My mother started breastfeeding me when I was born. For weeks I was a healthy baby girl. She and my doctor’s noticed a yellowing of my skin. A blood test showed that I was jaundice, a yellowing of the skin due to a recycling of old blood cells. Mom had to stop breastfeeding because the doctor’s thought I was getting this disease from her milk. She remembers hating taking me to the doctor every week to get my blood drawn because I would scream every time they pricked my foot!
I find breastfeeding to be important, not only for the infant, but for the mother too. I researched breastfeeding in South Africa
Resources
Meyer, A. Van der Spuy, D., du Plessis, L. (2007). The rationale for adopting current international breastfeeding guidelines in South Africa
Arica,
ReplyDeleteI have 3 children and I only breast fed the youngest. I was a young mother (all three babies by age 22) and for the first 2 I thought it was "gross". I decided to do it with the last one because I had heard that it helps to loose the pregnancy weight. (THIS IS A MYTH!!) Anyway, it ended up being the best experience ever and I breast fed 100% for 8 months (along with other food). But breast fed at night for a total of 16 month! Although all my children have been healthy and in the 95% for their growth and development (they are all over 18 now) , my youngest is the most easy going of the three. I have always wondered if it had anything to do with breast feeding or just because of his genetic make up?
Thank you for your post.
Angella
Arica
ReplyDeleteI also have three children but have never breastfed any of my children because I was scared of what people had told me. I later learned that it is the important way for you child to receive their milk, it also creates a bond between mother and child. I got a chance to see my cousin breastfeed her baby and it seem so calming and natural and now I try to encourage mothers that I work with to breastfeed and there are more mothers who are willing to breastfeed over using the can milk.
Thank for sharing.