Breastfeeding recommendation by The World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) is that every baby should be exclusively breastfed for about six months. These bodies also recommend that after six months, safe and proper additional foods and, liquids ought then to complement breastfeeding in order to meet the nutritional requirements of a baby until the age of two.
There is a resolution to support and promote breastfeeding that was expected to be accepted quickly and straightforwardly by a lot of government representatives who gathered this spring in Geneva for the United Nations-affiliated World Health Assembly.
According to some researches done several years ago, the resolution states that the milk from a mother’s breast is healthiest for kids and countries should try to bring a limitation to the wrong or deceptive marketing of breast milk substitutes.
Then the delegation of the United States, accepting the interests of infant formula manufacturers, upended the deliberations.
The American officials wanted to water down the resolution by taking away the language that called on governments to protect, promote and support breastfeeding and another passage that called on policymakers to limit the promotion of food products that several professionals say have had harmful effects on young children.
Whenever the mothers discover they are pregnant, they decide they would think about giving the best to their baby. This is a normal and natural feeling.
Most new mothers have various decisions to make, and one of the most important decisions is whether they should breastfeed their baby or not. Most mums are somehow scared of breastfeeding because they don’t actually know how it is done and they don’t know if it will harm them or not.
Even some moms experience irritation whenever they breastfeed, and at the time their baby starts to grow some teeth, it could even be more preferable if they switched to bottle feeding so that they do not get bitten.
There are also some mums out there who breastfeed their children, notwithstanding the negatives. Irritation and biting is never a difficult thing to be solved. The breastfeeding benefits far outweigh the negative.
Features of Breast Milk
If you find yourself in a situation where you are trying to decide whether or not you want to breastfeed your child, there is a lot of reasons why you should.
- Breast milk contains the various nutritive values that a baby needs. We are all aware that formula and cow milk contain nutrients also, but there is definitely no comparison between them and breast milk. When you are breastfeeding your baby, you provide them with all the nutrients their body requires, from your body. Some of these are amino acids, fatty acids, lactose and (the most important) antibodies. In a health community, it has been proven that breastfed babies are less susceptible to ill health when they are a baby and when they grow. This is because of the natural antibodies passed on from their mothers.
- Breast milk is cheaper. This might not be a very important fact, but there is no doubt it is very beneficial to you. If you bottle-feed your baby using formula, then you will need some money kept differently for the formula. Babies need adequate food, so there is a reason for you to go through many boxes of formula every week alone. The best option is to breastfeed your baby and reserve the money that you would have spent on formula, in a trust fund for them.
- Again, when the baby is fed with formula, will ensure that everything is sterile in advance; else the baby could get sick. But when talking about breast milk, it is naturally sterile. Furthermore, most formulas have been proven unsafe for human consumption. With your breast mild, you will not have these risks. Your only task here is to keep your breasts clean and keep your consumption of caffeine to a minimum. The best alternative could even be to stay totally out of alcohol as well.
- Another thing that new mums emphasize on is getting the milk to the right temperature when they are bottle-feeding. When it is too cold, the baby might get sick, and when too hot, it could burn the baby. Breast-milk comes with the accurate temperature, so no need to bother about the temperature of the milk if you breastfeed.
- When you feed babies with a bottle using formula, they are likely to become allergic to the milk, so you need to watch out for them crying or being sick after feeding them. Breast-milk doesn’t cause allergic reactions. Another issue that breastfed babies face is that they can get gas from something that you have had for your tea.
Now let’s see why breast milk is recommended
- Breast milk is a gift given to babies by Mother Nature! It contains more than 200 constituents of breast milk known to science.
- About 80 percent of live cells in breast milk are made of macrophages that eliminate viruses and bacteria
- It is sterile and free from pollutants
- In the first few days, breast milk is called Colostrum. This is the Liquid Gold for the baby. Colostrum contains antibodies which their role is to protect the newborn against any form of disease, as well as being lower in fat and higher in protein than normal milk.
Who can Breastfeed?
As far as a woman has given birth, she will possess the ability to breastfeed. Some mothers who breast feed easily see the physical challenges that develop on the baby. The breasts size is not a determinant of the amount of breast milk production. Even though with inverted nipples, women can breast feed with some help. The quantity of breast milk production will increase as your baby goes on to suckle. Even some mothers who have undergone Caesarean Section, Breech baby and even twin babies can comfortably breast feed with sufficient milk.
The Benefits of Breast milk to the Baby
- Breast milk is naturally designed in such a way that it has the ideal combination of proteins, carbohydrate, fats, and fluids that newborn babies need. There is a change in the composition of the breast milk as per the baby’s requirement so that baby receives maximum nutrition. There is no formula milk that can ever substitute breast milk in this manner
- Breast milk contains antibodies which help the baby fight against infections. Thus the baby has fewer chances of ear infection, diarrhoea & respiratory infections. There are no much visits to the doctors for illnesses amongst breastfed babies.
