NATURES NATURAL FOOD-BREAST MILK
It
is 1 o’clock one hot afternoon at the VVIP bus station at Circle-Odawna, where
one of the luggage carriers, is very busy loading some traveling suitcases
into one of the buses bound for Nkawkaw, a town in the eastern region of Ghana.
After all passengers including police officers in mufti have gotten on board,
the driver and spare driver hop in-the journey has just begun.
Upon
reaching Nsawam Adoadjiri, a sound of a sobbing baby is heard in the bus; her mother,
who sat next to an old woman, tries to calm him down but to no avail. Suddenly,
the sobbing turns into crying, and crying into screaming; his mother quickly
searches in her bag for the feeding bottle filled with corn porrigde, upon
finding it she opens it to give to the child but her six months old son refuses
to take it. The screaming now turns to shouting and everybody in the bus,
including the old woman are watching her because the child have cried for about
seven minutes.
“Take
out your breast and feed that little boy”!!! The old woman, together with some
passengers on board yelled. “I am very shy to do that in public”, the mother of
the baby replied. Nonsense! Look at the flimsy excuse you are giving! One
police officer in mufti angrily retorted. “You better take out your breast and
feed that child right away!!! Do you think your breast was given to you by God
to only serve beautification purposes?! After much rebuke by fellow passengers,
the lady shyly takes out her breast and begins to feed the child who now stops
crying and begins to fall asleep. The lady in question was refusing to do one
basic but very essential activity-breastfeeding.
Breast-feeding is
the process of feeding baby milk directly from the breast.
Milk from the mother or any lactating woman,
has nourished, protected and helped raise babies since time in memorial. Like
all mammals, human females also have mammary glands (breast) for the purposes
of feeding their infant before they are ready for foods from other sources.
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| An African Mother breastfeeding. |
Why
breastfeed?
According
to Dr. Ananya Mandal Medical Doctor, breast
milk contains all the nutrients babies need for good health and growth; it
stimulates their immature immune systems and improves their responses to
vaccinations.
Apart
from the above, Dr. Ananya says: “It’s a perfect food; you don’t need to heat
it because there’s no risk of spoilage and no requirement of sterilization. It
reduces the costs of buying expensive baby formula”.
 |
| “It’s a perfect food; you don’t need to heat
it because there’s no risk of spoilage and no requirement of sterilization. It
reduces the costs of buying expensive baby formula”. |
Process of breast milk formation
Hormonal changes in the
female body during pregnancy prepare the breast to produce milk. After birth,
when the baby first sucks on the mother’s breast, the nerves in the areola (the
colored, central part around the nipple of the breast) stimulate the pituitary
gland, located at the base of the brain, to release hormones called prolactin
and oxytocin. This hormone causes milk-producing cells, in the breast to
secrete milk. Oxytocin causes the smooth muscles surrounding these milk
producing cells to squeeze the milk into the breast’s ductal system, a response
known as milk ejection. The ductal system carries the milk to the nipple where
the baby suckles.
For the first three to
four days after the baby’s birth, the milk released from the mother’s breast is
called colostrum-a thick, yellowish fluid rich in proteins, antibodies, and
other infection-fighting agents that is more concentrated than mature breast
milk. It is also lower in fats and carbohydrates. Colostrum is later replaced
transitional milk, which is thinner, lighter in color, and more plentiful.
Within about two weeks of the baby’s birth, transitional milk is again replaced
by bluish-white mature milk. The mother of a premature infant has milk higher
in protein and salt concentrations that meet her baby’s special needs
Benefits of Breast Feeding
The
World Health Organization states that, breastfed babies experience lasting
health benefits and protected from several diseases such as childhood diabetes
and cancers, obesity, infections, diarrheoa, respiratory infections and asthma.
Apart
from its power of protection, breastfeeding saves lives as recorded in the
statements of Dr. Ananya: “If every baby were exclusively breastfed from birth
up to six months, approximately 1.5 million lives worldwide would be saved”.
The mother benefits too?!!
Studies
conducted by the American Cancer Society reveals that, breastfeeding mothers
have a lower risk of breast cancer. Breastfeeding provides a period of natural
infertility thus can be used as a birth control method in many women.
It
has also been proved to provide some level of prevention against pre-menopausal
breast cancer, osteoporosis, and hip fractures in the later
life of the mother. Above all, the world health organization states that,
breast-feeding facilitates bonding between a mother and infant (that is
emotionally satisfying to both participants). The mother develops nurturing
behaviors and the infant in turn, learns trust.
Techniques for Breastfeeding
For successful breast-feeding,
the baby should be held facing the mother directly, abdomen to abdomen, with
the head, neck, and body in a straight line, and the mouth level with the
mother’s nipple. The mother should have proper back support, and she should
cradle the baby’s head in the crook of her arm. Some babies have to overcome
difficulties such as a weak sucking reflex, which can occur as a result of
birth-related problems, maternal medications, or initial feeding with an
artificial nipple and bottle.
Breastfeeding problems: how is it
corrected?
Sometimes babies develop
excessive gas from breast-feeding. These symptoms may result from the mother’s
consumption of cow’s milk, dairy products, and food additives in the mother’s
diet. Eliminating the offending food from the mother’s diet doctors say, can
improve the infant’s symptoms. Some breast-feeding mothers encounter
physical problems such as sore nipples caused by the infant’s sucking. This
phenomenon can be prevented by encouraging the baby to take the nipple and the areola
(dark area around nipple) deep within the mouth.
Also,
pressure within the breast from excessive milk, can be prevented and treated by
frequent breast-feeding or by use of a breast pump. Breast pain may be a sign
of mastitis, an infection of breast tissue that requires medical attention. The American Academy of
Pediatrics recommends breast-feeding rather than bottle-feeding as the best way
to nourish infants and young children. Every family should learn about the
benefits of breast-feeding and the techniques for its success before deciding
which feeding method works best for the family.
After
all, breast milk does not only nourish and sustain the lives of infants but the
careful design of the Creator, using Mother Nature as his medium to ensure that
the world’s most vulnerable are kept alive to perpetuate humankind.
Notes
World Health Organization (WHO):Available at www.who.org
Gartner M. L. "Breastfeeding", Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond,
WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.
