Advocacy research paper on young children and their families: the benefits of breastfeeding

What are the benefits of breastfeeding every family has to know? Breastfeeding is a natural process of reproduction and supply of the nutrients of the most natural origin. There are a lot of benefits of breastfeeding as compared to other way of feeding the child. Besides the fact that it is absolutely free, breast milk is easily digested and prevents different infections from getting inside the infants organism. Children, who are breastfed, develop a unique connection to their mother and are more likely to have a healthy life. Breastfeeding also brings some benefits for the mother. Breastfeeding ”“ is the only way to provide the infant with all the necessary nutrients. Breast milk has the next important properties:

  • It contains all the elements, required for a good growth and development of the infant in the first six months of his life and its importance remains topical, till the baby reaches the age of two year.
  • It lowers the risks for the infant to have rachitis, anaemia, allergy, asthma or eczema and pancreatic diabetes.
  • It prevents the deficit of minerals and vitamins as these elements are imbibed better during breastfeeding. For instance, with maternal milk, iron is imbibed for up to 75% and favors the normal development of the lower jaw, teeth and lower jaw.
  • Breast milk protects the child from diarrhea, respiratory infections and also from ear infections. It lowers the risks of colics, generation of gases and regurgitation owing to its high assimilability.
  • It also favors a better development of vision, lowers the possibility of retinopathy for    premature babies. It is extremely necessary and healthy for children, who were born premature.
  • Breast milk is an effective remedy for the prevention of child obesity. It stimulates the increase of the child’s IQ.

The benefits of breastfeeding do not only refer to the sphere of the child’s health as during breastfeeding a strong emotional connection between the child and the mother is formed. Breastfeeding helps the mother to come into shape after the delivery of the baby, lowers the risks of metrorrhagia after childbirth, prevents the development of ovarian carcinoma, breast cancer and the development of osteoporosis. Breastfeeding every three hours (not less than eight times in twenty-four hours) protects the mother from an unplanned pregnancy during the first months after childbirth. Besides, parents do not have to pay for breast milk and it is always at the disposal of the infant.

Breastfeeding brings a great satisfaction for the child, so the baby may continue to suckle even after no milk is left. It has been proved that human breast milk exceeds all the artificial substitutes, including child nutritious mixes of industrial production. It is important to mention the fact that the composition of the breast milk is not stable, but changes during the process of feeding depending on the time of the day.

One international fact which supports breastfeeding all over the world is the fact that the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has turned to the international community with the appeal to protect and advocate the benefits of breastfeeding. The organization has presented the listed above facts as the evidence of the indisputable benefit of breastfeeding. Every year million of children die from such avertable diseases as measles, malaria, diarrhea and other. According to the data presented by UNICEF breastfeeding up to the age of six month leads to the annual survival of three thousand five hundred infants. Breastfeeding is the main source of a good health for each and every child on the planet. It contains not only the required nutrients but also the antibodies, hormones, antioxidants and substances required for the strengthening of the immune system, intensive development of the child during first six month of his life and further.

For instance, if during the first two month of life the child is fed not only with breast milk but also with artificial substances, the probability of his death from diarrhea rises in twenty five times and death from pneumonia in four times. In some cases a delay of growth or development may occur and the child in an older age will experience different health inclinations. According to UNICEF, nowadays only thirty nine percent of infants worldwide are fed with breast milk in their first six month of life. In other words, what breastfeeding does is it makes the child’s immune system strong and steady. Breast milk brings essential elements into the infant’s organism and therefore many diseases are prevented. Brest milk contains proteins, lactose and fats, as well as minerals and vitamins in the necessary proportions for the proper development of the organisms of the newborn babies. As it has been mentioned before ”“ parents do not have to pay for breast milk ”“ it is for free. Nevertheless, mothers who prefer feeding their babies with artificial substitutes are more likely to face medical expenses caused by the health problems of their infant and are more likely to spend more time taking care of the sick child instead of earning money.

Any mother may feed the baby with her milk anywhere and whenever. It is available during the day and at night; it does not require preliminary reheating or sterilization. It is always fresh, and the mother does not have to run to the closest store if the use-by date of the pap expires. The understanding of the notion of breastfeeding by contemporary people is very often based on a set of prejudices but has to be based on the reliable facts of the benefits of breastfeeding.

Medicine analyses health from the biological position and norms and does not take social norms into consideration while identifying the positive or the negative character of the health deflection. Breastfeeding is a biological norm and according to it is more accurate not to say that breastfed infant are healthier but that artificial feeding makes infants be ill more frequently and with a greater amount of complications. It is impossible to expect the appearance of the culture of breastfeeding without the creation of the model of breastfeeding as a healthy norm. As it is obvious that breast milk helps to prevent many avertable diseases, breastfeeding needs to be treated as a natural standard and has to become a social standard too. It goes without saying that the decision whether to breastfeed the infant completely depends of the mother and the opinion of her family, but the great amount of benefits of breastfeeding cannot be ignored. Only breast milk is capable of making the newborn healthy throughout his whole life and providing him with resources to survive and function productively.



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