Do you know the importance of breastfeeding? It is the knowledge is useful for the our society. Most of the mothers avoid the breastfeeding. because , they do not know the importance of breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding or nursing is the feeding of babies and young children with milk from a woman's breast. It is recommended to begin breastfeeding within the first hour of life and to allow it as often and as much as the baby wants.During the first few weeks of life babies may nurse eight to twelve times a day (every two to three hours). The duration of a feeding is usually ten to fifteen minutes on each breast.The frequency of feeding decreases as the child gets older.Some mothers pump milk so that it can be used later when their child is being cared for by others.Breastfeeding benefits both mother and baby. Infant formula does not have many of the benefits.
It is estimated that more than a million deaths of babies could be prevented globally per year through more widespread breastfeeding. Breastfeeding decreases the risk of respiratory tract infections and diarrhea.This is true both in developing and developed countries.Other benefits include lower risks of asthma, food allergies, celiac disease, type 1 diabetes, and leukemia.Breastfeeding may also improve cognitive development and decrease the risk of obesity in adulthood.Some mothers may feel considerable pressure to breastfeed, but children who are not breastfed grow up normally – without significant harm to their future health.
Benefits of breastfeeding for the mother include less blood loss following delivery, better uterus shrinkage, weight loss, and less postpartum depression. It also increases the time before menstruation and fertility returns, known as lactational amenorrhea. Long term benefits may include a decreased risk of breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, and rheumatoid arthritis. Breastfeeding is less expensive for the family than infant formula.
Health organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO), recommend feeding for six months only through breastfeeding. This means that no other foods or drinks other than vitamin D are typically given. Continued partial breastfeeding until at least one to two years of age is then recommended.Globally about 38% of infants are only breastfed during their first six months of life.In the United States, about 75% of women begin breastfeeding and about 13% only breastfeed until the age of six months. Medical conditions that do not allow breastfeeding are uncommon. Mothers who take recreational drugs and certain medications should not breastfeed.
The endocrine system drives milk production during pregnancy and the first few days after the birth. From the twenty-fourth week of pregnancy (the second and third trimesters), a woman's body produces hormones that stimulate the growth of the breast's milk duct system. Progesterone influences the growth in size of alveoli and lobes; high levels of progesterone, estrogen, prolactin and other hormones inhibit lactation before birth; hormone levels drop after birth, triggering milk production.After birth, the hormone oxytocin contracts the smooth muscle layer of cells surrounding the alveoli to squeeze milk into the duct system. Oxytocin is also necessary for the milk ejection reflex, or let-down to occur. Let down occurs in response to the baby's suckling, though it also may be a conditioned response, e.g. to the cry of the baby. Lactation can also be induced by a combination of physical and psychological stimulation, by drugs or by a combination of these methods.
Breastfeeding decreases the risk of a number of diseases in both mothers and babies.
Baby
Early breastfeeding is associated with fewer nighttime feeding problems. Early skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby improves breastfeeding outcomes, increases cardio-respiratory stability and decreases infant crying. Reviews from 2007 found numerous benefits. Breastfeeding aids general health, growth and development in the infant. Infants who are not breastfed are at mildly increased risk of developing acute and chronic diseases, including lower respiratory infection, ear infections, bacteremia, bacterial meningitis, botulism, urinary tract infection and necrotizing enterocolitis. Breastfeeding may protect against sudden infant death syndrome, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, lymphoma, allergic diseases, digestive diseases and may enhance cognitive development.
Growth
The average breastfed baby doubles its birth weight in 5 to 6 months. By one year, a typical breastfed baby weighs about 2½ times its birth weight. At one year, breastfed babies tend to be leaner than formula-fed babies, which improves long-run health.
The Davis Area Research on Lactation, Infant Nutrition and Growth (DARLING) study reported that breastfed and formula-fed groups had similar weight gain during the first 3 months, but the breastfed babies began to drop below the median beginning at 6 to 8 months and were significantly lower weight than the formula-fed group between 6 and 18 months. Length gain and head circumference values were similar between groups, suggesting that the breastfed babies were leaner.
Infections
Breast milk contains several anti-infective factors such as bile salt stimulated lipase (protecting against amoebic infections) and lactoferrin (which binds to iron and inhibits the growth of intestinal bacteria).
Infants who are exclusively breastfed for the first six months are less likely to die of gastrointestinal infections than infants who switched from exclusive to partial breastfeeding at three to four months.
