Breastfeeding
According to Wikipedia, “breastfeeding
is the feeding of an infant or young child with breast milk directly from female
human breasts rather than using infant formula. It is brought on by sucking
reflexes that enables the baby to suck and swallow the milk. Some reasons why
this topic is meaningful to me are because of the benefits to mother and child.
As a mother, I breast fed my oldest child, however with my youngest child, I could
not breastfeed because of a medication for my heart.
The
benefits for mothers are:
-Bonding
-Hormone
Release
-Weight Loss
-Long-term
effects of lactation on health and body composition
-Gestational
changes
-Postpartum
changes
-Long-term
health effects
-Financial
Benefits
-Natural
postpartum infertility
Benefits
for the infant:
-Immunity
-Infections
-Sudden
Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
-Diabetes
-Childhood
Obesity
In India, mothers commonly breastfed
their children until 2 to 3 years of age. Cow’s milk is given in combination
with breast milk though use of formula has been on a rise.
To impact the
future work of others, different laws on jobs are being made in regard to
mothers breastfeeding in the work place. At a school in our community, this is
the new policy for mothers that will express milk.
ACCOMMODATIONS FOR
BREAST-FEEDING MOTHERS
Each school under the jurisdiction of the School Board
shall provide the following:
1. An appropriate, private room, other than a restroom, that
may be used by an employee to express breast milk.
2. A reasonable amount of break time to accommodate an
employee needing to express breast milk that, to the extent possible, shall run
concurrently with the break time already provided to the employee, and that
shall be available to the employee for up to one (1) year following the birth
of her child.
3. Procedures for the employee to notify her supervisor or
other appropriate personnel of her intent to make use of the accommodations
offered pursuant to this policy
and to schedule accordingly.
Any additional break time used
by an employee to express breast milk shall be considered unpaid leave time.
Louisiana
Department of Education New policy:
August, 2013
References:
“Nutrition in the First 1,000 days: State of
the World’s Mothers, 2012 (October 2013)
