Women 's Role For Prenatal Education

I. (Attention-getting statement): Imagine for a moment that you are a new parent. Wouldn’t you do anything to protect your child? What if you could help protect them from necrotizing enterocolitis, respiratory infections, asthma, obesity, Type 1 and 2 diabetes, childhood leukemia, atopic dermatitis, SIDS, or even make them smarter! Would you do it? I know I would, and I did, all with the help of my lactation consultant who guided me through the process and experience of breastfeeding.

This means recognizing each woman’s social, emotional, physical, spiritual and cultural needs. It also acknowledge that a woman and her newborn baby does not exist independently of the woman’s social and emotional environment. This includes incorporating an understanding in assessment and provision of health care (Yanti et al., 2015). The fundamental principles of women-centred care ensures a focus on pregnancy and childbirth as the start of family life, not just as isolated clinical episodes. These motherhood phases take into complete account the meaning and the values of each woman. Providing women centred care helps women make an informed choices, being involved in and having control over their own care, this also includes their relationship with their midwives (Johnson et al., 2003). This demonstrates that midwives are able to attend for women during pregnancy, childbirth and in early parenting years. In addition to this, midwives also provide education for women in order to have a healthy lifestyle (Woods et al.,

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

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

Breastfeeding is one of the best methods for providing infants with a healthy start to life. Breast milk helps the body fight off various bacteria and viruses that one’s child might be at risk for catching. Breastfed babies are thirty-six percent less likely to die from sudden infant death syndrome and are fifty-five percent likely to become obese later in life, compared to babies who are not breastfeed. (Workplace and Public Accommodations for Nursing Mothers, 2016) Not only is the child benefiting from breastfeeding, the mother is as well. Women who breastfeed are more likely to revert to their

This paper will explain the benefits of breastfeeding and how it plays an extreme role in the long-term health of a child not only in the early stages of life but also into adulthood and how we as nurses can help promote this mode of nutrition.

Researched Evidence that Identifies Benefits of Breastfeeding to the Child, the Mother, and the Entire Family

“Breastfeeding is an unequalled way of providing ideal food for the healthy growth and development of infants; it is also an integral part of the reproductive process with important implications for the health of mothers” Statement taken from the world health organization publication on the nutrition of exclusive breastfeeding.

For thousands of years, breastfeeding has been the main source that women have had to feed their babies. In today’s society, however, breastfeeding has become a controversial issue due to the increased sexualization of the female body, especially women’s breasts. This same society has failed to consider the benefits that breastfeeding mothers offer to society and, most importantly, the benefits breastfeeding offers to children. It is important to consider and remember that breastfeeding is natural and nursing mothers should be free to nurse everywhere because it is their legal right, it is the first source of nutrition for their children, it eliminates excess waste in the environment, and it benefits society.

Maya Angelou said, “To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power. Or the climbing, falling colors of a rainbow” (Wanderlust 1). The relationship a mother has with her child transcends all other relationships in complexity. Maternity largely contributes to the female identity in part because the ability to sexually reproduce is uniquely female. With this ability often comes an unparalleled feeling of responsibility. That is, mothers experience an inherent desire to protect their children from the world and guide them through life. Serving as a child’s protector then transforms a woman’s perspective, or the female gaze. While these protective instincts often arise naturally, they are also reinforced by the ideas society’s perpetuates about motherhood. Globally, women are expected to assume the roles of wives and mothers. The belief that motherhood is somewhat of a requirement assists in the subjugation of women and reinforces a plethora of gendered stereotypes. While some women enjoy the process of childrearing, others feel that having a family comes at an irreparable cost: losing sight of oneself. In response to the polarized views surrounding maternity, several authors have employed different writing techniques to illustrate the mother-child dynamic. Through the examination of three narratives, spanning fiction and non-fiction, one is able to better define maternity and the corresponding female gaze in both symbolic and universal terms.

In December 1997 the American Academy of Pediatrics issued its most aggressive statement to due urging mothers to breastfeed for at least a year and beyond “for as long as mutually desired.” Mother’s milk alone provides all the nutrients necessary for a baby’s physical and mental development for at least at least six months, with the added benefit of natural immunity against numerous diseases. In Milk, Money and Madness: The Culture and Politics of Breastfeeding, Naomi Baumslag, MD, MPD, asserts that “breastfed babies also have lower incidence of allergies, urinary tract infections, obesity, learning, behavioral and psychological problems, later-life heart disease, pneumonia, neonatal sepis, and giardia

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

Both my daughters have been breast feed almost up two years of age and even though we had some problems with sleeping for the older one, she just did not want to sleep, we would consider her start of her life a harmonized and fairly normal upbringing. She is now almost 17 years old and I thought it would be a good way to compare real life of hers to what would have become of her development if some of the important needs that the theories are urging for would not have