During breastfeeding, approximately 0.25–0.5 grams per day of secretory IgA antibodies pass to the baby via milk.This is one of the important features of colostrum. The main target for these antibodies are probably microorganisms in the baby's intestine. The rest of the body displays some uptake of IgA,but this amount is relatively small.
Maternal vaccinations while breastfeeding is safe for almost all vaccines. Additionally, the mother's immunity obtained by vaccination against tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough and influenza can protect the baby from these diseases, and breastfeeding can reduce fever rate after infant immunization. However, smallpox and yellow fever vaccines increase the risk of infants developing vaccinia and encephalitis.
Mortality
Babies who are not breastfed are almost six times more likely to die by the age of one month than those who receive at least some breastmilk.
Diabetes
Infants exclusively breastfed have less chance of developing diabetes mellitus type 1 than those with a shorter duration of breastfeeding.Breastfed infants appear to have a lower likelihood of developing diabetes mellitus type 2 later in life.
Childhood obesity
The protective effect of breastfeeding against obesity is consistent, though small, across many studies.A 2013 longitudinal study reported less obesity at ages two and four years among infants who were breastfed for at least four months.
Allergic diseases
In children who are at risk for developing allergic diseases (defined as at least one parent or sibling having atopy), atopic syndrome can be prevented or delayed through 4-month exclusive breastfeeding, though these benefits may not persist.
Other health effects
Breastfeeding may reduce the risk of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).
Breastfeeding or introduction of gluten while breastfeeding don't protect against celiac disease among at-risk children. Breast milk of healthy human mothers who eat gluten-containing foods presents high levels of non-degraded gliadin (the main gluten protein). Early introduction of traces of gluten in babies to potentially induce tolerance doesn't reduce the risk of developing celiac disease. Delaying the introduction of gluten does not prevent, but is associated with a delayed onset of the disease.
About 19% of leukemia cases may be prevented by breastfeeding for six months or longer.
Breastfeeding may decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease in later life, as indicated by lower cholesterol and C-reactive protein levels in breastfed adult women. Breastfed infants have somewhat lower blood pressure later in life, but it is unclear how much practical benefit this provides.
A 1998 study suggested that breastfed babies have a better chance of good dental health than formula-fed infants because of the developmental effects of breastfeeding on the oral cavity and airway. It was thought that with fewer malocclusions, breastfed children may have a reduced need for orthodontic intervention. The report suggested that children with a well rounded, "U-shaped" dental arch, which is found more commonly in breastfed children, may have fewer problems with snoring and sleep apnea in later life.
Intelligence
It is unclear whether breastfeeding improves intelligence later in life. Several studies found no relationship after controlling for confounding factors like maternal intelligence (smarter mothers were more likely to breastfeed their babies). However, other studies concluded that breastfeeding was associated with increased cognitive development in childhood, although the cause may be increased mother–child interaction rather than nutrition.
Mother
Breastfeeding aids maternal physical and emotional health. Breastfeeding and depression in the mother are associated.Mothers who successfully breastfeed are less likely to develop postpartum depression.
Maternal bond
Hormones released during breastfeeding help to strengthen the maternal bond.Teaching partners how to manage common difficulties is associated with higher breastfeeding rates.Support for a breastfeeding mother can strengthen familial bonds and help build a paternal bond.
Fertility
Exclusive breastfeeding usually delays the return of fertility through lactational amenorrhea, although it does not provide reliable birth control. Breastfeeding may delay the return to fertility for some women by suppressing ovulation. Mothers may not ovulate, or have regular periods, during the entire lactation period. The non-ovulating period varies by individual. This has been used as natural contraception, with greater than 98% effectiveness during the first six months after birth if specific nursing behaviors are followed.
Hormonal
Breastfeeding releases beneficial hormones into the mother's body.Oxytocin and prolactin hormones relax the mother and increase her nurturing response. This hormone release can help to enable sleep. Breastfeeding soon after birth increases the mother's oxytocin levels, making her uterus contract more quickly and reducing bleeding. Pitocin, a synthetic hormone used to make the uterus contract during and after labour, is structurally modelled on oxytocin. Syntocinon, another synthetic oxytocic, is commonly used in Australia and the UK rather than Pitocin.
Weight loss
It is unclear whether breastfeeding causes mothers to lose weight after giving birth.
Reduced cancer risk
For breastfeeding women, long-term health benefits include reduced risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and endometrial cancer.
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