School Of Business And Technology - 3216 Words

Breastfeeding Sara Scheffler English Composition I Tristan Benson July 1st 2015 McCann School of Business and Technology If you’re religious, breastfeeding has been around since Adam and Eve; it has been around since our ape ancestors if you’re into evolution. Any way that you look at it, any mammalian species simply cannot and would not have survived without breastfeeding. In modern US culture there seems to be a stigma around breastfeeding. I personally cannot understand this. We, as mammals, were made to feed our children from our breasts, for that is their specific purpose. For centuries, breastfeeding was the only means of feeding a child whether from the mother’s own breast or from a wet nurse. Breastfeeding has many†¦show more content†¦Around day three to five after baby is born, the mature milk comes in. This milk has the perfect amount of nutrients to help baby grow and thrive. The difference between colostrum and the mature milk is that the colostrum is meant to boost the baby’s immune system since a child’s immune system does not ‘kick inâ⠂¬â„¢ until at least two months of age. This immune system boosting factor is true in any mammal. Colostrum is essential for providing immunity until the baby’s immune system gets mature enough to protect itself. Sometimes in nature, such as with cows, if a calf does not get colostrum then the calf is more likely to die. Other than immunity, there are many other benefits of breastfeeding a baby. Womenshealth.gov says that research suggests that breastfed babies have lower risks of asthma, childhood obesity, ear infections, eczema, diarrhea, vomiting, SIDS and many more illnesses (2014). Human milk is the most perfect food for human babies and no other food is needed for at least 6 months, if not longer than that. As I said earlier, the AAP recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months at least. There is something called â€Å"baby-led eating† that I myself have practiced with my breastfed son. Baby led eating is when a mother does not start solids before 6 months, and also doesn’t start until their baby is showing interest in food. In my case, I offered my son from about 6 months of age, but he did not eat meals until he was 9 months old. It is important