Child Development & Public Health...
Breastfeeding is the public health topic I chose to write about. Breastfeeding is meaningful to me because it was something I felt strongly about before having a child, and even more so after having a child. When my son latched on for the first time hours after he was born I was ecstatic. I had been reading about the health and emotional benefits of breastfeeding and really felt it was something I wanted to do. After my son was a few weeks old I started having problems getting him to latch on. He would refuse to nurse and then would start screaming as if he were in pain. After a while I called the nurse and she helped me get him to eat. The nurse asked if I was drinking water. I told her I was drinking lemonade that had a lot of water in it but it was too drying for my son. I started drinking water and it seemed to help right away.
When I went to see the doctor for his 6 week check up he told me he was underweight and felt my son needed formula. I really didn't want to give him formula but I didn't want my son not to thrive. I asked the doctor if I could have 2 more weeks to try nursing him since I had just started drinking water and wanted to see if this would make the difference. After the 2 weeks my son gained 2 pounds. The doctor was very surprised but was glad to see he was healthy and thriving. I continued to nurse him until he was 1 year old.
I believe there are a lot of women out there who are really trying to do the best for their child, but I am a firm believer that children need breast milk. There are so many nutritional benefits that last a lifetime.
I just read an article that was wonderfully written about the many different ways breastfeeding is handled all over the globe. In her article: Breastfeeding Around the World, Barbara Dehn, a nurse practitioner, talks about the many trials, tragedies, and triumphs of breastfeeding. One story she talks about is in regard to women in Afghanistan.
"The culture and lack of trained midwives means that new moms are feeding their newborns tea instead of colostrum. They are waiting in vain for their milk to come in. After a 9 month pregnancy, to lose a baby in the first 2 weeks, because they didn't know about the importance of round the clock breast feeding to stimulate milk production, is heartbreaking" (Dehn, 2009).
This is so sad. But thank God there are nurses and other doctors there that are trying to educate these women so their children can survive. I can totally relate. Although I was not in such a severe situation, had I not gone to my son's doctor appointments, there might have been real problems with his health from my lack of knowledge and experience. I am very blessed to live in developed country with so many resources available to me.
I feel the ways this information would impact my future work is being sensitive and empathetic with people dealing with similar issues. This has already come up several times in the preschool classroom I work in. One of the mothers and I have been able to compare notes about our son's and their nursing preferences. I was able to reassure her that what she was doing was perfectly fine.
I feel this is why we can and should use our personal experiences along with our educational backgrounds to enlighten parents who may not have the same access to information.
Reference:
Dehn, B. (2009). Breastfeeding around the world. Huffpost Healthy Living, Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barbara-dehn/breastfeeding-around-the_b_249887.html
Breastfeeding is something I feel strongly about as well. I also breastfed my daughter, and had some difficulty at first as my daughter was in the NICU. The NICU required babies to have so much volume intake that in the first few days it was not possible for me to produce that much, so the began feeding her formula. I was so disappointed, but also supportive as I did not want her to 'starve.' After she came home breastfeeding became easy, and it is the best thing I ever did. My daughter was rarely sick her first year, we have a secure relationship, and it was easy and convenient.