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This week we were asked to choose to public health measure that impact children's development all over this world. In this post I will address the concern of breastfeeding.
This topic is meaningful to me because although I do not have children of my own, I do plan to have children one day and my plan is to breastfeed. My sister tried with my niece and she had a very hard time and gave up. I would like to research this topic for that reason and just for the knowledge of the effects, results and benefits as well as breastfeeding in another country.
In breastfeeding, nutrition starts with colostrum which is a thick, high calorie fluid secreted by the mothers breast at the time of birth. Three days after the mother gives birth and the breast begin to produce milk. The milk that a mother produce is sterile, rich in iron, vitamins, and nutrients that are newly discovered that are good for the brain and for the body.
It is a known fact that children who are breastfeed are have less sickness during infancy. Protection from disease is lifelong and the breastfeed children are less likely to become obese in the adult years, less likely to develop diabetes, and heart disease.
Breast milk is the best for preterm babies and it is even recommended that a mother that cannot provide breast milk, doctors recommend that the milk of another mother be used (Berger, 2009).
I have a friend that grew up in Ghana, West Africa and saw women breastfeeding all the time - her teachers in school, women at church, traders at the market, neighbors - and they did so without cover and without shame. Ghana is a very conservative country, low-cut tops are frowned upon, but breastfeeding is okay, its actually encouraged.
The ways that this topic and information I learned may impact me and my future work is being able to share the knowledge that I have with new moms and moms that are looking to breast feed and don't know the benefits. Having resources to share mainly is how this information will impact my future work.
Berger, K. S. (2012). The developing person through childhood (6th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.
Hello Tajsa, thank you for sharing. it was a great insight and also I do not have children but I do want children some day.
ReplyDeleteI also looked into breastfeeding for the same reason as you, to learn about the benefits when I have children. My mother had a hard time as well and for the first six weeks she had to use formula to make up for not producing enough milk. It can take some time and I know that if I have the same problem I won't give up now that I know the health benefits for the baby.
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