Example Of The Importance Of Breast Feeding Essay

Importance of Breast Feeding

An essential food for an infant after birth is breast milk. Breast milk is rich in nutrients and vitamins that help the child to grow well and infer immunity, as it contains balanced nutritional values (Belfield & Kelly, 2010). Apart from that, it shields them from harmful diseases that may arise as they continue to grow. Research shows that breast milk can act as a healing agent for some diseases because of the purity and content of nutrients it contains. In the early years, mothers had the time to feed their babies well with breast milk; hence, the babies got a full year of nurture from proper breast-feeding practice. However, the harsh economic times have changed the system, as mothers need to get back to work after two weeks if they value their jobs. Nevertheless, there are several ways a mother and the community can practice proper feeding on breast milk all year round.
The American Dietetic Association and Academy of Pediatrics recommend continuous breastfeeding of a child during the first year of its life. It is in addition to complementary foods and the exclusively breast milk for the first six months. The reason behind it lies in the contribution of breastfeeding to many health benefits for both the mother and the child (Olson, Haider, Vangjel, Bolton, & Olson, 2010). However, due to the harshness of life, only 17.9% of the low-income mothers in US can breastfeed their child for a year. Low-income communities have a higher risk of health issues that breastfeeding can improve (Rozga, Kerver, &Olson, 2015). In Healthy People, 2010 objectives they emphasized the necessity of an intervention directed toward low-income communities in regards to breastfeeding promotion (Pugh et al., 2010).
One of the best way to ensure that mothers’ breastfeed their children properly is to ensure they have job security (Belfield & Kelly, 2010). The employees should ensure that their jobs are still there after their leave during maternity. Some employees take advantage of the leave to dismiss some of the employees, citing unproductivity as the primary reason. Currently, maternity leave stands at six months but employees feel that it is too much. In the duration, the employee might feel insecure with a job opening in the company and recruit another person without the consent of the mother. There ought to be restrictive laws that would ensure similar cases do not arise.
Another way to improve breastfeeding practice is the establishment of daycares in the workplaces or nearby environments. It provides mothers the chance to bring their children to work and place them under care with a caretaker and breastfeed them during breaks (Belfield & Kelly, 2010). This approach benefits both the mother, the business, and the child as well. It increases productivity of the company because the mother does not have to go home to breastfeed. Besides, the daycare center helps the mother and child to bond more, which is a critical aspect in the child’s life.
The two methods would ensure an increase in breastfeeding as mothers have not only an assurance of their jobs, but the continued proper feeding and growth of the child. For a mother to produce enough milk, she ought to have a relaxed life, eat well, and have minimal or no stress.
The theory that goes hand in hand with the topic is the Human Ecology theory. It covers the relationship of the future development of a character and the past life. The interactions human beings have with other people or environment may give a glimpse of what they become in future. The theory shares similar views with behavior modification theory in that they both talk about the different perspectives of an action. However, the behavior theory relies more on the behaviors of a person and not what happens in the past. A present action gives an immediate reaction to it. However, human ecology theory has a much deeper relation in regards to breastfeeding than the behavior theory.
In conclusion, breastfeeding ensures the continued development of the child in the proper way by providing, not only food, but also nourishment in acceptable quantities. The community, workplace, and other people should make it possible for mothers to breastfeed their children adequately for the sake of their growth and development.

References

Belfield, C. R., & Kelly, I. R. (2010). The Benefits of Breastfeeding Across The Early Years of Childhood. NBER Working Paper Series, 2-5.
Halper, E. (2015, January 27). What is Behaviour Modification? Retrieved from Livestrong: http://www.livestrong.com/article/105661-behavior-modification/
Olson, B., Haider, S., Vangjel, L., Bolton, T., & Gold, J. (2010). A quasi-experimental evaluation of a breastfeeding support program for low-income women in Michigan. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 14(1), 86-93.
Pugh, L., Serwint, J., Frick, K., Nanda, J., Sharps, P., et al. (2010). A randomized controlled community-based trial to improve breastfeeding rates among urban low-income mothers. Academic Pediatrics, 10(1), 14-20.
Rozga, M., Kerver, J., & Olson, B. (2015). Self-reported reasons for breastfeeding cessation among low-income women enrolled in a peer counseling breastfeeding support program. Journal of Human Lactation, 31(1), 129-137.
Sarah Mae Sincero (Mar 14, 2012). Ecological Systems Theory. Retrieved Apr 22, 2015 from Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/ecological-systems-theory