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The Importance Of Breastfeeding Essay

Introduction Scientists have not managed to replicate the actual milk that is produced by a mother. A mother's milk has all the vitamins, minerals, and other nutritional elements that a baby's body needs. The formulation of breast milk includes many other elements that are yet to be discovered and this is why it is highly recommended to breastfeed a baby exclusively for six months.

Background information

Breastfeeding forms a critical part of the Healthy People objectives. It is for this reason that Healthy People 2020 aims to increase the rates for breastfeeding mothers to 81.9 percent at the time of being discharged from hospital. With an increase in the number of breastfeeding mothers, there would be more than $4 billion saved in health care costs. There would be reduced medical costs that are associated with chronic illnesses in their children. Mothers would also benefit by reducing their risk of developing breast cancer.

Thesis

Breastfeeding is beneficial to the mother and child.

Blueprint

Infant Nutrition

An infant’s nutrition is improved since breast milk does contain all the nutrients that the infant requires. A mother's milk does make subtle changes based on the time of day, and year, which so happens to ensure that changes in baby's growth and requirements are properly matched.

Breast milk is easily absorbed and utilized by the baby (Binns, Lee, & Low, 2016). A complete source of nourishment...

This makes breast milk the one food source that does contain all the necessary nutrients for the growth and development of the baby. It is also easily digested, which ensures that it does not add stress to the baby's digestive systems.
Breast milk does contain growth hormones that do enhance the strong development of the baby's organs. Breast milk does contain all the nutrients that are needed for the complement development of the human brain.

Infant Health

Colostrum is the first milk that is produced by a mother. Colostrum is high in immunoglobulins that do compensate for the baby's immature immune system. It is considered to be the baby's first vaccine. When a mother does get sick, her body will produce antibodies targeted to fight the infection. The antibodies that are produced will then be transferred to the baby through breast milk, ensuring that the baby will not get sick. If the baby does get sick, the body of the mother will produce the necessary antibodies that are then transferred to the baby via breast milk in order to fight off the infection.

Research has indicated that mothers who breastfeed and are working have reported fewer days when they have missed work due to an unscheduled doctor visit with a sick baby. Babies who are breastfed rarely have diarrhea or get constipated, respiratory illnesses or ear infections. This is because breast milk contains all the right components in the right amounts for the growth…

Sources used in this document:



Bar, S., Milanaik, R., & Adesman, A. (2016). Long-term neurodevelopmental benefits of breastfeeding. Current opinion in pediatrics, 28(4), 559-566.

Binns, C., Lee, M., & Low, W. Y. (2016). The long-term public health benefits of breastfeeding. Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health, 28(1), 7-14.


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