The
topic I chose was breast-feeding this topic is meaningful to me because I as a
woman hope to bear children one day and found it interesting to review and
research the importance of breast-feeding as it relates to early childhood
development. Researching breast-feeding as it relates to early childhood
development will impact my future because not until I explored the importance
of breast-feeding did I come to realize how important breast-feeding was for
the development of newborns to six months
Globally,
less than 40% of infants under six months of age are exclusively breastfed
WHO(2004).. One
study of 120 cultures showed that 50 withheld the infant from the breast for 48
hours or more due to the belief that colostrum was “dirty”, “old”, or “not real
milk”. In central Karnataka in India, 35% of infants were still not
breastfeeding at 48 hours, yet at 1 month 94% were. A mother who may be reluctant
to give colostrum feeds in a western hospital may be passionately committed to
exclusive breastfeeding later on.
Traditional
groups in Papua New Guinea and the Gogo tribe of Tanzania among them –
emphasize the need for the woman to be celibate during breastfeeding. A mother
may be torn between her desire to breastfeed – in an environment when food
after weaning may not be plentiful – and her desire to satisfy her husband. A
husband who is often not expected to also remain celibate Emma Pickett (October
30, 2012).
With
the information I have learned in the future, I most certainly will breast-feed
my children and advices every child bearing mother to do so. Breastfeeding is
one of the most effective ways to ensure child health and survival.
References
Emma Pickett, (October
30, 2012) lactationmatters http://lactationmatters.org/2012/10/30/a-closer-look-at-cultural-issues-surrounding-breastfeeding/
Thank you for your post on breastfeeding, Alysia. You presented some information that I had never heard before, namely the significant number of cultures that withhold breastfeeding until 48 hours or more after birth, believing that colostrum is not appropriate for newborns. Thank you for teaching me something new!
ReplyDeleteI recently had the opportunity to listen to a breastfeeding advocate speak on current efforts by the city of Philadelphia Public Health Department’s Maternal, Child, and Family Health Division (MCFH) to encourage breastfeeding for all infants (City of Philadelphia, 2010). Among the information she shared was one of MCFH’s most important recent accomplishments in the area of breastfeeding support: this past summer, the six birthing hospitals in the city of Philadelphia agreed to ban baby formula in gift bags given to new moms (George, 2014). According to breastfeeding experts, “women who receive free formula when they leave the hospital are less likely to breastfeed for more than 10 weeks” (George, 2014).
References
City of Philadelphia, Department of Public Health, Division of Maternal, Child, and Family Health. (2010). Breastfeeding support. Retrieved from http://www.phila.gov/health/mcfh/breastfeedingpromotion.html
George, J. (2014, August 1). Six Philadelphia maternity wards ban baby formula giveaways. Philadelphia Business Journal. Retrieved from http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/blog/health-care/2014/08/philadelphia-hospital-maternity-wards-ban-industry.html
Hello there Alysia,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing and glad to know that you will conform to breastfeeding when you decide to have children. To me, breastfeeding is economical, convenient, and healthier.
Thank you for informing me about Papa New Guinea breastfeeding practices, and enjoyed reading your blog post.
mO