I chose to focus on a combination of breastfeeding and malnutrition,
since they seem to go hand in hand in many places. One such place is in the
Eastern Mediterranean Region. I chose this topic because being pregnant myself
I am constantly asked if I plan to breastfeed and why. Research tells us that
breastmilk is best; it gives babies all of mom’s antibodies, as well as helps
to protect them from a variety of things such as diabetes, asthma, allergies,
and obesity.
I visited the WHO website for the Eastern Mediterranean Region. One
fact that hit home hard was as follows, “Around 50% of deaths in children
under five in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region are attributable to
mild to moderate malnutrition” (WHO, 2012). WHO suggests infants being
exclusively breastfed for at least the first six months, and complement other
foods along with breastfeeding for up to two years.
“Many countries in the WHO Eastern
Mediterranean Region report high rates (>60%) of early initiation of
breastfeeding of infants and more than 60% of infants continue to
be breastfed at one year. However, rates of exclusive breastfeeding seem
to have declined, with only 40% or less of infants under six months in
countries of the Region being exclusively breastfed” (WHO, 2012).
References
World Health Organization. (2012). Regional office for the eastern Mediterranean.
Retrieved July 7, 2012 from http://www.emro.who.int/health-topics/infant-nutrition/.
Hi Jennifer!
ReplyDeleteI chose breastfeeding, as well, but looked at it from the point of the overall importance of the benefits of it, as well as the difficulties some, including myself, have encountered. I was surprised by the statistics of those malnourished and wonder why more do not breastfeed exclusively. My research showed reasons including mom being tired, mom returning to work, and more, but I wonder why they don't supplement with expressed milk versus some of the things that they do offer in other countries. Good luck to you!
Breastfeeding is not always the best for mothers in a number of ways such as mothers not being able to produce milk or schedule impacts. In our facility we have parents who use breast mild but do not necessarily breast feed from the nipple. Breast milk has been research as the best milk to provide for infants but it is preference of parents. Good luck to you and make the best decisions for you and your family.
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