Nursing Paper on Importance of Breastfeeding
The human species has greatly depended on mother’s milk for time immemorial before the baby milk formulas were introduced into the market. The majority of the babies were fed and nurtured with mother’s milk for a particular period. A scientific study on breastfeeding found that there are several important factors that are associated with breastfeeding (Victoria et al., 2016). The study revealed that the intricate composition of breastmilk offers protection and nourishment to the babies. It also revealed that breastmilk had the capacity to meet all the development and growth needs of a baby that makes it an irreplaceable practice for the infants, regardless of the introduction of formulas.
When a fetus is in the womb of the mother, the uterus plays a vital role in protecting them against any form of germs that the mother could be exposed to. However, after the infants are born, the only critical method that can protect them from parasites, viruses and bacteria is the mother’s breastmilk. Research evidence shows that the breastmilk components are massive aids in providing the babies with the right protection (National Center for Biotechnology Information [NCBI], n.d). At the same time, it also fuels the body in the right direction enabling the immune system to be strong to cover them from a range of diseases. Furthermore, the positive impact of breastmilk will be evident for years after the child has stopped breastfeeding. It is the main motivational factor why the World Health Organization decided to recommend that women should practice exclusive breastfeeding for a span of six months, after which they should be encouraged to go on breastfeeding for two years or more. Another major important aspect of breastfeeding is that it improves and sustains the relationship between the baby and the mother. When the baby breastfeeds, he or she bonds with the mother making the baby feel safe, loved and and secure, which is required for their development. The health effects of breastfeeding have been found to be more crucial than any other reason because of the level of protection that it offers the children. In addition, studies have revealed that breastfeeding is also important for the mother’s health (Victoria et al., 2016). Studies have revealed that breastfeeding integrates a woman’s reproductive cycle and as they continue to breastfeed for two years or longer, their reproductive health will come back to normal, which is crucial for the future as they plan to have more babies.
Annotated Bibliography
National Center for Biotechnology Information. (n.d). The Surgeon General’s call to action to support breastfeeding. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK52687/
In this article, the authors evaluated the importance of breastfeeding, particularly the health benefits that it brings to the baby. According to the article, breastmilk is produced in every pregnant woman for the preparation of the infant such that at the time of birth, it will provide food, but also offer nutritional benefits. The breastmilk has anti-inflammatory properties and unparalleled immunological substances that protect the babies against diseases and hosts of illnesses. The authors also compared the health of the babies who were breastfed to those who were formula fed. Based on their findings, the babies who were formula fed had higher chances of contracting infections like ear infections and diarrhea. On the contrary, children who were breastfed were less likely to develop serious diseases like leukemia and respiratory infections compared to those who were formula-fed. The studies also revealed that the rate at which children who were formula fed were hospitalized in the first years of their life was above 250 percent compared to those who had been breastfed exclusively for a period of four months and above. Another major finding was that the rate of sudden infant death syndrome was higher among children who were never breastfed by 56 percent. The main conclusion was that formula feeding is not healthy for children and is associated with several health risks in babies, exposing their fragile immune systems to chronic diseases such as asthma, type 2 diabetes, and obesity, which are rare among breastfed children.
Linnecar, A., Gupta, A., Dadhich, J. & Bidla, N. (2014). Formula for disaster: Weighing the impact of formula feeding vs breastfeeding on environment. International Breastfeeding Journal 1, 1-15.
The authors of this article evaluated the gap that existed between several nations regarding breastfeeding. The aim of the research was to determine the importance of breastfeeding among nations. However, based on their study, they found that there were about 800,000 infant deaths that could have been prevented globally if breastfeeding was practiced. They found that many nations, especially developed countries, spent close to $58 billion yearly on milk formula because many, regardless of the health benefits that have been associated with it, did not prioritize breastfeeding. However, they found that there was a need to create an environment that was enabling whereby the global strategy for breastfeeding could be implemented across all nations. This could be achieved through providing information that is correct and unbiased regarding breastfeeding. At the same time, many women should be protected from the commercial pressures of infant formulas and the rate of misinformation regarding breastfeeding that has been implemented across the world. They also identified that there was a need for support structures to be offered to all women to encourage breastfeeding in some nations.
Victoria, C.G., Aluisio, R.B., Barros, A.J., Franca, G., Horton, S., & Rollins, N. (2016). Breastfeeding in the 21st century: Epidemiology, mechanisms and lifelong effect. The Lancet 30(387), 475-490.
The authors found that middle-income and low-income nations highly recognized and valued the importance of breastfeeding compared to high-income developed nations who were less conscious of the benefits. The meta-analyses that they conducted revealed that the importance of breastfeeding was high because it protected the children from various infections while at the same time increased their intelligence level. They did not however establish any form of connection with allergic disorders, blood pressure, cholesterol and asthma in children who were not breastfed. The authors found that breastfeeding helped the majority of the mothers especially in protecting them against some diseases like breast cancer while at the same time, offered protection from pregnancy to allow mothers to space subsequent births of their children.
