Breast Is Best

Breastfeeding has not been utilized like it should be in the last couple decades. Breast milk is said to be the best food for an Infant. (AAP) I think that there are some great facts that will show that breastfeeding is a great resource. There are reasons that some people do not utilize these resources.

Breastfeeding is something that all new mothers need to be on familiar terms with. There is a reason that a women's body produces milk, human milk is species-specific.

The American Academy of Pediatrics joins other organizations such as American Medical Association the American Dietetic Association and the World Health Organization in recommending breastfeeding is the best for infants. The AAP also says that infants should be exclusively be given breast milk for the first six months, and if both baby and mother are willing they should continue until the child's first birthday. (Izenberg)

Breastfeeding helps the infant with fighting infection. Antibodies are passed though the mother into the breast milk. This helps the baby lessen the amount of many conditions, including ear infections, diarrhea, respiratory infections and also meningitis. Breast milk also helps build the infants immune system by increasing barriers to infection and lessening the development of organisms like bacteria and viruses. (Izenburg)

Breast milk is often called the "perfect food" for an infant. The infant's digestive system has no problems digesting the milk. Breast milk naturally contains all the vitamins and minerals that a newborn requires. Infant formula companies are trying to duplicate the ingredients in breast milk, and they are coming closer, but they haven't yet matched their precise combination and composition. This has not been done because breast milk has more complex substances, they are too difficult to manufacture and some haven't even been identified.

Breastfeeding is also said to benefit the mother. The mother can feel that she has the ability to nourish her infant. It gives the mother confidence in her ability to care for her infant. With breastfeeding the uterus contracts, which in turns burn calories and helps the mother get back down to her pre-pregnancy size in a shorter time. Other benefits for the mother are that breast milk does not cost you anything extra. The mother would have to eat a little more food, infant formulas are much more expensive.

Breastfeeding can also benefit the mother by reducing her risk for breast cancer by 4% for every year she breastfeeds. It can also reduce the risk of ovarian and eudiometrical cancer. It may also lessen the risk of osteoporosis. Breastfeeding can also lower the risk of having postpartum depression. (Burby)

There are many reasons that women do not breastfeed. Some women feel uncomfortable breastfeeding. I believe that these women feel uncomfortable because in America breasts are viewed as a sexual fixation. The media also portrays that they are for sexual reasons. I do not know how the image of the breast had changed from something nurturing to something for a sexual purpose.

Women also get breast enlargements to feel comfortable with their breasts for the sake of a sexual need. They do not get these enlargements to better their ability to breastfeed their children. Breast enlargement could also give you problems in the future if you plan to breastfeed.

A lot more women do not breastfeed because they do not have the support of their family. The family is not educated and is shown by the media that the norm is bottle-feeding. Breastfeeding was the norm until about the twentieth century. Then mothers fed their infants with formula because they did not know that there was that big of a difference. Now that the findings are different, there are people who still think that breastfeeding was something done before the invention of infant formulas.

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