- Hormones that are released during breastfeeding increase bonding between the mother and the baby. This fulfills the baby’s emotional and physical needs.
- There are also long-term benefits that breast milk contains. It minimizes the chance of childhood obesity, high blood pressure, eczema, type 2diabetes, high cholesterol level, leukaemia, and asthma in later life.
 The Benefits of Breast Milk to the Mother
- Breastfeeding is free of charge and easily available.
- It stimulates the secretion of useful hormones called, prolactin and oxytocin. Prolactin (pro lactation) helps the mother to relax and improves bonding towards the baby. Oxytocin causes uterus/womb contraction and minimizes bleeding and anemia. Therefore, breastfeeding helps the uterus to return to the pre-pregnancy size and reduce the chance of post-delivery bleeding danger and anemia
- About 500 extra calories per day when breastfeeding. So to lose weight after giving birth is easier if you are breastfeeding.
- Breastfeeding decreases the risk of premenopausal breast cancer, type 2 diabetes, ovarian cancer, Osteoporosis (less breakage of bones), and postnatal depression
- It is very suitable and no hassle of sterilizing/boiling the bottles. There is no preparation time required.
How to Make Certain Adequate Breast Milk
Always ensure you take prenatal vitamins, particularly vitamin D supplement is recommended for every breastfeeding woman and for breastfed babies. Calcium and Iron supplements are also helpful.
Maximize the way you take protein in your diet – include Dals, Milk, and Eggs every day in your diet.
Start breastfeeding within an hour of birth. Ensure you breastfeed on demand. This will help regulate the fat content in the milk.
Ensure you consume a lot of fresh fruits to get vitamins and micronutrients.
Ensure sufficient consumption of fluids including water and milk. Breastfeeding can make you thirsty.
Some Reliable Indicators of a Baby that gets Adequate Breast Milk
You will observe that the baby gains adequate weight and regains birth weight by 2wks. Another way to check weight gain is that the baby gains 500gms or even more per month or 125gms/wk. The baby should pass light-colored urine about six or more times daily by 4 days of age if the baby is exclusively breastfed. Ensure you always monitor the wet nappies.
Diet During Breastfeeding
Mother ought to eat a balanced diet. Foods that can be liberally used in the diet are fresh fruits and vegetables, soup of vegetables, milk, sprouted moong/channa, curd/Lassi, and fermented products like Dhokla, Idli, Dosa, etc. and egg white. Also, include nutrients that are rich in iron and protein-rich food in the diet. The food items which contains good sources of iron and protein for vegetarians include Legumes (Dhals), Paneer, Milk, Spinach and other green leafy vegetables, Anar ( Pomegranate), Banana and black grapes. Orange juice and Amla have enough of Vitamin C which is significant for Iron absorption in the body. A handful of nuts for snacking is another good idea for making the diet iron and protein rich for vegetarians.
Natural galactogogues are foods that boost breast milk production. Some examples are Methi seeds (Fenugreek), Saunf (Fennel seeds), jeera water, Garlic, oats and Brewer’s Yeast.
Tips for Working Women when Breastfeeding
- Avail every possible leave at your credit as well as unpaid leave
- Do not begin other feeds before you really need to.
- Don’t think that you will have to go back to work in a few weeks, so you might as well bottle feed right away. Most mothers make this common mistake. Even if you can breastfeed for a short moment, it provides significant benefits to the baby. The baby ought to have received a reasonable amount of valuable antibodies during this time.
- Always breastfeed even at night, in the early morning, and at any other time, you are at home.
- Express as much breast milk as you can before going back to work, into a very neat jar, even 1 cup (200ml) can give the baby 3 feeds per day of 60-70ml each.
- Cover the milk and preserve it in the coolest place that you can.
- Breast milk stays in nice condition for 8-10hrs, even in a hot climate and up-to 24hrs in the refrigerator
- Breastfeed your baby after you have expressed the milk, so the baby will get the breast milk that you cannot express including some hind milk.
- Make sure you don’t boil or reheat your breast milk
- It is not really necessary to bottle feed in any way, even very small babies can feed on a cup if you decide to use a formula
- Breastfeeding ought to commence within an hour of birth
- Breastfeeding should be on demand, as frequently as the child wants day and night
- Bottles or pacifiers also ought to be avoided.
Conclusion
If you’re still indecisive about whether or not breastfeeding is appropriate for you after the first six months, it’s very necessary to realize that it’s mostly a personal choice. It should be known that if you like using baby formula after the sixth-month mark, no need to feel guilty for wanting to wean your child off of your breast milk, particularly as baby formula constitutes every nutrient your baby could require. It is imperative to know that if breastfeeding schedule fits in breastfeeding and feels so right for you, then that’s actually what you ought to do. After all, breastfeeding gives a room for mothers and babies with the bonding time that they require before they grow to become happy and active toddlers.
