birth, she was more worried about her baby being able to breastfeed. For the first few weeks, her baby was having a hard time breastfeeding and she had to occasionally