Breast Feeding
Is a blessing of God for baby
Breastfeeding: Blessing from God
for a Baby
Introduction
Breastfeeding is the fundamental component of the child survival strategy.
Breast milk is the best food of child. Even in hot and dry climate, breast milk
contains sufficient water for a young baby's needs. Additional water or sugary
drinks are not needed to quench the baby's thirst. Other foods and drinks are
necessary when a baby completes the age of 5-6 months. If weighing shows
that a child under 5 months of age is not growing well, then the underlying
cause should be checked. Proper infant feeding is crucial for child nutrition,
survival and development. Breast milk is the gold standard for infant feeding
also for other of springs of 4237 mammalian species. In the Holy Quran, Surah
Baqara, Ayat 233 has been written that, 'The mother shall give suck to their
offspring for complete 2 years if they desire to complete the term'.
World Breastfeeding Week (WBW)
World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is an annual celebration which is
held every year from 1 to 7 August in more than 120 countries.
According to the 26 August data of WBW website, 540 events have
been held worldwide by more than 79 countries with 488
organizations and 406,620 participants for the World Breastfeeding
Week 2010.
Benefits of Breast Feeding:
Human milk not only supplies the full complement of nutrients that are
necessary for the complete 5 months of life, but also acts as the child's "first
vaccine" because of its various immune properties. Baby should breastfeed
exclusively for complete five months and continuous breastfeeding up to 2
years of age along with complementary feeding.
A perfect nutrient:
Breast milk is always in perfect condition for a baby even if the women is ill, pregnant,
menstruating or malnourished. The balanced constituents of breast milk help in easy
digestion and high bioavailability of most macro and micronutrients. Human milk contains
less casein, which forms softer curds and is easier to digest, and more protein than cow's
milk, which contains mostly anti-effective protein. It also contains essential fatty acids that
are not present in cow's milk or cow's milk products. The enzyme lipase in human milk helps
to digest fat and its higher lactose content makes it more palatable the one similarity
between human and cow's milk is only that they both are white.
Though iron is present in equal amount in human and cow's milk, absorption is 5 times
higher from human milk. Bioavailability of zinc is greater for breast milk then for cow's milk
and breast milk contains vitamins A and C in greater amounts than cow's milk thus breastfed
infants are protected from exophthalmia and scurvy. Colostrum and hind milk are rich in
vitamin A.
*First ‘immunization’
Colostrum contains more immunoglobulin than mature milk and this provide protection to
the newborn against infection. About 10% of protection in measurement is Secretary IgA,
which specific to pathogens commonly present in the mother's gastrointestinal or
respiratory passages. Breast milk also contains lymphocytes, macrophages and protein with
non-specific antibacterial activity
Protection from infection
* Diarrhea
Breastfeeding protects and infants from morbidity and mortality related to diarrhea. The risk
of diarrhea is inversely related to the amount of breastfeeding. Exclusive breastfeeding has
been shown to significantly reduce diarrheal morbidity in the urban poor in Dhaka,
Bangladesh and Lima, Peru. Risk of mortality from diarrhea is 25 times higher in infant aged
0-2 months who are not breastfed as compared to infants who are breastfed.
*Acute respiratory infection (ARI)
Breastfeeding protects infants from ARI, the most common cause of morbidity and mortality
in developing countries. A study from Brazil has shown risk of death from severe pneumonia
to be 3.6 times higher in artificial field in friends then in breastfed ones. Studies show that
breastfed infants have fewer episodes of acute otitis media and urinary tract infections.
Benefits of Breastfeeding
*Effect on immunization
Breastfeeding also influences the antibody response to conjugate vaccine. The antibody level
in the initial period may not differ but at 12 months the breastfed infant ultimately has
significantly highr antibody than the formula fed infant.
*Helps neurological development
Breastfed infants are more intelligent, have less speech difficulties, and achieve higher score
in vocabulary tests and design coping tests than bottle fed children. They also achieve a
higher neurological score. Human milk offers significant advantages to pre-term and term
infants in relation to visual and cognitive function in comparison to standard infant formula.
Growth factors in breast milk may also be important in neurological development.
*Protects against allergic disease
There is evidence that breast milk protects against allergic disease.
*Reduces infant mortality
Many studies have demonstrated the positive impact of breastfeeding on infant mortality is
the developing world where high infant mortality is related to the complex interactions
between malnutrition and infection. The risk of death increases by 10 to 15 times for infants
who are not breastfed the first 3-4 months of life.
