I chose breastfeeding because I have always heard its the best for the child. I have also heard doctors will try and pressure you into it. I think it should be your choice and your choice only what you want to do. My brother and I were not breastfed and we are never sick and live great healthy lives. I think it all depends on the child. I personally dont think I will be breastfeeding, but I dont want to have people judging me and saying I dont love my child if I dont. From my own experiences, it seems that no matter what you feed your child, as long as you are taking good care of the child you will have a very healthy child.
In an article that I read about an African culture, it said "In many African cultures it is normal to breastfeed until well into toddlerhood. It is also normal for older children under the age of six or seven to breastfeed again with their younger sibling." (www.incultureparent.com) I think that in that kind of culture it is normal for them to be breastfeeding that old because they dont have many utilities or food or milk. I have always found it strange when a mother in America is still breastfeeding their child at the age of two. It creeps me out. However, it is their choice, and it is not my opinion that matters. In Africa they call it "extended breastfeeding" when the 6 or 7 year old decides to start breastfeeding again.
With this information, I now have more knowledge about another cultures way of life. In my line of work, I work in a childcare center, and I am seeing mothers breastfeed all the time. In my work however, I haven't seen any still breastfeeding at an older age. I think that in our day and age parents know it is weird to do, especially in public, so maybe some of them still do at home, but I never see any in my workplace.
References
www.incultureparent.com
Thank you so much for sharing information about breastfeeding. I have four children and chose to breastfeed my two oldest. Although I was not pressured to breastfeed my two youngest children I can tell you they have had more health issues than the oldest two. My youngest son had numerous ear infections and sever allergies. I think my choose to use formula was a direct result of the health issues.
ReplyDeleteWhile I appreciate your position, I have to disagree on the benefits of breastfeeding. There have been numerous studies which show that children who are breastfed are healthier than children who are not. Breast milk is also the perfect food, as it was designed biologically for that particular child. Breast milk changes as the infant ages, so the milk is providing what is optimal for that child in regards to growth and development. Breastfed children also exhibit a more secure attachment to their mothers than those that are bottle fed, possibly because breastfeeding can only be done by the mother, while formula can be given by anyone, and bottles can also be propped up. I do agree that breastfeeding is the choice of the mother and not the general public, and that with adequate information, everyone is able to make the best decision for their own family.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing. I also chose breastfeeding and I agree that it should be the mother decision. From doing research on the topic I found that babies are much healthier when mothers breastfeed because the nutrients that is produced in breast milk is not in the formulas. My mother nor any of my siblings breastfed and while everyone is healthy now many of us had bad ear infections and he majority of us has some sort of allergies. Our immune system is also weak. I'm not sure if the weakness of our immune system is from my mother not breastfeeding but I do know I wish that she had. Also, I have a cousin that breastfed all three of her girls until the age of three. I disagree that its gross. I feel that maybe at the age of three it was just a bond that the child or the mother wasn't ready to give up. I think that if American woman had limited supply on formula more and more would breastfeed. Since American woman have the option of getting WIC more and more mothers just stick with formula. Formula in my opinion is messy and takes too long to prepare to meet the hunger of the child.
ReplyDelete