Question

1.Breastfeeding and maternal mental and Physical health? 2.Breastfeeding is Natural but the Cultural Norm.

Answer 1

Ans.

1. As we discuss later, studies in humans have revealed that breastfeeding mothers experience lower levels of stress and negative mood than do mothers who do not breast- feed, perhaps aiding in the transition to motherhood.

Breastfeeding and mental health is the relationship between postpartum breastfeeding and the mother’s and child’s mental health. Research indicates breastfeeding has positive effects on the mother’s and child’s mental health.

These benefits include-

•improved mood and stress levels in the mother

•lower risk of postpartum depression

•enhanced social emotional development in the child

•stronger mother-child bonding and more.

But breastfeeding does not damage maternal mental health. ... It's no wonder that numerous studies have found that when breastfeeding is going well, a woman's risk of postnatal depression is lower. But when women are unable to breastfeed as they had expected their mental health can be badly affected.

Breastfeeding is healthier for mom physically:

Promotes faster weight loss after birth, burning about 500 extra calories a day to build and maintain a milk supply. Stimulates the uterus to contract and return to normal size. Less postpartum bleeding. Fewer urinary tract infections.

2. Some of the main influences are familial change, societal and cultural differences, absence of elders informing the tradition of breastfeeding, associations made between the chosen method of feeding and socioeconomic status (i.e. the belief that only poor women breastfeed their babies), and the woman‟s changing .

The history and culture of breastfeeding traces changing social, medical and legal attitudes to breastfeeding, the act of feeding a child breast milk directly from breast to mouth. Breastfeeding may be performed by the infant's mother or by a surrogate, typically called a wet nurse.

Our studies of exclusively breastfed babies aged one to six months showed they typically breastfed between four and 13 times a day, and for between 12 minutes and nearer to one hour during each feeding session.