*Prevent diseases in later life
Breastfed babies are less prone to have diabetes, heart diseases, asthma, eczema,
and other allergic disorders later in life. Breastfed infants have a decreased risk
of developing chronic inflammatory bowel disease and of cancer (lymphoma,
leukemia).
*Contribute to family planning
On a population basis breastfeeding may contribute more to birth spacing than
all family planning methods combined in many countries. Lactational
Amenorrhea and infertility result from decreased and disorganized ovarian
follicular development through suckling and the hypothalamic pituitary-ovarian
feedback system. Family planning by breastfeeding is called the lactational
amenorrhea method (LAM). There is now consensus that women who use
LAM. i. e. fully or nearly fully breastfeed, and amenorrhoeic had a less than 2
percent risk of pregnancy in the 6 months after delivery. Studies from
Bangladesh have shown that breastfeeding prevents an estimated 6.5 births per
women.
*Economic value
Breastfeeding also helps the family economically. It has been estimated that
improper breastfeeding practices in Bangladesh result in a loss of approximately
US $1 billion per year, which is about 2% of the country’s GDP. It has been
estimated that exclusive artificial feeding will cost about Taka 1600-2100 (US
$27-35) per month per baby. If the cost of cleaning, bottle, nipple, sterilization
and time spent in doing these things are considered this will increase the cost
further. Thus, the cost will be about the monthly pay of a poorly paid staff or a
regular paid labor, which means its unaffordable.
*Protects mother’s health
Breastfeeding, sometimes referred to as the final stage of labor reduces the risk
for postpartum blood loss by increasing the rate of uterine contraction, pre-
menopausal breast cancer and ovarian cancer. In addition to reducing the
severity of Anemia, breastfeeding may cause other changes that help to protect
mother against bladder infections. Moreover, Epidemiologic studies indicate
that despite the apparent bone loss that occurs in women during lactation,
women who breastfeed may be at reduced risk for spinal and hip fracture after
menopause. In addition to the direct health effects, breastfeeding seems to
provide a sense of bonding, sense of wellbeing and an improved sense of self-
esteem for many women.
*Benefits that society enjoys
Breastfeeding lowers health-care cost by reducing illness and deaths of children
under 5 years of age and thus reduces the strain on the family budget. It helps in
reducing absenteeism of mothers from work, as exclusively breastfed children
are less prone to diseases. Thus, it will prove less costly to the employer.
Conclusion
In short, breastfeeding is truly a divine blessing that gives babies the healthiest
start in life, protects them from diseases, and helps them grow with love and
care.
Recommendations:
Awareness Campaigns: More awareness programs should be
arranged to educate new mothers about the benefits of breastfeeding.
Support for Mothers: Hospitals and families should support and
encourage mothers to breastfeed their babies, especially during the
first six months.
Breastfeeding-Friendly Spaces: Public places should have clean and
private areas where mothers can comfortably breastfeed.
Training for Health Workers: Nurses and doctors should be trained
to guide and help new mothers with breastfeeding techniques.
Avoid Unnecessary Formula Milk: Mothers should avoid using
formula milk unless medically necessary, as breast milk is the best
nutrition for babies.
Family Involvement: Family members, especially fathers, should
support the mother emotionally and physically during breastfeeding.
References
1. WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study Group and de Onis, M., 2006.
Breastfeeding in the WHO Multicentre growth reference study. Acta
Paediatrica, 95, pp.16-26
2. "Martin, R.M., Gunnell, D. and Davey Smith, G., 2005. Breastfeeding in
infancy and blood pressure in later life: systematic review and meta-analysis.
American Journal of Epidemiology, 161(1), pp.15-26."
3. "Section on Breastfeeding, Eidelman, A.I., Schanler, R.J., Johnston, M.,
Landers, S., Noble, L., Szucs, K. and Viehmann, L., 2012. Breastfeeding and
the use of human milk. Pediatrics, 129(3), pp.e827-e841."
4. "Haider, R., Rasheed, S., Sanghvi, T.G., Hassan, N., Pachon, H., Islam, S. and
Jalal, C.S., 2010. Breastfeeding in infancy: identifying the program-relevant
issues in Bangladesh. International Breastfeeding Journal, 5, pp.1-12."