International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN). (n.d). Importance of breastfeeding. Retrieved from http://ibfan.org/Importance-of-Breastfeeding
In this article, the authors found that breastfeeding was associated with several important health benefits. The authors suggested that there was a need for babies to be exclusively breastfed for a period of six months and their mothers should be encouraged to continue for a period of at least two years. Some of the important benefits of breastfeeding that the authors identified included the promotion of babies’ survival rates, protection against various infectious diseases such as diarrhea, protection again allergies such as asthma, and increased optimal cognitive, motor, and linguistic development in children. When it comes to health issues, breastfeeding helped in increasing bone mass density in children while reducing diseases such as meningitis and obesity. The other important benefit of breastfeeding that the authors identified was that it was crucial for the mothers since it improved their reproductive cycle, especially when women conduct exclusive breastfeeding for a period of six months. It means that it helped in improving the child spacing in families through the lactational amenorrhea method (LAM), which is a natural way of family planning for countries where women cannot afford birth control or the where services are limited for the mothers.
Rollins, NC., Bhandari, N., Hajeebhoy, N., Victoria, CG., & Richter, LM. (2016). Why invest and what it will take to improve breastfeeding practices. The Lancet, 387, 491-504.
In this study, the authors found that there were several benefits that were established with breastfeeding although the practice is not the norm in all communities today. According to the authors, the importance of breastfeeding was that it helped in improving the survival rates, development and health of the babies. At the same time, it assisted in the lives of poor women while it contributed to the human capital development since it saved a lot of money that would have been used in purchasing infant formula. They also found that babies who were not breastfed had lower levels of intelligence which resulted in increases in levels of economic losses that had been estimated as being $302 billion yearly.
Literature review
The benefits of breastfeeding have been reported by several authors (Rollins et al., 2016; IBFAN n.d; NCBI, n.d.). Rollins et al. (2016) found that the benefits of breastfeeding are that it improves the survival rates of infants and at the same time improves their health. IBFAN (n.d) identified that breastfeeding helped in promoting the rate at which children survived before they reached the age of five. It also protects them against infections like diarrhea and allergies like asthma. They reported that children who had been breastfed were intelligent with higher levels of cognitive, motor and linguistic development. Victoria et al. (2016) found that children who were not breastfed were more prone to developing allergies like asthma, blood pressure and low cholesterol. NCBI (n.d) stated that children who were formula fed had high chances of contracting infections like ear infections and diarrhea. On the contrary, children who were breastfed were less likely to develop serious diseases like leukemia and respiratory infections compared to those who were formula-fed. Linnecar, Gupta, Dadhich, & Bidla (2014) stated that there was a possibility for saving thousands of lives of infants if only their mothers decided to practice breastfeeding.
With regard to maternal health, the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) found that breastfeeding improved the reproductive health of the mothers. Victoria et al., (2016) also associated breastfeeding with improved mother’s health especially protecting them against diseases like breast cancer while protecting them from unwanted pregnancy through LAM.
Linnecar, Gupta, Dadhich, & Bidla (2014) mentioned the economic importance of breastfeeding and the value it had for the mothers. They explained that there were billions of dollars that were being lost yearly because mothers preferred to purchase formula instead of breastfeeding. Victoria et al., (2016) found that not all nations across the world appreciated the importance of breastfeeding. The majority of the middle and low-income nations that cannot afford formula preferred to breastfeed compared to high-income nations. Linnecar et al., (2014) reported that there was a huge gap that existed among nations that practiced breastfeeding.
In conclusion, based on several studies that have been conducted globally, the research revealed that breastfeeding is important because it improves the health of babies and that of the mothers. At the same time, they found a strong connection in relation to less spending in breastfeeding mothers. The studies also revealed that breastfeeding improved the bond between the child and the mother.
In my opinion and based on what I have observed over time, it is true that breastfeeding is important especially the ways in which it protects the health of the children. Children who have been breastfed are much stronger compared to those who are not. Nevertheless, with regards to intelligence level, I am not sure about this information because there are certain children who are bright although they were not breastfed. At the same time, I agree with the facts that breastfeeding prevents children from various diseases. With regards to economic benefits, breastfeeding reduces the amount of money that is being spent on formula milk, which is expensive and does not have major benefits on the children.
References
IBFAN. (n.d). Importance of breastfeeding. Retrieved from http://ibfan.org/Importance-of-Breastfeeding
Linnecar, A., Gupta, A., Dadhich, J. & Bidla, N. (2014). Formula for disaster: Weighing the impact of formula feeding vs breastfeeding on environment. International Breastfeeding Journal 1, 1-15.
NCBI. (n.d). The Surgeon General’s call to action to support breastfeeding. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK52687/
Rollins, NC., Bhandari, N., Hajeebhoy, N., Victoria, CG., & Richter, LM. (2016). Why invest and what it will take to improve breastfeeding practices. Lancet 387, 491-504.
Victoria, C.G., Aluisio, R.B., Barros, A.J., Franca, G., Horton, S., & Rollins, N. (2016). Breastfeeding in the 21st century: Epidemiology, mechanisms and lifelong effect. The Lancet 30(387), 475-490.