Samantha Johnson

Womens Health Chp 8 & 9

Most women of child bearing age realize some of the benefits of breast
feeding. But if you do not have children, you may not realize some of the struggles
newborns and mothers go through when trying to form this bond. I do not have
children of my own but I have seen the struggles first hand. When a friend of mine
gave birth to her first born child, she and the infant were having trouble latching on
and she was not producing enough milk to support scheduled feedings. She took
this hard mentally as she had a very specific plan to breast feed her son until he
was at the very least six months old. She used holistic approaches and drank
lactation tea, tried to be around her child as much as possible and ate as much food
as possible that might increase her lactation. She was unsuccessful and her milk ran
out around the babys 3 month age mark. This weighed heavy on her for a long
time.
Ballard, D.R. Chandler, C.K., & Kolander, C.A.( 2014) state that the World
Health Organization (WHO) recommends breast milk be given to the infant within 1
hour of the birth, mothers should only give the child breast milk until 6 months of
age, and can be given food and breast milk for up to two years of age (p. 250). Until
reading the assigned chapters, I was unaware that women of minorities are lower on
the statistical scale of breast feeding their infants. A research study was completed
in Wisconsin with a sample of 9 African American mothers who used a breast
feeding peer counselor (BPC) and studies the use of BPCs and their influence on
African American women and their breast feeding experience. The findings were
positive effects with women using BPCs and the need to increase access to BPCs in

the future (Robinson, K., VandeVusse, L., Foster, J., 2016). Reported in 2014, about
75% of mothers start breast feeding and only about 13% continue to the
recommended 6 month mark (Ballard, D.R., et al. 2014). In 2011 the Surgeon
General released a call to action to increase the number of families who breastfed
for 6 months; they estimated that if ninety percent of women did this they would
save an estimated $13billion in reduced medical debts (Ballard, D.R., et al. 2014)
Some of the benefits of breast feeding include: increased immunity for child,
more nutrition that cannot be reproduced in any manufactured formula, its virtually
free, and can reduce ovarian cancer, to name a few. These are benefits for the
mother but Ballard, D.R., et al(2014), mention some of the benefits for the infant
that is breast fed: can reduce obesity, helps prevent type I diabetes, and high
cholesterol (p.251). For every 597 women who optimally breastfeed, one maternal
or child death is prevented(Bartick, M.C., Schwarz, E.B., Green, D., Jegier, B.J.,
Reinhold, G., Colaizy, T.T., Bogen, L., Schaefer, J., Stuebe, A.M., 2016) This means
that increasing amount of women who successfully breastfeed can result in massive
health gains and decrease healthcare debts, and that breastfeeding has most of an
impact on the mothers help than previously learned (Bartick, M.C., et al. 2016).
If I were to counsel my friend with the problem that she she had in her
pregnancy, I would assure her that stress is doing her no good. Also try to spend as
much bonding time with her infant as possible. I would make sure she continued to
monitor her diet closely and take in enough calories to support her as well as the
lactation and to continue her holistic approaches if she feels as if they are beneficial
to her. I would also suggest that she meet with a midwife or a breastfeeding peer
counselor as I mentioned above, to practice the skill for her and the baby. Ballard
D.R. et al. (2014) stated it best when they mentioned that breast feeding can be a

demanding and awkward practice especially for first time mothers; it is a specific
skill and more than likely can require assistance (p. 251).
I chose to report on breastfeeding because just like most other mothers, I
plan on breastfeeding my infant but as much as I plan on it, it actually happening
might not be the case. I also wanted to learn about benefits and statistics that I
might not be aware of. My mother breast fed me and claims that it was the greatest
thing she ever did. I hope to one day provide for my child in that way. I now know
even more the benefits of this as well as things I can do if I encounter problems. I
also learned of breastfeeding peer counselors that I had no idea existed and I hope
that they increase in numbers as it truly is a learned skill that needs practice to
perfect.

References:
Ballard, D.R., Chandler, C.K., Kolander, C.A. (2014) Contemporary Womens Health:
Issues for Today and
the Future. 250-251, New York, NY: McGraw Hill,
Bartick, M.C., Schwarz, E.B., Green, D., Jegier, B.J., Reinhold, G., Colaizy, T.T., Bogen,
L., Schaefer, J.,
Stuebe, A.M. (2016) Research: Reactions of Low-Income African American
Women to
Breastfeeding Peer Counselors: Journal Of Obstetric, Gynecologic &
Neonatal Nursing, 4562-70. doi:10.1016/j.jogn.2015.10.011

Lawton, K. Robinson, A. (2016). British Journal of Midwifery: Midwives experiences

of helping women
struggle to breastfeed. 24, 248-253, DOI: 10.1111/mcn.12366