Breastfeeding

The reason why I chose this topic is because my daughter just experienced this with her baby. When my daughter was in the hospital, the lactation nurse came and talked to her about breastfeeding because that was the method that she had chose. I've always heard people say that babies that are breast fed are smarter and are less likely to get sick than babies that are not breast fed and my daughter wants nothing but the best for her baby like I've always wanted for my children and my grandson so she decided to breast feed. From listening to the conversations with my daughter and the nurse, I learned that its true that they are less likely to get sick because brest milk provides the babies with antibiodies against any disease to which the mother is immune. I also saw the weight that she loss in such a short period of time from breast feeding. She said that each time she fed the baby, her stomach would contract and her stomach went back down to its size. She only got a chance to breast feed my grandson for 2 weeks because she was put on blood pressure pills and she was recommended to stop while taking the medication. I also learned the signs when a breast fed baby is getting enough nourishment. Two of the signs are breasts feel softer after nursing, because your baby has emptied some of the milk that was making them firm and after a feeding, your baby seems relaxed and satisfied. This was what I heard the nurse say to my daughter.

According to Berger, in developing nations, breast feeding reduces infant death. In the US and worldwide, more than 90% of infants are breast-fed at birth, but only 36% are breast fed only for the firs six months. The country that I chose to talk about is breast feeding in Africa. “In South Africa, as well as in most of Africa, there is a strong cultural belief that babies must breastfeed, no matter what. When you are not breastfeeding, your child is losing the nutrients that the child is supposed to be getting. So the child will grow up with a lot of illnesses, because his or her immune system is not strong, according to the article, "Exclusive Breastfeeding Protets Newborns from HIV/AIDS". The pediatrician says research, including his own, has proven that “breast milk is best” for babies, and that other methods to feed the youngsters should be considered “last resorts.” Coovadia says of all the ways to prevent the deaths of the estimated 10 million children who die every year in the developing world  such as vaccinations and safe breast feeding is “top of the range.” It was really interesting to find out that breast feeding babies in African reduce the baby's chance for getting HIV/AIDS.

References:

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/a-13-2009-05-29-voa19-68815977.html

Berger, K. S. (2009). The developing person through childhood (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers