Public Health Topic

"Breastfeeding" 

This topic is meaningful to me from several aspects. There are health benefits for both the infant and the mother. However, I become very concerned when I see women that breastfeed her baby and smoke and drink heavily. Before a mother breastfeeds her infant, she should not only be concerned of the benefits that it brings to her but also be concerned about the benefits that it brings to the baby. The first thing that I hear some young ladies s ay is that they want to get their pre-pregnancy weight back.

There are both benefits and side affects to breastfeeding for infants.You should avoid alcohol, especially in large amounts. An occasional small drink is ok, but avoid breastfeeding for two hours after the drink.

It is not safe for a mother to use or be dependent upon an illicit drug. Drugs such as cocaine and marijuana, heroine, and PCP harms the baby. Some reported side effects in babies include seizures, vomiting, poor feeding, and tremors.


To successfully feed an infant on non-human milk or formula, the following things are needed:

Clean water.
 Milk or formula.
Money to buy the milk or formula.
A way to safely store the milk or formula.
Containers for the milk or formula.
Effective cleaning methods for the containers.

Breastfeeding is really the only nutritionally adequate, safe food for infants in rural Africa, and to remove that is really hoisting an enormous burden onto families that are already really struggling.


In Africa, men often think women can't have sex if they're still nursing. So the husbands, of those  women are really encouraging them to stop breast-feeding.  This is yet another example of people putting themselves before their baby.

South Africa is one of only 12 countries in the world where infant mortality is rising. It also has one of the world’s lowest levels of exclusive breastfeeding: an estimated 8 percent, dropping to 1.5 percent for babies between four and six months old, government surveys have found. Children who are not breastfed are six times more likely to die from diarrhoea and have a higher chance of respiratory illnesses. South Africa's high teenage pregnancy rate meant teenage mothers often left their babies with their mothers and relied on formula feeding.

 

After researching this topic, I am aware of the situation that many mothers in the center I attend felt when they wanted to continue to have their baby drink breast milk after 12 months of age. We have a policy in the center that states that once the baby ages to 12 months he or she will start to receive whole. I feel as though I have a better understanding of the situation and do what it takes to advocated for the breastfeeding mothers. 

An exception to the policy is in the making.

Me, not breastfeeding explains the many ear infections my daughter had to deal with.  A lesson has been learned for the future.