Mother Nature's Perfect Food-Breast Milk

A mother of four children, I am a firm believer that breast-feeding is the healtiest and most natural way of bonding and satistying the needs of your baby.  There are always exceptions and a mother should never have to be ashamed about the choice they make on how to feed their infants. The World Health Organization (WHO), along with various other organizations have recognized the importance of encouraging mothers to breastfeed across the world.. Many national startegies promoting breastfeeding have been created. Public facilities across the world now have baby changing facilities and/or private places for mothers to nurse. There has been increased in parental training and awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding worldwide. In many countries, particularly those with a pool level of health, malnutrition is the leading cause of death for children under the age of five. There is an increasing level of training for many of these countries to educate mothers on the health benefits of breastfeeding their infants.

How infants are feed vary greatly from country to country. In some countries such as Ghana and Afghanistan, it is not uncommon for new mothers to feed their babies tea, at least until their breast milk comes in. They have not been educated on how valuable the nutrients are in the colostrum that precides the mother's milk. The water in the tea may contain bacteria leading to diarrhea for the infants. This practise also discourages breast milk stimulation and bleeding to slow down after giving birth.

Many times a new-mother will attempt to breastfeed their infant. With a lack of training, they may find it too difficult and give up. Breastfeeding isn't something that always comes natural, a mother really needs to be open to asking for help if needed. For example, I had my first child when I was barely out of high school. I made the choice to breast-feed her before she was born. I was under the impression my breast milk would be ready when I delivered her. After a few days of her and I struggling to get it right, I was tired (recovering from a C-section), and worried she was not getting any food. I was just about to give up and use formula instead, when a close family friend gave me some pointers and showed my how to hold my baby correctly etc. After that, it began to come naturally. Two years later she was weaned.

My second baby was born 18 years later (yep! 18). At that time, I requested the nursing specialist from the hospital to come in and work with me and give me some new pointers. All those years later, I still learned things about feeding my baby. Then when baby number 3 and 4 arrived, I was a pro by then and breastfeeding finally came natural to me.It makes me so happy that I did not give up and all four of my children were fortunate enough to start life with such healthy nutrition and close mother/child bonding. It may just be a coincidence, but NONE of my children were ever seen by a doctor for an illness until they started going to pre-school. My family lives a very active life, so please don't think I kept them sheltered all those years before school. I credit the breast-feeding with having such healthy children.

References:
www.who.int/entity/child_adolescent_health/documents/9241595230/en/
http://www.llli.org/